Via Salis - words of blessing from Franz Peter Handlichner:

Dear Pernecker - dear men of the Mitterbergstollen interest group

Dear Mr. Mayor, dear Mr. Executive Director

Dear sisters and brothers in faith

we are not god

We are not rulers of the earth, but part of creation.

The earth was there before us and was given to us.

That is the message of the environmental encyclical "Laudato si" -

With sentences like these, in the first environmental encyclical in church history, Pope Francis makes a radical break with an unfortunate tradition of exploitation that is based on a misunderstood interpretation of the Bible verse from the creation story Make the earth subject to you .

As the Pope concedes, many people have grown up with the conviction that the earth is man's property and that man can therefore exploit its treasures.

This is not the case – the Pope warns in clear words in “Laudato si”: “This is not a correct interpretation of the Bible as the Church understands it.”

What sets this encyclical apart from others is the new location of man in creation - what is the place of man in creation?

Man is not the ruler of the world, but only a part of the whole - the Pope makes clear.

You too aptly express such a view of creation in the hiking guide that you created on the occasion of the inauguration ceremony of the VIA SALIS themed trail and the blessing of the Perneck village square: "The history of salt begins an unbelievable 250 million years ago with the deposition of the salt layers in the primordial sea , the so-called Tethys. This time is for us people of the 21st century. in the deepest darkness of history and we can only guess at it from the story of creation. The salt has always been present in the mountain and it required inventiveness, combined with courage and diligence, to make it usable for the people. Salt production has survived wars and revolutions, global economic crises and dictatorships and is still an economic factor in our region today. The rise of Bad Ischl from a village at the confluence of the Ischl and Traun rivers is based solely on the treasures of the mountain. This is thanks to many generations of hardworking, brave miners who have shown renewed courage, drive and tenacity in their dangerous work every day.”

The small village square of Perneck and the VIA SALIS would like to remind us and future generations of this mining tradition.

In his environmental encyclical, Pope Francis also expressed his great concern for the ecological balance and the world climate, which is a common global good that must be protected. The Pope criticizes the effects of environmental degradation, the consumerist throwaway culture and a capitalism that destroys social relations.

The consequences of climate change hit the world's poor the most.

Pope Francis is in solidarity with the poor countries that are demanding financial support from the rich countries in the international climate negotiations. And he calls for an ethics of international relations: “Because there is a real, “ecological” debt – especially between the North and the South – related to the imbalances in trade and their consequences in the ecological area as well as in the course of history disproportionate consumption of natural resources practiced by some countries.”

It is fortunate that today's celebration is part of the so-called

CREATION TIME takes place. If we walk the VIA SALIS, we also find the little mountain church. In 1751, Empress Maria Theresa ordered the construction of this little church: Luther's forbidden teachings were widespread among the miners - this church was intended to strengthen the Catholic faith among the working class again.

Today, the little mountain church is a place where it is repeatedly evident how the ecumenical togetherness of the churches is lived as a matter of course. We thank our evangelical brothers Leopold senior, Leopold junior and Hermann Schiendorfer for their concern for the preservation of this church.

I close, before the blessing of the new town square and Via Salis, with the words of the unknown miner who

many years ago said:

Ischl salt - God gave it, God preserves it.

Franz Peter Handchner