Catholic cardinal highlights technology’s role in transforming Africa’s resources

Cardinal Peter Turkson, the chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences in Rome, said the Church should recognize the natural resources available in creation as gifts from God.

ABUJA, Nigeria — Technology can help humanity transform the resources provided by God into practical benefits for people and communities across the African continent, the chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences in Rome said.

In an interview with ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, on Sept. 3 during the launch of a 1.5-megawatt solar project that Earth Our Common Home (ECHo) is providing for Veritas University, Abuja, Cardinal Peter Turkson said ECHo’s mission is to provide clean energy for Catholic Churches and their institutions across Africa because of the importance of energy to man.

“There’s hardly anything that happens in this world without energy. Hardly anything. The solar energy initiative at the Catholic university demonstrates how human ingenuity can harness God’s creation to meet concrete needs while promoting integral human development,” Turkson said.

The Ghanaian-born cardinal said the Church should recognize the natural resources available in creation as gifts from God and use appropriate technology to transform them for the benefit of humanity.

“We need energy for everything that we do. So far, we’ve tried to produce that energy using generators, diesel fuel, and all of that,” he said.

Turkson continued: “It is, however, good to also notice that God, who created this, also provided the wherewithal to carry out everything that we do, providing this great source of energy. All it takes is that technology to transform this into our concrete use.”

The cardinal explained that God provides the raw materials while human creativity and technology transform them into useful products.

“God created cotton; God did not create a vest. Business transformed cotton into a vest that you wear. God created trees; he didn’t create furniture. Business people convert trees into furniture,” he said.

He added: “So we have solar light and a technology that is going to convert this into specific, concrete needs of this community. So that’s what we gathered here to do.”

Beyond providing electricity for teaching, learning, and other activities, Turkson said the project could significantly reduce the financial burden associated with diesel-powered electricity.

“It’s going to save this university not only by providing energy for people to study and learn, but save this university a lot of money,” he said.

He described the implementation of the project at a significantly reduced cost as an important opportunity for the Church, particularly as Catholic institutions seek sustainable ways of funding their educational and pastoral missions.

Turkson said the initiative should not be seen as benefiting Veritas University alone, noting that the experience could open the way for similar interventions in other Catholic institutions across Africa.

“From our small office, we’ve just tried to put together this small group to help our continent. So the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria is beginning with this, but from here it’s going to go on,” he said.

He explained that the vision was to make the benefits of the initiative available to Catholic bishops’ conferences and local churches across Africa.

“The benefits of ECHo and what it can facilitate and fund is something that is meant for all the bishops’ conferences of Africa, all the local churches in Africa, to support what the Church does for the promotion of integral human development,” Turkson said.

The Vatican official linked the project to the ecological vision of Pope Francis, particularly the late pope’s encyclical Laudato Si’, which calls Christians and the wider human family to care for creation.

He said the encyclical invites people to reflect on the impact of human activity on the natural environment.

“Everything that God created was good, very good. It comes into the hands of human beings, and we make it very good or very bad,” Turkson said.

He said the transition to renewable energy could help reduce the negative impact of human activities on creation.

“In terms of promoting the well-being of human beings or people, this project over here will go a long way toward determining how we reduce our negative impact on creation,” he said.

The cardinal emphasized that the environmental benefits of renewable energy are closely connected to human well-being.

“As Pope Francis would say, we turn the pain of the earth into our own personal pains. And we want to reduce that. Reduce that by producing less carbon dioxide, producing less greenhouse gas, whatever type of thing, and so polluting less,” he said.

He noted that reducing pollution would benefit both the environment and human health.

“When we pollute less, then we promote the environment more. Not only do we promote the environment, but we also promote the health of human beings, who also need this for their own existence,” he said.

For Turkson, the Veritas University project therefore represents more than an alternative source of electricity; it is an example of how faith, technology, and responsible stewardship can work together to support education, reduce costs, and advance human well-being.

“Everything that is happening here not only helps the advancement of the educational process but ultimately also enhances the well-being of creation and the human beings,” he said.

Meanwhile, the vice chancellor of Veritas University, Abuja, Father Hyacinth Ichoku, who spoke to ACI Africa during the same event, said the initiative was driven by the need to respond to the environmental damage caused by continued dependence on fossil fuels.

“We are part of the global consciousness about the Earth, our common home, and thatʼs why the project is actually about our Earth, our common home, about consciousness about the Earth and consciousness about the environment,” he said.

He noted that the continued release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere contributes to environmental degradation and poses risks to human life and ecosystems.

“The continuous transmission of carbon dioxide into the air is damaging our Earth, killing us, killing things, killing our environment. So we decided to move away from fossil fuels to solar energy, which they regard as clean energy,” Ichoku said.

This story was first published by ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, and has been adapted by EWTN News.