A Journey for Climate Justice and the Restoration of Creation
On this Good Friday when Jesus Christ bore the Cross for the salvation of all creatures—the Catholic Climate Action together with the JPIC (Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation) team of the Consolata Missionaries in South Korea held a special prayer pilgrimage in the heart of Seoul.
By Kyoung Ho Han *
This “Stations of the Cross for Ecological Conversion” was attended by 52 participants who united in prayer for climate justice and the healing of God’s creation, reaffirming their mission as ecological apostles.
The Reality of the Climate Crisis in Seoul
The metropolis of Seoul is suffering from severe air pollution caused by fine dust and yellow dust from China. This degradation is not merely an environmental issue—it endangers the health and life of all people, particularly the most vulnerable.
Globally, the climate crisis continues to cause frequent natural disasters and disproportionately affects the poor and marginalized. In such a reality, we are called to pray and act for the healing and restoration of God’s creation.
The Way of the Cross for ecological conversion and climate justice began at 11.30 a.m. in Gwanghwamun and ended in Myeongdong Cathedral after about an hour and a half. Along the way, the Stations of the Cross guided participants to meditate deeply on the Passion of Christ, while remembering all creatures created by God: air, water, earth, living beings and the human community.
At each station, we prayed for the healing of the ecosystems, the restoration of the created order, and for solidarity with those suffering due to climate impacts, especially the poor and excluded; and for the vocation to ecological mission as caretakers of God’s creation.
Ecological Conversion
This pilgrimage was more than a devotional act, it was a lived expression of ecological conversion, a journey of repentance for the harm done to creation, and a commitment to reconciliation with God, nature, and neighbor. It was a journey of reconciliation and responsibility.
The love and sacrifice of Christ on the Cross calls us to love and care for all creatures. This spirit echoes the vision of Laudato Si’, Pope Francis’ encyclical on integral ecology.
Our commitment: to live as apostles of ecology
In response to the climate crisis, we commit ourselves to practice sustainable lifestyles (saving energy, reducing plastic, plant-based food); be in solidarity with the poor affected by the ecological crisis and promote ecological education in church and civil communities.
This path of prayer is only the beginning of a concrete commitment to the custody of Creation. In the face of the climate crisis and in the Holy Year, let us renew our hope and love as apostles of ecology. Let us pray and act so that the whole of creation may once again be full of life, and so that the world may be a sign of justice and peace. “The earth is the Lord’s and all that fills it” (Psalm 24:1).
* Father Kyoung Ho Han, IMC, member of the National Reconciliation Commission.
