Sunday, October 14th last, was designated as a Day for Life by Ireland's Catholic bishops. In a letter entitled Proclaiming the Gospel of Life, they drew attention to eight signs of what they called the growing "culture of death".
Among these were listed the alarming growth in murders, an acceptance of abortion as a normal response to an unwanted pregnancy, and the increase of road deaths due to alcohol and drugs. I am in no doubt about the importance of these issues.
Sadly, however, there is not a single mention of environmental destruction - either here in Ireland or globally - in the letter. Does this silence indicate that environmental issues are not high on the bishops' list of priorities?
If so, they would appear to be out of step with Pope John Paul. On January 17th, 2001, he told a general audience that "if we scan the regions of our planet, we immediately see that humanity has disappointed God's expectations.
"Man, especially in our time, has without hesitation devastated wooded plains and valleys, polluted waters, disfigured the earth's habitat, made the air unbreathable, disturbed the hydrogeological and atmospheric system, turned luxuriant areas into deserts, and undertaken forms of unrestrained industrialisation, degrading the 'flowerbed' - to use an image from Dante (Paradiso XXII,151) - which is the earth our dwelling place."
As Christians we believe that life, in all its diversity, is God's greatest gift. The Bible describes the tender care with which God wove the web of life on earth. It is clear that all life is interconnected and interdependent.
Today life is found in every nook and cranny of the planet, from the deepest recesses of the oceans to the wonderful diversity and beauty of the tropical rainforests or coral reefs.
Until a few decades ago human activity did not push many other species over the cliff into the abyss of extinction. This has changed dramatically, especially with the plunder of the rainforests. Tropical forests cover just 6 per cent of the world's land area but are estimated to contain over half of the planet's species.
In 1993 it was estimated by researchers at Harvard University that 27,000 species were being extinguished each year. Others put that figure higher. On November 29th last, on the BBC's State of the Planet programme, David Attenborough said that unless major protective measures are taken now we could lose up to half of the species of our world in the next 50 to 100 years.
As a missionary it was my privilege to live for over a decade among the T'boli people in the rainforest of south-eastern Mindanao. I came to appreciate that the silent haemorrhaging of biological diversity is an extraordinary impoverishment for both the human and total life community.
Many of the estimated 80,000 species of plant found in the Philippine forests are highly nutritious and could easily be added to the larder of staple foods there and beyond. Extinction would mean this rich potential for new sources of food and medicine will never come to fruition.
Species extinction is not just a Third World problem. In Ireland and Britain intensive petrochemical, agricultural, and building programmes has taken a huge toll on the environment. Three species of wild flower - corncockle, corn chamomile, and shepherd's needle - have become extinct in recent years.
Until the 1950s clumps of cowslips, buttercups, bluebells, and primroses decorated most fields. They have almost all vanished and been replaced by ubiquitous, monotonous rye grass.
It is estimated that the number of endangered bird species grew by 50 per cent between 1993 and 2000. The corncrake, yellowhammer, corn bunting, lark, and cuckoo have almost disappeared. Even thrush and sparrow numbers are down significantly. We are literally clearing our skies and silencing the dawn chorus.
Experts believe that the disappearance of bird species is due to intensive agriculture and the cutting of hedgerows. The Wildlife Act of 1976 was amended in 1999 and restricts hedge cutting between April 1st and August 30th. To date, as far as I know, there has not been a single prosecution under the Act. County councils are one of the worst culprits.
In his address last January the Pope stated that "we must encourage and support the 'ecological conversion' which in recent decades has made humanity more sensitive to the catastrophe to which it has been heading." I take that to mean that a concern for all life ought to be an integral part of Proclaiming the Gospel of Life.
Sean McDonagh is a Columban priest. His book Why Are We Deaf to the Cry of the Earth will be published next month