Some Ecological statements
by Pope John Paul II

"Christians, in particular, realise that their responsibility within creation and their duty towards nature and the Creator are an essential part of their faith"
(Pope John Paul New Year’s Day 1990)

"If we scan the regions of our planet, we immediately see that humanity has disappointed God's expectations. Man, especially in our time, has without hesitation devastated wooded plains and valleys, polluted waters, disfigured the earth's habitat, made the air unbreathable, disturbed the hydrogeological and atmospheric spheres and turned luxuriant areas into deserts and undertaken forms of unrestrained industrialization, humiliating the flower-garden of the universe to use the image of Dante Alighieri (Paradiso, XXII, 151.). We must therefore encourage and support the 'ecological conversion' which in recent decades has made humanity more sensitive to the catastrophe to which it has been heading. Man is no longer the Creator's 'steward', but an autonomous despot, who is finally beginning to understand that he must stop at the edge of the abyss".
(Pope John Paul II 17 January 2001)

"Francis and Clare not only became brother and sister to every human being but to all animate and inanimate creatures. In contemplating nature, when Francis discovers that everything speaks to him of God, his eyes are filled with joy and he exclaims in the Canticle of Brother Sun: everything "... from you, Most High, bears significance" (FF 263). "Dear young people, may you too learn to look at your neighbour and at creation with God’s eyes. Mainly respect its summit, which is the human person. At the school of such excellent teachers, learn the careful and attentive use of goods. Do your utmost to see that they are better distributed and shared, with full respect for the rights of every person. In reading the great book of creation, may your spirit open to grateful praise to the Creator." Pope's address to "Young People in Assisi," August 26, 2001

http://www.christian-ecology.org.uk/catholic.htm

http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/speeches/2001/documents/hf_jp-ii_spe_20010818_giovani-assisi_en.html