New Eco-Friendly Church Using Biodegradable Chalice

LONDON––Speaking to an assembly of Catholic priests in London yesterday, Pastor of St. Philip Neri Catholic Church in nearby Chigwell, England Fr. Timothy Rooney announced yesterday that he would be transforming his church into a more eco-friendly environment, and encouraged those gathered to follow his lead. “Parishioners considering our churches as a place to pray will ask about our green initiatives. It is important for us to reassure them that we are pursuing practices for a greener environment,” Rooney said, as he pulled out the new biodegradable chalice he would be using for Mass. “Gone are the days when we used precious metals for chalices. Just imagine how many wasted, jeweled chalices litter and pollute the earth ever since we switched to glass chalices. It’s sickening. We are essentially sending a mixed signal every time we say Mass using a precious metal. We’re saying, ‘Welcome and thank you for coming, Jesus…and now behold as we destroy your earth.'” But biodegradable chalices aren’t the only “green” religious supplies being used at St. Phillip Neri Catholic Church. Rooney went on to explain that he would be replacing all religious images with with the recycling symbol, or an image of the earth with the word Environment written beneath it. “The fact is, everyone gets the point that Jesus died for us. But people obviously aren’t getting the point that this earth is dying for us as well. Must everyone or everything die to prove their love for us?”