Restoring God’s Justice in the World 10



Restoring God’s Justice in the World 10.4

Some Strategies for Teaching 10.4 using the context of ecological justice

Using climate change as context for

teaching 10.4-Restoring God’s Justice in

the World

Teacher Notes and Background

World leaders and political commentators are increasingly expressing concern about the security impact of climate change. In September 2007, the Commissioner of the Australian Federal Police, Mick Keelty, said “…climate change is going to be the security issue of the 21st century.” He commented on how lack of available food and water will displace many people in the Asia-Pacific region and cause people to migrate to find new land:

…as a large number of people undertake forced migration… The potential security issues are enormous and should not be underestimated.

(Source )

Although political leaders see global warming as an issue related to economics and social security, religious leaders of many faiths have looked beyond self interest to the spiritual and social justice implications. The late Pope John Paul II wrote extensively about stewardship of the earth and the need for ecological conversion.

Many of Pope Benedict’s recent statements about social justice have been centred on the effects of ecological change and its impact on the poor and marginalised, particularly those suffering from famine and hunger. Pope Benedict’s statements recognize that humanity’s duty of stewardship towards God’s great gift of creation includes care for and prayer for all people of the earth:

Care of water resources and attention to climate change are matters of grave importance for the entire human family. Encouraged by the growing recognition of the need to preserve the environment, I invite all of you to join me in praying and working for greater respect for the wonders of God's creation! General Audience 5th September,2007.

(Source:)

The traditional owners and custodians of Australia have also released press statements on their concerns about the impact of global warming on the Australian environment.

Why use this context with students?

Starting with student interests- The issue of climate change is of interest and concern to many students of this age. They already have considerable prior knowledge from their experiences in Science and Society and Environment. Media treatment of the issue also increases student awareness. It is an area where students can take some concrete measures to live out Gospel values and Church teachings on the sharing of resources and just stewardship of the environment.

Application to Church teachings- The social justice teachings of the Church bear direct relationship to this issue and many of the terms and concepts covered in the unit of work are also used in recent Papal and Church statements. The unit of work facilitates students’ ability to understand and critique the meanings and implications of state, business and interest groups’ public statements and to examine them in the light of Gospel values.

Models the Church as spiritual, yet engaged in the world- By looking at Biblical sources and the teachings of Jesus, students examine how Christians are called to be engaged spiritually and socially. Through study of Church social justice teachings, students learn about Christ’s call to individuals to promote justice. They develop an awareness of the role of the Church to speak publically about justice issues and to actively model ways of working for justice. Students can acquire knowledge of the work the Church in acting in solidarity with other groups such as indigenous Australians who call for environmental justice.

Teaching the unit

Use the context of global warming and social justice to enables student to make concrete links with learning points and Church teachings:

▪ Student interests- Chapter 1&2 Learning points could be used to link to the context e.g How unjust human behaviour contributes to global warming? In what ways is such behaviour also unjust towards the human family?

▪ Use students’ prior learning- Knowledge from Science, Society and Environment and general know to define what is meant by global warming, its causes etc.

▪ Develop a discourse of the learning area- students learn and make appropriate use of terms such as : Original Justice, Justification (Ch 3), Principle of the Universal Destination of Goods, corporal works of mercy (Ch 5), The Common Good (Ch 6). Students construct a glossary and use it with activities in section on: The Church, stewardship of the environment and social justice

▪ Link scripture to Church teachings, rationale behind church teachings-e.g. dignity of the human person in section on :The Church, stewardship of the environment and social justice, Activity 2, Chapter 4, ( LPs Jesus came to restore God’s original state of justice, The Ten Commandments related to each of the four harmonies of God’s justice), Chapter 5 (LP Jesus taught about corporal works of mercy)

▪ Teaching verbal and visual analytical skills- cartoon analysis sheet and discussion questions , page

▪ Living the Gospel values – applying scriptural and Church teachings to their own situation at home and school, critiquing societal values about resource use and equity. Activities: How does this affect me? How big is your ecological footprint? (p.), ‘The Eco Worrier’ (Teachers will need to run off copies of the article from the PDF sent with this file or access a hard copy from the magazine) Assessment task- individual reflection, Powerpoint presentation. Film resources.

Suggested Assessments-

A suggested assessment with a rubric has been given at the end of this package, however as an alternative, teachers may choose to use ‘The Eco Worrier’ Showbag Activity’ as an assessment.

Some recent AV resources on the topic from the Catholic Library-some are DVD and video

Note: Teachers will need to preview these resources to determine their suitability for their class and their own particular approach to the unit.

| | | |

|Title and Description |Length/Year/Country of Origin |Library Call Number |

|Where the Forest Meets the Sea (fiction) |10 mins |VID |

|Animated film set in the Daintree rainforest. Based on picture book |1987 |PF |

|by Jeannie Baker. Examines human impact on natural landscapes, ends |Australia |WHE |

|by questioning what future such places will have. | | |

|Health in the Developing World (documentary) Defines ‘poverty’. |34 mins |DVD&VID |

|Examines people’s capacity to produce food in face of climate change,|2001 |362.5836 |

|landmines on agricultural land, impact on health of people. |Australia |HEA |

|Micro-finance as justice tool. Students could make links to Caritas |Notes incl | |

|projects. | | |

|Hunger in the World Explained to My Son (documentary) |53 mins |VID |

|Explores links between social justice and world hunger. Examines |2002 |363.8 |

|impact of climate change, desertification and govt. decisions. Role |Spain (dialogue is in English) |HUN |

|of aid agencies |Notes incl & Learning Activity | |

| |Sheet 5 in 10.4 LTP | |

|Global Environmental Issues (documentary) Scientific explanation for |27 mins |VID |

|global warming. Effects of deforestation. Kyoto protocol Ecological |2004 |333.72 |

|foot print and effects on climate, food production in 21st century. |US |GLO |

| |Notes incl | |

|Some Are More Equal Than Others (documentary) Distribution of wealth |25 mins |VID |

|in Australia, poverty. Concept of ‘Social Wage’. One contributor is |2001 |339.2 |

|Fr Peter Nordern, Associate Director of Jesuit Social Services. |Australia |SOM |

|Raises question of what can be done to reverse growing inequalities |Notes incl | |

|in standards of living in Australia. | | |

|Global Warming- You Can Make a Difference (documentary) Causes of |27 mins |DVD |

|global warming. What individuals can do to reduce their ecological |2006 |363.73874 |

|footprint. |Australia |GLO |

|Simply Living (documentary) Examines how people can work towards a more |22 mins | |

|sustainable future. Looks at salinity and landuse practices, global and |2003 |VID |

|local sustainable practices. Raises the question: Do Australians have to |Australia |333.7137 |

|learn to live more simply so that others in the world can simply live? |Notes incl |SIM |

|Consuming Passions (documentary) Effects of large scale consumption on food |52 mins |VID |

|production, water and air quality. Examines efforts by some communities to |2001 |333.7137 |

|reduce their ecological footprints. |France |CON |

| |Notes incl | |

|Feeding Nine Billion (documentary) Examines resources that go into food |52 mins |VID |

|production, especially western diets and their reliance on meat. Raises |2001 |338.19 |

|questions about sustainability, impact of land clearing. Links between land |France |FEE |

|degradation, health, water quality. Sustainable agricultural practices in |Notes incl. | |

|developing countries. | | |

|The Search for Global Justice (documentary) Globalisation and environmental |52 mins |VID |

|issues. Later in program, focus on Australian resource use. Resource use |2001 |338.9 |

|viewed from social justice perspective. |France |SEA |

| |Notes incl | |

|The World’s Water Crisis (documentary) Global use of water. Water and global|19 mins |VID |

|food production. Links Aust to global issues. Water conservation methods and|2003 |333.91 |

|practices. |Australia |WOR |

| |Notes incl | |

|The Day the Oceans Boiled (documentary) Explanation of global warming, |49 mins |VID |

|effects on plants and animals. Looks at need for urgent action and what |2001 |363.73874 |

|individuals and communities can do. |UK |DAY |

| |Notes incl | |

| |

|Resources that look at social justice, terrorism, distribution of resources (Students could make inferences from these |

|discussions about the effects of global warming and security that is gaining attention in Australian politics and media. The |

|resources also question whether it is valid for the media to portray the ‘War on Terror’ as having a religious foundation) |

|Letter to America (documentary) Examines how US ambitions are viewed by|45 mins |VID |

|people of the Middle East, the use of language to create ‘sides’, the |2001 |355.0272 |

|impact of consumerism on developing countries & poverty as a cause of |UK |LET |

|terrorism. | | |

|Letter from America (documentary) Set in the US, looks at attitudes |45 mins |VID |

|since September 11, to members of own community and wider world. Links |2001 |355.0272 |

|between consumerism, global poverty and terrorism are made by some |UK |LET |

|speakers. | | |

|Students could use inquiry method to examine parallels with Australian | | |

|values and attitudes, particularly those that receive media coverage. | | |

Additional resources

Papal statements on ecological damage and social justice:

▪ Pope to youth: Save planet 'before it is too late' 2 September 2007

▪

▪

▪

▪

Other Catholic sites



Australian Catholic Bishops’ Conference

▪ Social Justice Sunday statement ‘Who is my neighbour?’ download from

▪ –many resources available from this site set up by the bishops, including recent comments by Pope Benedict XVI

Caritas

▪ in particular its Spring 2007 magazine available online

Australian Government

▪

Others

Al Gore’s film An Inconvenient Truth

Reducing our ecological footprint

What is an ecological footprint?

An ecological footprint is the amount of productive land area required to sustain one human being. Globally, there are about 1.9 hectares of productive area per person, but the average ecological footprint is already 2.3 hectares, so all of us would need 1.5 Earths to live sustainably.

For more information, a helpful website is:



Why should I be concerned?

Clearing land to produce more goods and services to satisfy human demands contributes to climate change and global warming. This threatens future generations of human, animal and plant life on earth. Some species have been wiped out already and global warming is responsible for melting polar ice caps, rising sea levels and destructive weather and climate conditions such as severe drought. One major cause of climate change is the rise in carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere as a result of high levels of energy use. Increasingly world leaders have become concerned about the impact of climate change on security. Religious and community leaders have centred on the effects of these changes upon the poor and marginalised.

What does this have to do with religion?

Quite a lot actually! God made human beings stewards of creation. We have the responsibility to look after the earth, its plants, animals and all of its resources not just for our own benefit but for the good of all creation. The earth is one of God’s great gifts to us and as effective stewards we honour God and give thanks for the gift of our wonderful planet.

The need to value and respect the earth is part of the Church’s teachings about creation and social justice.

“Human beings are appointed by God as stewards of the earth to cultivate and protect it. From this fact there comes what we might call their ‘ecological conversion’, which in our time has become more urgent than ever.”

Pope John Paul II- August 2000

“We need to ‘convert’ the model of global development, required not only due to the scandal of hunger but also by environmental and energy emergencies. Yet, every person and family can and must do something to alleviate hunger…by adopting a lifestyle and consumption compatible with the safeguarding of creation and with criteria of justice…”

Pope Benedict XVI -12 Nov 2006

… And it is not ‘just a Catholic thing’. Look at this website on ‘green’ religious leaders: Any familiar faces?

How does this affect me?

Time to do some research…

1. What percentage of Australia’s total energy consumption is used by households?

2. How much carbon dioxide does the average Australian household produce annually?

3. Which household activities and appliances use most of the energy? Which of these do you use?

How big is Australia’s ecological footprint in relation to some other countries?

Research the ecological footprints for: Bangladesh, China, Indonesia, East Timor, Australia, Vietnam, Italy, New Zealand, Canada, United Kingdom, United State of America.

Rank them from smallest to largest foot prints.

Present your information using feet outlines scaled to size, to symbolise the ecological footprints of each of these countries. Within each outline write a brief description about it, e.g number of productive hectares per person.

What are indigenous leaders, like Peter Yu saying about this issue?

Use some of the online websites to calculate your own ecological footprint. Some useful sites:





A wise person once said: ’Like peace, environmentalism starts at home.’ Trace an outline of your own foot. Think about your classroom, school, home and your own bedroom and in the outline list ways that you could reduce your environmental footprint. Swap ideas with other students and produce a poster for your school on students and stewardship.

‘The Eco Worrier’

Teacher notes

For this activity you will need:

▪ Copies of ‘The Eco Worrier’ from The Weekend Australian Magazine October 6-7 2007. (Edited extract from the foreword to Blanchard, T. Green is the New Black How to Change the World with Style, Hodder Inspiration, 2007) or from the PDF

▪ Poster paper, textas

Students read article and complete Rotating Papers Activity, then continue with activities on following worksheet.

Group Activity- Rotating Papers:

1. Divide class into groups. Allocate one of the following headings to each group:

▪ Lily Cole’s ‘stand’ on excessive consumption

▪ Influences on her and reasons for her ‘stand’

▪ Examples Lily gives of excessive resource use

▪ Examples Lily gives of injustices associated with this issue

▪ Church’s teachings relevant to this issue.

2. Students write allocated heading at top of poster. Students remain seated and record ideas on poster with in an allocated time e.g 2 minutes

3. Move papers to next group. New group adds to existing ideas. Allow less time for responses as papers move

4. Once paper has returned to original group, groups read others’ ideas.

5. As a group, summarise Lily Cole’s stand against excessive consumption. Use the form of a motto or a slogan, not the one on Liliy’s t-shirt in the photo!

6. Students continue with worksheet ‘The Eco Worrier’ in groups or as individuals.

Based on Kiddey, P. and Waring, F.( 2003) Success For All: Selecting Appropriate Learning Strategies. Education Department of Western Australia.

Worksheet: ‘The Eco Worrier’

from The Weekend Australian Magazine October 6-7 2007. (Edited extract from the foreword to Blanchard, T. Green is the New Black How to Change the World with Style, Hodder Inspiration, 2007)

1. In the article Lily makes a comment about the production of cotton socks and the attitude of consumers in developed countries to the price of socks. List some of the emotive words that she uses. (emotive words- language that is deliberately chosen to provoke an emotional response in the reader or listener). Do you think she is being ‘fair’ to consumers? Give reasons for your answer.

2. What is a ‘charlatan’? Do you think that Lily is one? Explain.

3. Lily is quoted as saying: ‘I’ve grown to love ragged edges and missing buttons…What’s a real jumper with out a hole?’

What is your response to her views?

4. By only valuing what things that are ‘perfect’ many people throw out things that are still useable or have some value. Much of this adds to land fill and contributes to global warming as more goods are produced to replace what is thrown out.

Jesus teaches people to value what is less than perfect. In the society in which he lived people were also considered as ‘commodities’- capable of being used and then discarded when they were no longer useful or if they did not meet the standards of perfection of the society of that time.

Find five examples in the New Testament (preferably one from the Epistles or Letter) in which Jesus modelled or taught this value.

5. Lily quotes writer Malcolm de Chazal: “The idealist walks on tiptoe, the materialist on his heels.” Then she is reported to have said: “I’d like to think I’m relearning how to walk on my tiptoes.” What do de Chazal and Lily mean by these statements?

6. Make a list of Church teachings on social justice that could assist someone like Lily in developing an understanding about how she could relearn ‘how to walk on tiptoe’. Explain how she could put this teaching into practice in her life or how some of the things that she already does reflect these teachings.

7. Journal Activity- you will need your Bible for this. From the list you have composed for question 6, choose one idea that you think would work for you, that you could put in practice in your life. Reflect on how this idea is relevant to the message of the Beatitudes (Matt 5:1-12)

The Eco Warrior’

Show Bag Activity’

One way that organisations market their ideas and products is through show bags.

Task:

1. Create an Eco Worrier Show Bag to ‘market’ some of the concepts you have learned about in this unit. Design and decorate your sho bag with symbols and illustrations that are appropriate

Choose a minimum of items for inclusion in your show bag. They must reflect or teach about the social justice issues connected with excessive consumption and global warming. Attach a tag to each item in your show bag explaining why you chose it and what concept it illustrates e.g. a piece of cloth with information about how to recycle old clothes and why people should do it.

3. Include a 500 word information sheet outlining how young people can live Gospel and Church teachings in this area of their lives.

2. Compose a questionnaire for teenagers about their consumption of clothing and fashion goods. Your questionnaire should encourage students to consider the impact of their consumption habits e.g questions to get them to consider the ways some of these goods are produced such as wages paid to workers, what happens to the shoes/shirt etc when you are sick of it?. Include your questionnaire in your show bag.

How does what I do affect

other people and the world?

1. Why is reducing our own global footprint a justice issue?

2. How can things that an Australian student does in their home or at school affect the global ecological footprint?

3. How can conserving energy ‘do something to alleviate hunger’?

4. Part of being human means that at some point in our lives we imagine ourselves having children of your own, though when you are a teenager this seems to be a very remote future possibility. What sort of world would you like your children and grandchildren to be born into? Write a letter to them describing some of the experiences of creation that you would like them to have and why they have a moral obligation to be stewards of creation.

The Church, stewardship of the environment and social justice

1. What did Pope John Paul 11 mean by ‘ecological conversion’ in the statement he made in August 2000.

2. Find some quotations from the Old and the New Testaments that focus on the need to share resources justly and to care for the poor and the marginalised. Explain how each of these is linked to stewardship of the environment.

3. Explain how the following concepts are relevant to the issues involved in the concept of ecological footprints:

a. Church teachings about:

i. God’s Original Justice and original sin (Ch 3 SR)

ii. the Common Good (Ch. 6,pp.45-6 SR),

iii. the Principle of the Universal Destination of Goods (Ch. 5 pp36-8)

iv. the Dignity of the Human Person(Ch. 6, pp46-7)

b. the commandments (Ch. 4 of SR)

4. In June 2002 Pope John Paul II and the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew 1 issued a joint declaration on the need for a code of environmental ethics. One of the statements they made was:

Respect for creation stems from respect for human life and dignity. It is on the basis of our recognition that the world is created by God that we can discern an objective moral order within which to articulate a code of environmental ethics.

Exploring the meaning: Using the context of the statement, your student resource book, dictionaries and your prior knowledge: develop an explanation of the statement from the joint declaration. Compare your understanding with others in the class.

| | | |

|Phrase |My Understanding |Other Ideas |

| | | |

|Respect for human life and dignity | | |

| | | |

|Discern | | |

| | | |

|Objective moral order | | |

| | | |

|Articulate | | |

| | | |

|Ethics | | |

Assume that you have been given the task of writing a code of environmental ethics for Catholic teenagers, based on the teachings of the Church. Write a brief introduction for the code and six key goals. Try to use some of the following key words:

Spiritual limits renew humility conversion repent moral prayer stewardship responsibility social justice solidarity

To get some more ideas, read the full text of the statement at:

(It is not very long)

"The earth: a gift for the whole human family".

Pope Benedict XVI

Assessment: Analysis and Composition Task

Task Outline

Cartoons on social and political issues can often be used to confront and persuade people. They can encourage people to look beyond the surface, to think about an issue in some depth.

Use the internet to find cartoons on the effects of the growth of human impact on resource use and the environment.

Individual task: Use the analysis sheet attached to help you analyse the cartoons. Each person must complete TWO of these sheets and include a copy of the cartoons for marking.

Group task: When you have collected enough material, in groups, construct a powerpoint that reflects aspects of Pope Benedict’s statement of November 2006 (see p. 1). Use some of the phrases from his statement with your cartoons. The full text of the statement is at:



In your powerpoint you could include a prayer of blessing for the earth and future generations.

Individual Reflection: Australian cartoonist, Rod Emmerson, said of the cartoonist’s role ‘…you’re part of the thought processing of people, you can also be part of the healing process of the community…’

Think about the cartoon which had the most impact on you and respond to these questions:

▪ How did the cartoon challenge your sense of justice?

▪ What do you think most needs healing in the world today?

▪ What does the Church teach about the Sacrament of Reconciliation and creation? (see Chapter 4 of the Student Resource Book)

Hand in for marking:

▪ Individual Work-Two cartoon analysis sheets,

▪ Individual reflection

▪ Group work- Powerpoint Presentation

Cartoon Analysis Sheet

The issue ___________________________________

|Symbols used |Meanings conveyed |

| | |

| | |

| | |

| | |

| | |

Are any words used? How are they intended to influence the viewer?

_____________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

Portrayal of people (who looks poor?sad?greedy?)___________________________

___________________________________________________________________

Message ______________________________________________________

Audience______________________________________________________

What other opinions could people have on this issue?_______________________

______________________________________________________________

Relevant Church teachings/commandments ___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

Evaluation-How influential is the cartoon in influencing the viewer to consider the cartoonist’s message in more depth? Give a rating form 1(no influence) to 5(extremely influential) Give reasons for your choice. Use the back of this sheet-it will save paper!

Unit 10.4: Restoring God’s Justice in the World

NAME______________________

Key understandings:

Christ calls Christians to promote social justice.

Students understand that Jesus calls his Church to promote social justice

S k

Outcome: Discovering God

Students understand that people come to discover God through experiences in creation.

OOO

|Level 3L |Level 4 |Level 5 |

|The student: |The student: |The student: |

|Recognises attributes of |Understands how the |Understands how the |

|God and the gifts God has |experiences people have of |questions people have of |

|given humanity to meet the |the world around them |the world around them |

|needs of others. |can lead them to recognise |can lead them to recognise |

| |God. |God. |

|Cartoon analysis sheets | | |

|They describe the relationship between |They are able to clarify the |They are aware of the need to care |

|people and the created universe. |conflicting ways that people |for the environment and that people |

| |use the environment. |are called by God to be stewards of |

|They identify examples of how people care| |creation. |

|for, and also how they can destroy the |They can identify whether or not this |They understand God can be recognised |

|environment. |use of the environment is just, |in the care for the environment shown |

| |good for nature and society. |by those who live as stewards of |

| | |creation. |

|Personal Reflection | | |

|Understands that in doing |Students explore how different questions |They understand that the questions and |

|good for others and from |and yearnings point to people’s desire to |issues that arise for people as they |

|examples drawn from the |change the world so that it reflects the |live and relate with creation and with |

|lives of people who act justly, people |goodness of God. |others in society are opportunities to |

|can discover attributes of God. | |recognise God. |

| |Their understanding broadens to include | |

|They are aware of linkages between |how God is revealed through the people and|They are aware of the |

|living in a just way that reflects |events of their lives. They are |complexity of relationships |

|God and meets the needs of |developing an awareness of the complexity |within and between people and people |

|others in the world community. |of interrelationships within |and creation. |

| |society and the environment. | |

|Group Powerpoint | | |

|Students understand that God supports and|They recognise common questions and |Students understand a range of concepts|

|sustains the natural world.and that by |yearnings that people have as a result of |that relate to peoples’ search |

|respecting and caring for the environment|human and natural interactions. |for meaning in life. They show growing |

|people reflect God who supports | |awareness of the complexity of the |

|and sustains creation. |In doing so they are able to make simple |questions people have as they search |

| |generalisations about the search for |for peace, freedom, true happiness |

|They understand that in doing good for |meaning and justice that is common amongst|and justice. |

|others and from examples drawn from the |people. | |

|lives of people who live justly, people | |They identify the attitudes and |

|can discover attributes of God. | |values of secular society and |

| | |how they compare with what God wants |

| | |for all people and for creation. |

| | | |

Comment:

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‘…every person and family must do something to alleviate hunger...’

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How big is your ecological footprint?

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