Welcome to Eco-Catholic!

"So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth’" (Gen. 1:27–28)

Welcome to my blog celebrating unique and upcoming projects dedicated to improving the quality of life by championing the ecology of the Earth and protecting the environment. I needed a place to share and keep track of the projects I come across in real and virtual life and a blog is as good a place as any; so this is it.

Eco-Catholic recognizes efforts, especially unique advancements, in "green living' and discusses the importance of catholics, and more particularly "Catholics", role in being "stewards of the Earth". The blog name is a combination of the abbreviated form of ecology, "eco", and the word "Catholic", or "catholic", either one; it is a universal call, hence catholic, as well as a commission to the Christian community, hence Catholic. The definitions for eco and catholic are discussed in more detail at the end of this article.

The universal "catholic" community is called to be environmentally friendly for the good of the community; the Catholic, or whole Christian community, is entrusted by God to care for the Earth; "Catholics", as in Roman Catholic should be particularly familiar with the literature of John Paul II and his call to be mindful of the ecological crisis and the serious obligation to care for all creation.

During his lifetime Pope John Paul II gave speeches and wrote several papers calling on each one of us to be more ecologically aware. It is my intention to use this blog to echo his call to ecological awareness, take note of those practicing stewardship particularly with new "green" technologies, and link to sites providing information on ways to be environmentally friendly. The call to "go green" is important to all catholics, but for those catholics, who are also Catholic, it is part of fulfilling their role of "Stewards of the Earth".

“Simplicity, moderation and discipline, as well as the spirit of sacrifice, must become part of everyday life, if we are to become stewards of nature.”Pope John Paul II, Message for the World Day of Peace, 1990

In his message for the celebration of the World Day of Peace, January 1, 1990, Pope John Paul II also reminded us that,"God entrusted the whole of creation to the man and woman, and only then—as we read—could he rest "from all his work" (Gen 2:3)" The universal community has been entrusted by God to care for the universe, let us recognize here those who are making strides in this arena and follow their example by looking for areas in our own lives where we can be more mindful of the ecosystem. Non-governmental projects are highlighted because of the entreprenuerial spirit behind the individuals and companies who run them and their supporters.


Realizing that the definitions for eco and Catholic are controversial I have attached snapshots of web definitions below:
"eco" defined:






Note: eco is not recognized as a word, although originally added as a prefix to other words to refer to "ecological" it is now used more to indicate "environment".


"catholic" and "Catholic" defined:


Merriam Webster online (click here to go directly to definition )




dictionary.reference.com (click here to go to site)dictionary.reference.com has actually changed their definition since I posted this on wordpress; they still have the "uh" for second syllable pronunciation however. Expanded on optional definitions and added a 4th. (–noun
4.a member of a Catholic church, esp. of the Roman Catholic Church.)




thefreedictionary.com online (click here to go directly to website)

Please refer to the dictionary sites for a more readable version of definitions

We can use the word catholic as an adjective when referring to all people; all Christians are Catholic; some Catholic Christians are Roman Catholic.

Note: All of them identify the word catholic as defining the universal, or whole, Christian body; all of them also identify it as being comprehensive, or involving all humankind. Interestingly enough dictionary.reference.com does not recognize that the word is often a direct reference, particularly as a noun, to a member of a Roman Catholic church; Merriam-Webster while recognizing the use of “Roman Catholic” only lists it as an adjective. Thefreedictionary.com is the only one of the three that lists it as a noun on its own with a capital C as pertaining to a member of a Catholic church, especially a Roman Catholic church.

Lest you think the word, and its use, is not controversial read
Property of Rome"?Does the Vatican have exclusive rights to the word "Catholic"?

ecocatholic blogspot