Protect Planet, Pope Urges on Visit to Iceland

Marveling at Nordic scenery of stark and fragile beauty, Pope John Paul II called Saturday for greater commitment by human beings to the protection of their environment.

Icy Norwegian fiords seen fitfully from a plane window, snow-capped peaks nestled in brooding clouds and Icelandic lava fields dressed green for spring marked the Pope’s passage Saturday on the third day of his Nordic visit.

Earlier, about a thousand Norwegians, more curious than devout, braved a gray, foreboding morning to attend an outdoor Mass in the market square of the fishing port of Tromso on Europe’s northern tip.

Four young Protestant fundamentalists protesting the papal visit to Norway were hustled away by police as John Paul addressed a congregation that Vatican specialists considered the smallest of the Pope’s 42 foreign trips.

John Paul delivered a wind-tossed homily based on the Book of Genesis--man being made in the “image and likeness” of God.

“At the same time, Genesis also speaks of another fundamental gift: the Earth, which is given to man so that he may use its riches in a creative way,” the Pope said in turning to environmental concerns that are one of the main themes of his latest pilgrimage.

“How well does man use these fundamental gifts?” the Pope asked. “Does man make good use of his dominion over the Earth? Is he a conscientious protector of creatures or brutal exploiter? By misusing the natural environment, does he not threaten his own future on this planet?”

Praising Iceland’s “magnificent landscapes and mountain peaks,” John Paul returned to his theme in a greeting to Prime Minister Steingrimur Hermannsson on the cold tarmac of the airport here.

“Today, in Iceland and throughout the world, men and woman of good will are increasingly aware of the need for enduring peace among nations and peoples,” John Paul said.

“In their concern for the future of the world in which their children will live, they have come to recognize the threat of a materialism that would sacrifice the environment itself to the pursuit of a sterile material progress.”

Iceland, a volcanic island of 252,000 that has historically lived from the surrounding sea, is home today to a prosperous population that has the longest life expectancy on Earth.

“In spite of all the know-how we have acquired, we are still destroying our environment. We must set aside our differences and join hands in the effort to reverse such development,” Hermannsson told John Paul.