Synod members called for the Catholic Church to deepen its theology in a way that would help people recognize “ecological sins.” According to a Vatican News summary, an “ecological conversion” was necessary to ensure that Christians understand the “gravity of sin against the environment as a sin against God, against one’s neighbour and against future generations.”

“No to individualism or indifference that makes us look at reality like a spectator, like looking at a screen,” the summary said. “Yes to an ecological conversion centered on responsibility and an integral ecology that places at its center human dignity, which is too often trampled.”

At a Vatican press briefing Oct. 9, Paolo Ruffini, prefect of the Dicastery for Communication, said that a number of interventions given by bishops, observers and delegates from other Christian churches dealt with the issue of ecology and the need for a “profound ecological conversion that passes from a technocratic paradigm to a caring paradigm.”

Ruffini reported one member saying that Christianity is “a call to an ecological morality in the knowledge that ecological sins exist, which also can be described as ‘ecocide.’” Through catechesis and particularly in the sacrament of penance, the reality and impact of ecological sins can be explained.