Nearing the end of his Lenten fast, priest ecologist talks of frustration
On the 35th day of his Lenten fast, Dr. John McCarthy, SJ, is frustrated that there is neither a protected areas strategy nor a land-use planning process in place for Newfoundland and Labrador. "Only 4.52 percent of the province is legislatively protected, making it the third lowest in Canada," says McCarthy.
It is disheartening statistics like these that have led McCarthy to this time of fasting and prayer. For years, the Jesuit priest has considered engaging in some form of public witness to the value of Canada's wildlands. McCarthy has been working for years to protect the environment, particularly the beauty and diversity of his native Newfoundland and Labrador.
"I think that we should be following the positive lead of Nova Scotia," says McCarthy. "They have committed to protect 12 percent of the province by 2015."
Nova Scotia's example is what gives McCarthy hope in his fasting and prayer. McCarthy began the water and juice fast on Ash Wednesday, (February 25), the Christian holiday that opens Lent, the season of preparation for Easter. He is inviting people to reflect on the broader issue of how faith can play a role in our reverence for and protection of the environment.
Years of research, publication and public speaking, combined with countless volunteer hours have brought him to this place. "Within me is a strong desire to protect and care for the land that I have come to love," says McCarthy, from Corner Brook, NL, when asked why he chose to enter into this fast.
Born in St. John's, NL, McCarthy was ordained a Jesuit priest in 1994, and completed his PhD in boreal forest ecology at the University of British Columbia in 2004. For the past six years he has co-chaired the provincially appointed Wilderness and Ecological Reserves Advisory Council. He has published in both ecological science and theology and was the inaugural Gold Prize winner of the Canadian Geographic Environment Award (Lands and Forests Category) for his work in boreal forest conservation in Newfoundland.
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