Land for what?

Churches are also landowners. A recent study by an international financial site even estimates that the Catholic Church alone owns more than 70 million hectares of land and real estate around the world. A figure difficult to verify for a community of more than a billion members spread across all continents. However, the reminder remains useful: because it underlines that Christian communities, in the midst of reflection on integral ecology, also have agricultural areas which deserve to be brought into line with this ambition.

For the moment, these lands most often provide significant sources of income. Sometimes, they also offer the bucolic setting of landscaped parks for congregations or diocesan houses. A few days ago, a conference hosted by the Commission on Social, Political and Economic Affairs of the Union of Protestant Churches of Alsace and Lorraine (UEPAL) was held in Hoerdt (Bas-Rhin) and made it possible to make accounts within your network. Because on this concordat land, parishes and works continue, undoubtedly more than elsewhere, to be able to own agricultural land. The figure of 3,000 hectares was even circulated during this day. The time has come to make it a showcase of our ability to respect Creation to give ideas to others.