Dominion, Duty, and the Moral Order of the Created World
In recent decades, concern for the environment has increasingly taken on the character of a moral crusade. “Environmentalism” is often presented not merely as prudent care for nature, but as a quasi-religious ideology with its own dogmas, sins, and rites of atonement. In many of its modern forms, this movement subtly displaces God, elevates creation above man, and reduces human dignity to a liability rather than a gift.
The Catholic Church, however, has always taught a far older, deeper, and more coherent doctrine regarding man’s relationship to the created world – one rooted not in ideology, but in Divine Revelation, natural law, and right reason. Authentic Catholic stewardship of creation stands in clear contrast to secular environmentalism, precisely because it places God at the center, man in his proper place, and creation in ordered service to both.
Creation Belongs to God, Not to Man – or to the State
Sacred Scripture opens with a foundational truth: “In the beginning God created heaven and earth” (Genesis 1:1). Creation is not self-generated, nor is it autonomous. It belongs to God by right of creation, preservation, and governance. Man does not “own” the earth in an absolute sense, nor does the state or any collective authority.
This truth immediately distinguishes Catholic teaching from modern environmental ideologies that treat the earth as a self-sustaining organism, a sacred entity, or an ultimate moral reference point. Such views subtly revive ancient paganism, replacing the Creator with the created.
The Catechism of the Council of Trent teaches that God created the world “for His own glory and for the use of man,” thereby establishing a hierarchy: God first, man second, the rest of creation ordered beneath him. This hierarchy is not exploitative; it is moral and purposeful.
Dominion Is a Moral Trust, Not a License for Abuse
God’s command in Genesis – “Fill the earth and subdue it” (Genesis 1:28) – has often been caricatured as a justification for reckless exploitation. In Catholic theology, however, dominion is never arbitrary. It is a moral trust governed by reason, justice, and charity.
St. Thomas Aquinas explains that man’s dominion over material creation flows from his rational nature. Because of all material creation, man alone possesses a rational soul. This uniquely human soul is composed of an intellect and will, powers which Catholic theology refers to as ‘the higher faculties’ of man. God gave man an intellect to know the truth and a will to choose the good. Genesis refers to this reality when it says, “God created man to His own image: to the image of God He created him: male and female He created them” (1:27). It is precisely on account of his intellect and will that man is capable of ordering material things toward their proper ends (Summa Theologiae, I, q. 96). This dominion is therefore ministerial, not tyrannical.
Pre-Vatican II moral theologians consistently taught that wastefulness, cruelty to animals, and reckless destruction of resources are sinful – not because nature has rights superior to man, but because such actions violate temperance, justice, and prudence. Note, it is sinful for man to knowingly and willfully choose to use any material creation contrary towards its proper end. This is a universal truth that flows from natural law. Sadly, modern man has largely forgotten or chosen to ignore this essential truth.
The Error of Modern Environmentalism
Modern environmentalism frequently inverts the moral order. Instead of creation serving man for the glory of God, man is portrayed as a parasite or threat to the planet. Human fertility is treated as a problem, economic development as a crime, and technological progress as inherently suspect.
This inversion leads to grave moral errors. Policies justified “for the planet” increasingly promote contraception, sterilization, abortion, and even euthanasia – evils long condemned by the Church. In such systems, human life becomes expendable in service of an abstract ecological ideal. For more, see The Fatima Center video, “The False Religion of Environmentalism” by Father Shannon Collins.
Pope Pius XI warned against such distortions when he condemned ideologies that subordinate the human person to material or collective ends (Quadragesimo Anno). Any system that sacrifices human dignity for environmental goals stands condemned by Catholic moral teaching.
Stewardship Begins with the Natural Law
Authentic Catholic stewardship is rooted in the natural law, which recognizes that material goods exist for the sustenance of human life and the common good. The earth is not to be worshipped, nor is it to be ravaged. It is to be used wisely, cultivated responsibly, and preserved prudently.
This includes:
- Responsible agriculture and husbandry
- Respect for animals as creatures of God
- Avoidance of needless waste
- Care for local environments insofar as they affect human health and livelihood
- Such stewardship is concrete and moral – not ideological or apocalyptic.
The Church never taught that untouched “wilderness” is morally superior to cultivated land. On the contrary, cultivation – when done rightly – is a fulfillment of man’s vocation as a cooperator with God’s providence.
Poverty, Simplicity, and Detachment – Not Ideology
Catholic tradition emphasizes simplicity of life, detachment from excess, and moderation in consumption – but for spiritual reasons, not environmental alarmism. The saints embraced poverty to free the soul for God, not to “save the planet.”
St. Francis of Assisi is frequently misappropriated as a patron of modern environmentalism. Yet his love for creation flowed from his love for the Creator, and he never denied man’s superiority or God-given authority over nature. True stewardship flows from virtue, not fear. It is an expression of temperance, not submission to secular narratives of guilt and catastrophe.
The Eschatological Perspective
Catholic teaching also guards against an exaggerated fixation on preserving the material world as if it were eternal. Scripture is clear that the present order will pass away and be renewed. “But the day of the Lord shall come as a thief, in which the heavens shall pass away with great violence, and the elements shall be melted with heat, and the earth and the works which are in it, shall be burnt up … We look for new heavens and a new earth” (2 Peter 3:10, 13).
This eschatological horizon prevents idolatry. The earth is good but it is not an ultimate good. Man has an immortal soul. His soul will never cease to exist. The material creation of this present world will cease to exist. Reason thus informs us that just one immortal human soul is worth more than all the created material reality of this world. This is the perspective of Catholic Faith. Thus, efforts to preserve creation must never eclipse concern for the salvation of souls, which remains the supreme law of the Church.
Note the lesson from the first pages of Scripture: In every day of Creation, God decrees “it was good” (Genesis 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25); however, God only affirms that creation is “very good” (Genesis 1:31) after He creates man and gives man stewardship over all creation. God clearly defined and established a rightly ordered hierarchy in creation.
Conclusion: Right Order Restored
Environmentalism, when severed from God, becomes another modern idol – one that often masks hostility toward man himself. Catholic stewardship, by contrast, restores right order: God as Creator, man as steward, creation as servant to divine glory and human flourishing.
When Catholics recover this vision, they can reject both reckless exploitation and ideological environmentalism, embracing instead a sober, virtuous, and God-centered care for the world entrusted to them.
To care for creation rightly is not to worship it – but to use it wisely, gratefully, and reverently, always remembering that “the earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof” (Psalm 23:1).
See also the conference video, “Care of the Environment: The New Greatest Commandment?” by Christopher Ferrara (Seattle, 2019).