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When faith turns green

2022-06-28T19:15:06.820Z


In France, more and more religious communities are devoting their land to organic farming, often in partnership with lay people. An ecological breath that is spreading to their Belgian neighbors, in the wake of the 2015 encyclical, in which Pope Francis advocates...


Every day, Vincent Swinnen and Muriel Vandermeulen passed in front of a meadow at the foot of the abbey of Carmel de Mehagne, in Liège, in the east of Belgium.

For this couple of market gardeners, the fallow field seemed ideal for their agro-ecological project, a cooperative called Vent de Terre: good quality land, on a plateau sheltered from the risk of flooding, and close to the house. they had just moved into with their two children.

Only problem: the meadow, property of the abbey, was neither for sale nor for rent.

But the couple have never been one to give up on their dreams.

In professional retraining and just returned from training in agroecology with the association Terre et Humanisme de Pierre Rabhi,

".

Finding land in an urban area, as is the case on the outskirts of Liège, is an arduous task: green and especially arable spaces are becoming increasingly rare.

This vast meadow, where a few cows peacefully grazed, made eyes at them.

Read alsoBroken down, organic is looking for a second wind

One day, they said to themselves: “

And if we were going to ring the bell at the abbey?

".

Vincent then armed himself with courage and crossed the imposing stone enclosure.

He fell at the right time: “

Five years earlier, we would have done nothing.

But there, a few years after Laudato Si', we thought it was worth thinking about,

" recalls Sister Ruth Langemann, local leader of the Chemin Neuf community who has occupied the abbey since 2012.

In 2015, the Pope called for integral ecology

Since the publication by Pope Francis in 2015 of the encyclical Laudato Si', a kind of open letter "

on the safeguarding of the common home

", the Catholic Church has been involved in "

integral ecology

": an approach that intersects issues of society, social justice and equity with the climate crisis.

With more than 55,000 churches and places of worship in France alone, the Catholic response to climate change involves in particular the conversion of its heritage: many religious communities, such as that of Chemin Neuf, seek to make their land available to initiatives ecological - religious as well as secular.

Read alsoDiscover the initiatives and actors of change in Le Figaro tomorrow

A blessing for projects like Vent de Terre.

In agreement with the abbey, the cooperative inaugurated the Carmel gardens in 2018: today they cultivate 180 fruit trees and 80 kinds of vegetables which they sell to the neighborhood.

In the store, a recently built wooden cabin, two market gardeners label dozens of bottles of organic apple juice.

On the other side of the field, under one of the six greenhouses that protect them from the Belgian “

drache

” (downpour), two trainees are picking rows of turnips that will be ready just in time for the spring harvest.

The old meadow also hosts two natural ponds, an “

educational

” vegetable garden and growing biodiversity.

"

When we got here, there wasn't even a worm

“, remembers Muriel, installed near the wood stove in the dome where she leads workshops for children.

Now we have butterflies, ducks coming to the pond, a heron, a kingfisher.

And full of little insects

,” she rejoices, while keeping an eye on her dog Fiji, who enjoys annoying the chickens.

The cooperative cultivates the land of the abbey for free, with a 45-year lease.

Only requirement?

Practice agriculture in harmony with nature.

A Church in

ecological “

conversion ”

"

It's not yet a tidal wave, but there are more and more projects,

" says Pascal Balmand, delegate for integral ecology at the conference of bishops of France.

The idea is that Creation is given to us by the Lord, and it is therefore up to us to take care of it,

” he summarizes.

In 2019, the ten members of the permanent council of the bishops of France chose to devote the following three years to looking into the subject of integral ecology.

They reflected on the crucial, major questions that await a word from the Church today.

And they very quickly concluded that the ecological question was the most urgent,

explains Pascal Balmand.

70 dioceses among the 102 present in France have already appointed a referent in integral ecology, responsible for leading an ecological conversion in the community.

"

For me, Laudato Si' is almost a cry that Pope Francis has uttered: we are sinning against nature,

" explains Sister Ruth Langemann of the Carmel Abbey of Mehagne.

At the age of 21, when the German woman joined the Chemin Neuf Catholic community with an ecumenical vocation, her efforts to introduce ecological gestures were viewed with surprise: "

I was trying to slowly introduce compost, recycling, change the washing-up liquid… But I was a bit alone

”.

Thirty years later, Laudato Si' had its effect: "

We wondered: we had to do something with these abbeys entrusted to us, with a lot of land

", explains Sister Ruth, her eyes sparkling with enthusiasm, from a small room in the abbey where she welcomes the visits.

If the Church breathes that breath, it can have incredible repercussions.

Because it is everywhere on the planet!

», rejoices Muriel Vandermeulen.

Read alsoEcology: sheep invite themselves into companies

As Christians, we have a responsibility towards creation, nature and human beings

”, estimates Joaquim Lesne, checked shirt and glasses, sitting in the living room of his roommate, at the foot of a brick church in the center of Liege.

Graduated with a master's degree in agroecology, the 25-year-old dreams of seeing the Church become the engine of a real "

conversion

" - and not only transition - ecological.

Inspired by the growing movement in France, he himself approached the bishop of Liège.

Since September 2020, Joaquim has held the position of referent in integral ecology with the diocese of Liège - the first of this role in Belgium.

Less than two years later, many similar positions have opened up in the Belgian dioceses.

"

Only Brussels doesn't have a full-time employee on this,

” proudly explains the young man.

The value of small steps

If the French Church is ahead of its Belgian neighbors in ecology, it is in particular thanks to the Green Church movement.

Launched in 2015, following the COP21, this ecumenical association brings together the Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox churches for the same objective: to inspire Christian communities to an "

ecological conversion

".

Eglise Verte works in the form of a label which offers communities the opportunity to carry out an eco-diagnosis evaluating their ecological practices, then concrete advice on how to improve them.

More than 700 Christian communities are now labeled with different levels ranging from the “

Graine de Sénevé

” to the “

Cèdre du Liban

”.

Yet few communities and farms have achieved this demanding label.

"

Obviously, on the environmental and social level, there are emergencies.

But we must also recognize the value of small steps.

Nothing is ever useless, the important thing is to get started,

” explains Pascal Balmand who, in addition to his role with the French bishops’ conference, also represents the Catholic Church within Eglise Verte. .

Read alsoGerman churches go green

For the Catholic nuns of the abbey of Boulaur, in the Gers, the ecological awakening coincided with an economic necessity.

On the 45-hectare farm, the sisters produce cereals, jams, fruit and vegetables and cheese - all organically.

When the need to rebuild their farm appeared following the arrival of seven new members, the community launched a participatory project, with "

at heart to be careful to choose as many ecological options as possible

», explains Sister Anne, responsible for communication and the abbey site restructuring project.

Installation of a hill reservoir to irrigate part of the plantations by recovering water from the roofs, drying hay in the barn, dry toilets, bricks made from earth from the earthworks... "

It's little things like that that, taken end to end, make it possible to have a relatively virtuous system

,” she explains.

While the work is now coming to an end, the Boulaur abbey project inspires vocations: more than 500 volunteers have accompanied the site, and the community can no longer even respond to the dozens of internship requests it receives.

"

For us, it is a beautiful sign that there is a real thirst on the part of our contemporaries, not only on the theoretical level, but also to take concrete examples and put them into practice

”, rejoices Sister Anne.

Read alsoMeditation, prayer, economic activity… The new youth of the abbeys

1000 kilometers away, a community of well-known Belgian monks has also turned to ecology, without waiting for the call of Pope Francis.

"

We made a vow of stability, and from the moment you live in a particular place, you take a little more care of it, you are more attentive to it

," says Father Damien, from the community of Trappist fathers in Notre-Dame de Scourmont abbey founded in 1850, where Chimay beer is brewed, well known to connoisseurs.

These Trappist brewers claim to have turned to ecology more than thirty years ago in the face of the transformation of the landscape under the pressures of climate change: the trees are falling ill, the lawns can no longer resist the scorching summers..."

It can only challenge and remind us of our own responsibility, which is all the greater when we are a community, a company, a foundation.

We have more levers that we can activate

”, summarizes the Father Abbot.

The success of Chimay beer prompted the monks to entrust its production to a company.

The abbot sits on his board of directors to ensure compliance with the rules of Trappist production: beer must be made within the abbey, and the proceeds of its sale must be donated to the monastic community or to charities.

"

When I arrived at Chimay, what struck me was that there is no absolute quest for performance

recalls Xavier Pirlot, CEO of Chimay.

He was thus able to invest in a wind turbine and the installation of photovoltaic panels.

"

It will allow us to be in self-consumption [of energy] up to 75 to 85%

", assures Xavier Pirlot.

Chimay also plans to soon launch a biomethanation unit to produce biogas and electricity from green waste.

We are one of the first breweries in Belgium to hire a young agricultural engineer just to reduce our ecological footprint,

” he enthuses.

The CEO and the abbot agree: it is thanks to the success of their beer that Chimay and the Abbey of Scourmont have the necessary funds to be at the forefront at the ecological level.

"

Not all abbeys have a brewery with a world famous beer

”, admits Father Damien: “

On the other hand, in all abbeys, you feel that you are changing the world

”.

“The Church cannot make its transition alone”

The Church's ecological transition, however, is encountering resistance from some aging communities.

After nearly two years as a referent in integral ecology, Joaquim Lesne, in Liège, does not hide his disappointment.

"

Christians are not better than the others

", he notes: "

As long as there is no understanding of the issues and motivation, if you offer a little more than sorting your waste, you will annoy the people.

Especially since the Christian communities in Belgium are often old and have many habits that should not be rushed

".

To the point of being sometimes forced to give up ambitious projects.

The diocese of Liège alone has more than 3000 hectares which are rented through a call for tenders.

The referent in integral ecology would like to encourage the managers of these lands, like those of other dioceses, to manage these lands with demanding environmental and social criteria.

But above all, the young man hopes that ecology will make it possible to build bridges between the Church, splashed by numerous scandals, and the laity: “

The Church cannot make its transition alone.

It is an ecosystemic vision: this external presence can teach us things

”.

Read alsoThese Catholic currents engaged in the field of ecology

The good understanding between the nuns of the Carmel Abbey of Mehagne and their market gardening neighbors of Vent de Terre is proof of this.

This collaboration across spiritual differences is beginning to inspire other communities.

From the windows of the red-brick abbey, the shouts of the market gardeners of Vent de Terre resound, punctuated every half hour by the sound of the church bells.

As soon as the site was inaugurated, several nuns from the community put

their “hands on the ground

” to volunteer to help the cooperative on Fridays.

Sister Ruth notably ventured into planting hedges.

"

It broke my back

she laughs.

Muriel, educated in a Catholic family but who stopped going to the Church as soon as she had the chance, returns the favor: the Chemin Vert community “

reconciles her with the Church

”.

"

Finally, they see things like us, but with other words

," she says.

This report won the 2nd Prize (endowed with €1,500) of the European Young Reporter Prize 2022 – French-speaking countries category – of which Le Figaro is a partner.

The European Young Reporter Prize, a variation of the Reporters d'Espoirs Prize created in 2004

Since 2004, the Prix Reporters d'Espoirs has honored journalists, media innovators, and student-future media professionals, for their subjects covered from the “

problem + solution

” angle.

It has distinguished more than 110 laureates since its creation, and will celebrate its 12th edition in 2022.

The Prize has enabled journalists to defend their work within their editorial staff, to gain notoriety with the public, to maintain or develop their sections, to convince their media of the relevance of solution journalism, etc.

The Prize is part of the mission of Reporters d'Espoirs "

for information and media that make you want to act

".

Source: lefigaro

All news articles on 2022-06-28

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