Catholic Perspectives on Land Use
Faithful to Otero Mesa cont.
Ricardo Ramirez, Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Las Cruces
Albuquerque Tribune, March 16, 2004

In this and other cases, the Catholic faith and other traditions show our present management of our environment, focusing on short-term extraction of nonrenewable resources at the long-term expense of other living creatures, is not in accordance with stewardship of the creation....

The ongoing controversy regarding environmental issues in general, and public lands in particular, is an issue of which I am acutely aware, and I doubt such controversy will recede in the near future. However, I reiterate that a careful reflection and study of the profound moral messages of the Christian faith leads to an inescapable conclusion that a reorientation of our approach toward the environment is strongly needed....

It is my hope that, with deeper reflection and more careful reading of Scripture in its proper context, human society might come to a more thorough and appropriate understanding of the need to protect our environment, including Otero Mesa.