Churches in India Observe Prayer for Creation

File photo of Assam flood.

The churches in India have observed the day of prayer for the creation on Sept. 1, amid disastrous floods wiping out numerous lives and homes in various parts of the country.

Pope Francis had urged all Christians to mark the day of prayer for the environment. Churches in India made especial prayers for the suffering victims of the current deluge in Assam, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat and other parts of the country.

In a statement from the Vatican, Pope Francis told that the impact of climate change affects, essentially, those who live in poverty in every corner of the globe.

He called those in positions of social, economic, political or cultural fields to challenge to care for creation and for all of humanity. He also insisted them to "attend to the needs of the marginalized, but above all to respond to the plea of millions and support the consensus of the world for the healing of our wounded creation."

Cardinal Telesphore Toppo, Archbishop of Ranchi, according to Crux, spoke about the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation.

"To be true witnesses of Christ, we must respond to the ecological crisis through a deep spiritual conversion, which necessarily implies a sensitivity to the tribal and the most marginalized parts of society: migrants, landless peasants and day laborers," said Toppo.

"Thanks to the richness that comes from the diversity of tribes, languages and people, India can be the model for the world community," he added.

Toppo, who is also from the tribal background, called the government officials, policy makers, religious leaders, and industrial reps to redefine the development and ward off a threatening ecological devastation.

"The integral development of the human person created in the image of God, must be our joint venture for the care of our common home," he said

The World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation was established by the Orthodox Church in 1989 and adopted into the Catholic calendar in 2015.