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A catechist has appealed to Christians to help create awareness about the irresponsible use of the environment to prevent the further depletion of the environment. He said it was imperative for a change of hearts towards responsible management of the environment, since �in destroying the environment we are destroying ourselves�. Mr Gregory Arthur, catechist of the St Joseph�s Catholic Church at Amanful in Cape Coast said this when he launched this year�s �National Week of Reconciliation, Justice and Peace� on behalf of the Episcopal Chairman for Justice and Peace and Bishop of Wa, Most Reverend Paul Bemile in Cape Coast. The week- long programme which is being celebrated in the various Catholic Dioceses, Parishes and Communities is under the theme �Reconciling Humanity to the Environment.� Celebration of the week was inspired by the Second Special Assembly of Bishops of Africa held in Rome in 2009 and was approved by the Ghana Catholic Bishops� Conference at its administrative board meeting in 2012. The Catholic Church in Ghana instituted the week of Reconciliation Justice and Peace to create awareness about the work of Justices and Peace Commission in Ghana and to invite Catholic faithful and men and women of good will to reflect, mediate and act on a particular theme for the year. The aim of this year�s week celebration among others is to reflect, mediate and act to rekindle in all the reality that the environment is a precious gift of God entrusted to the responsible management and activity of humanity. Mr Arthur said God created the world beautifully and entrusted this creation to the responsibility of humanity and urged them to care for its harmony and development adding that this privileged position reflected the intrinsic relationship between humanity and creation to the extent that one cannot be isolated from the other. Mr Arthur said unfortunately for humanity to improve upon itself through the advancement of science and technology has not taken good care of the environment, �we have consistently polluted our very sources of drinking water through all forms of Human activity especially in mining; we have degraded the very environment on which we depend for our livelihood�. �We have indiscriminately eliminated our forest without replanting and littered filth and waste everywhere without restraint and in the process we have disturbed the balance and harmony of creation and created environmental crisis�. Mr Arthur said the celebration of the week should increase the awareness and understanding of the environmental crisis and thereby highlight the urgency of a change in attitude as Catholics and all men and women of good will through basic, simple, concrete and practical action for protecting and caring for the environment. �This celebration is a call to a change of heart in our relationship with the environment to respect, care, protect and above all to manage the environment responsibly,� he added.