EURO-ECO 2007 Hanover 4 - 5 December 2007	Environmental and Engineering Aspects for sustainable living
	European Academy of Natural Sciences, Hanover European Scientific Society, Hanover Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, Moscow

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For more than 40 years Christian churches are interested to closely co-operate between themselves as well as to establish a dialogue with the public and especially also with the representatives of science and technology. Their effort aims to focus the public attention at moral principles valid for all the mankind and able to influence the future development of our planet Earth. The problems under discussion have a large social impact.

The Catholic church - taking as its moral obligation to express its standpoints to actual social problems of the mankind - has published besides other documents the so-called social papal Encyclical Letters. The basic ideas of these documents are usually acceptable for other churches of Christian orientation as well as for many other organisations of various religions. Because the principal orientation of these standpoints is focussed on the common good, they seem to be acceptable for all the mankind including atheists. Unfortunately many people - even believers and Catholic - do not know enough about these documents.

The social Encyclical Letters go back to Rerum novarum (1891) and Quadragesimo anno (1931). Centesimus annus (1991) written by John Paul II expresses ideas concerning social human ecology, care of the environment as well as fundamental ethical values. From the point of view of geoethics it is important to register the basic thesis of this document: the God has given the Earth to the whole human kind without excluding or preferring anybody.

The papal council Iustitia et pax has published in 2004 the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church which has been translated into many languages. This Compendium presents a view of the Church on the man (as an integral human being) as well as on his position in the society. Moral principles and obligations as well as ethical points of view are emphasised in a large extent. There are not concrete instructions how to behave in any situation but basic standpoints to various actual problems of the contemporary world are exposed.

Taking into consideration the large extent of presented problems we cannot be surprised that one among 20 chapters of the Compendium (nr. 10) pays attention to the environment safeguarding giving many useful impulses and remarks also for the further development of geoethics.

The importance and actuality of the Compendium consists in following facts:

1. it can serve as a solid basis for a dialogue between various churches, religious organisations and non-believers;

2. it can serve as a good and fruitful basis for politicians and statesmen to understand substantial principles of the Christian doctrine and to find how to use them in their activities in favour of the common good;

3. it can serve as a challenge for reflections about actual global problems;

4. it can serve as a source of inspiration for the further development of geoethics.