Spokane bishop calls for prayers, outreach as wildfires ravage area
Bishop Thomas A. Daly of Spokane urges prayer and outreach for residents displaced by the Spokane Complex wildfires that destroyed over 600 homes and displaced more than 65,000 people. He thanks first responders, firefighters, law enforcement, medical staff and volunteers for their efforts and calls on the faithful to stay informed, heed evacuation orders and support neighbors. The Archdiocese of Seattle is requesting donations to Catholic Charities Eastern Washington to aid victims of the fires. Authorities have charged a 37‑year‑old man with first‑degree arson after evidence suggests one of the fires may have been human‑originated.
about 2 months ago
The Spokane region is confronting a massive wildfire complex that has destroyed hundreds of homes and businesses, forced tens of thousands of residents to evacuate, and prompted Bishop Thomas A. Daly to call for prayers, solidarity, and material assistance for those affected. 1 2 3
Catholic response to natural disasters and human responsibility
Natural disasters call forth compassion, practical solidarity, moral discernment, and responsible stewardship. Catholic teaching distinguishes between events beyond direct human control—such as earthquakes—and disasters intensified by human negligence or environmental degradation. In every case, the Christian response is to protect human life, assist those who suffer, examine the causes of preventable harm, and care responsibly for creation.
The earth is not human property in an absolute sense. It is a gift from God, and human beings are appointed as stewards—responsible caretakers rather than unlimited masters. Pope Benedict XVI explains that creation is “entrusted to our responsibility” and that humanity cannot regard itself as “creation’s absolute master.” Stewardship requires protecting the earth, using its fruits justly, and ensuring that future generations can live with dignity.
This stewardship is connected with the dignity of every human person. Environmental decisions are not merely technical or political matters: they affect access to life’s necessities, including food, water, health, housing, and secure livelihoods. Pope John Paul II taught that human beings are responsible for the consequences of their actions not only for themselves but also for future generations, and that the goods of the earth cannot rightly be claimed by a few for themselves alone.
The International Theological Commission therefore rejects the idea that Christian dominion authorizes unlimited exploitation. Human “lordship” over creation is ministerial, meaning it is a service carried out under God’s authority. Reckless development and depletion of natural resources contradict this vocation.
The Church does not teach that every disaster is directly caused by human sin. Some disasters arise from natural processes that human beings cannot control. Pope Francis specifically distinguished uncontrollable disasters, such as earthquakes, from disasters attributable to human activity or neglect.
This distinction matters pastorally and morally:
For example, an earthquake may be unavoidable, but unsafe construction, inadequate emergency planning, corruption, or failure to maintain infrastructure can greatly increase the number of deaths. Pope Francis pointed to the flood that destroyed Derna in Libya and noted the simultaneous collapse of two dams, illustrating how natural forces and human responsibility can intersect.
The Catholic response therefore avoids two opposite errors. The first is fatalism, the belief that nothing can be done because disasters are “acts of nature.” The second is unjust accusation, in which every tragedy is attributed simplistically to a particular person, group, or divine judgment. Sound moral reasoning asks which aspects were unavoidable and which were worsened or made preventable by human choices.
Catholic teaching recognizes that human activity can intensify environmental instability and increase the vulnerability of communities. The International Theological Commission observes that modern technological and economic development has brought genuine benefits, but has also produced pollution, toxic waste, habitat destruction, and the overexploitation of resources. It emphasizes that nature has limits and cannot indefinitely recover from relentless exploitation.
Pope Francis states that the unusually rapid climate changes of recent decades cannot be explained adequately by natural causes alone and identifies the increase of greenhouse gases as the decisive factor. The Catholic position is therefore not that every individual storm, flood, wildfire, or drought can be assigned to one cause. Rather, human activity can alter environmental conditions in ways that increase the frequency, severity, or social consequences of certain disasters.
Pope Francis has also described environmental destruction as having both a personal and a structural dimension. It can involve individual selfishness, but also economic and political systems that permit pollution, exploitation, and the transfer of costs onto the poor.
This is why the Church speaks of integral human development. Environmental protection cannot be separated from poverty reduction, public health, food security, employment, migration, and peace. Pope Benedict XVI taught that environmental and climate protection require international cooperation and solidarity with weaker regions, especially because the costs of consuming shared resources should not be imposed on other peoples or future generations.
When disaster strikes, the immediate Catholic response is the defense of human dignity. The Church’s concern is not abstract concern for nature detached from people. The protection of creation serves the human person, especially the vulnerable.
Pope Francis has emphasized that the poor often contribute least to environmental problems while suffering the greatest damage. He identifies climate change, biodiversity loss, food insecurity, environmental degradation, and global inequality as interconnected threats to the human family.
Practical Christian responsibility includes:
Pope Leo XIV’s message following the Crans-Montana fire expresses this pastoral dimension. He acknowledged the grief of families, encouraged them to seek support in priests and Christian communities, and directed attention to Christ’s solidarity with human suffering through the Cross.
The Church’s response is therefore both material and spiritual. Prayer, mourning, the works of mercy, pastoral accompaniment, and practical aid belong together. Prayer must not become an excuse for inaction; charitable action must not exclude the spiritual care of those confronting death, grief, trauma, or uncertainty.
Disasters reveal whether society understands itself as a community or merely as a collection of individuals. Pope Francis has repeatedly warned against the loss of responsibility for one’s brothers and sisters. Reflecting on the tragedy of migrants who died while seeking safety, he invoked the biblical question: “Where is your brother?” He criticized the attitude that says, in effect, “It is not my concern,” while suffering people are left without assistance.
This principle applies directly to natural disasters. A disaster in another region or country is not morally irrelevant merely because it is geographically distant. Catholic solidarity may take the form of:
The Dicastery for the Eastern Churches similarly presents financial assistance as a concrete expression of shared responsibility for communities living amid destruction and danger. Giving is not only beneficial to those receiving assistance; it also guards donors against becoming passive before human suffering.
Catholic teaching recognizes that responsibility exists at several levels.
Individuals should cultivate habits of moderation, avoid waste, use resources responsibly, and take reasonable steps to protect their households and neighbors. This includes learning emergency procedures, preparing for foreseeable hazards, heeding evacuation orders, and assisting those who cannot protect themselves.
Personal responsibility should not be reduced to consumer choices alone. Individuals also have civic responsibilities: participating in public life, supporting prudent policies, demanding transparency, and resisting indifference toward poor and vulnerable communities.
Businesses have a duty not to pursue profit through practices that knowingly endanger communities, pollute shared resources, or shift environmental costs onto the poor and future generations. Pope Benedict XVI insists that the economic and social costs of using shared resources should be recognized transparently and borne by those who incur them, rather than imposed on others.
Governments have a particularly serious responsibility because they establish building standards, emergency systems, environmental protections, land-use policies, public infrastructure, and disaster-response mechanisms. They must act for the common good rather than for short-term political or economic interests.
Pope Benedict XVI called upon governments and international leaders to provide appropriate guidance, cooperate across national boundaries, protect resources and climate, and promote solidarity with weaker regions. Pope Francis likewise called for urgent collective action to strengthen resilience and protect both people and nature.
Because environmental systems and disasters cross national borders, no country can address every problem alone. International cooperation is required for climate policy, humanitarian relief, migration, scientific research, disaster preparation, and equitable access to resources. Such cooperation must respect the principle of solidarity: stronger nations should not benefit from arrangements that leave poorer nations to bear disproportionate harm.
Catholic teaching does not offer a simplistic explanation for why a particular disaster happened or why particular people suffered. In speaking to families affected by the Crans-Montana fire, Pope Leo XIV explicitly acknowledged that he could not explain why such a trial had been permitted. He directed them instead to Christ crucified and risen, whose suffering reveals that God is not distant from human pain.
This does not eliminate grief or remove the need to investigate negligence. Christian hope is not denial of tragedy. It means that death and suffering do not have the final word because Christ has entered into suffering and conquered death through the Resurrection. Pope Leo XIV expressed this hope by affirming that neither suffering nor separation can ultimately separate the faithful from the love of Christ.
Accordingly, a Catholic response holds together four truths:
The Catholic response to natural disasters is neither passive resignation nor environmental alarm detached from human dignity. It is a vocation to stewardship, solidarity, justice, mercy, and hope.
Some disasters cannot be prevented, but their human consequences can often be reduced. Human beings are accountable for pollution, environmental destruction, unsafe systems, neglected infrastructure, and policies that expose the poor to disproportionate danger. At the same time, those already suffering must be met first with compassion rather than blame.
To care for creation is therefore to care for one’s neighbor. The Church calls individuals, communities, governments, and international institutions to protect human life, assist victims, correct preventable causes, and hand on a habitable world to future generations.