Recycling Cross highlights suffering of God’s creation, those living in waste – Missio Aachen President

President of Germany based Catholic organisation, Missio Aachen, Fr. Dirk Bingener has said a cross made from recycled waste from Ghana highlights the suffering of God’s creation and the hardship endured by those living and working amid waste

Addressing clergy and faithful at the start of a two-day programme organised by the Catholic Archdiocese of Accra at Agbogbloshie on March 28, Fr Bingener pointed to what he described as the dual reality symbolised by the cross. “The Recycling Cross confronts us with the two kinds of suffering,” he said.

He explained that the symbol draws attention both to environmental degradation and to the human cost of global consumption. The cross itself is constructed from discarded materials, including brass taken from old air conditioners in Agbogbloshie and components of mobile phones connected to mining activities in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

“The cross is the symbol of our faith,” Fr Bingener said, noting that it “combines both: light and darkness, hope and despair, humanity and divinity.”

The Agbogbloshie site, long associated with electronic waste processing, served as a fitting location for the reflection. There, he said, the consequences of environmental neglect and economic inequality are visible side by side, echoing the Church’s teaching that care for creation and care for people cannot be separated.

Referring to Laudato si’, he added that “these two kinds of suffering, thus, social and environmental are deeply connected.”

Despite the stark realities it represents, the Recycling Cross is also intended as a sign of hope. Fr Bingener reminded the faithful that the Christian message does not end in suffering but points towards renewal. “It is also a sign of hope,” he said, calling on believers to act: “We are called to protect the environment, to care for this earth, our common home.”

The cross carries additional significance, having been blessed in Rome last summer by Pope Leo, a gesture Fr Bingener said should encourage the faithful “to open our hearts”.

The event, organised in collaboration with Missio Aachen, began with a procession from the Trade Union Congress Head Office to Holy Spirit Cathedral in Adabraka and concludes with a Palm Sunday Mass on March 29.