The Church teaches of the importance of the redemption of an entire species, not just several billion individuals who inhabit said species:
359. We thus discover a profound law of reality: life only develops fully in fraternal and just communion. For “God, in Christ, redeems not only the individual person but also the social relations existing between men.”(Compendium of Social Doctrine 52) Given the various situations that reflect the divisions between brothers and sisters, we feel compelled to assure that the Catholic faith of our Latin American and Caribbean peoples is expressed in a more decent life for all. The Church’s rich social magisterium tells us that we cannot conceive of an offer of life in Christ without dynamism toward integral liberation, humanization, reconciliation, and involvement in society.
Remember to reference an English translation of the 2007 document from the Aparecida Conference here.
Catholic Sensibility 