The Care of Creation
“Climate Justice Fellowship: A Letter to the Lambeth Conference
“As Christians, we are called to express the restoring justice of God. We are to 'learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression' (Is. 1:17). Seeking justice means working in solidarity with those who are suffering the worst effects of the climate emergency, one of the biggest crises of our time. The Anglican Communion's efforts to address the climate crisis cannot be separated from God's call for Christians to live justly.
“People across the globe - particularly in the majority world - have been living through the destructive consequences of the climate emergency for decades. Many of the worst-affected countries are simultaneously dealing with poverty, conflict, and the hangovers of colonial violence, and are being pushed further into debt as the heavy toll of the climate crisis falls upon them. As a global Christian community, we need to collaborate and support each other in fellowship: a fellowship of faith and a fellowship of climate justice. We ask the Anglican Communion urgently to prioritise collaborative climate justice.
“The 2022 IPCC (Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change) report on impacts, adaptation and vulnerability concluded that breaching 1.5°C of warming 'would cause unavoidable increases in multiple climate hazards and present multiple risks to ecosystems and humans'. These impacts will be far from equally felt, with 'vulnerability higher in locations with poverty, governance challenges and limited access to basic services and resources, violent conflict and high levels of climate-sensitive livelihoods'.
“However, the IPCC also concluded that we are not powerless: we can substantially limit human-caused climate change by taking the recommended pathway to net zero, which includes significant decarbonisation by 2030. As part of that pathway, the International Energy Agency (IEA) concluded that 'there is no need for investment in new fossil fuel supply'. Despite this, just eight companies are planning over 200 oil and gas expansion projects between 2022 and 2025 - this includes ExxonMobil, who were found to be grossly insufficient on all ten minimum assessment criteria for alignment with 1.5°C warming, and from whom the Church Commissioners of the Church of England recently refused to divest.
“We want to see tangible action from the Church in the immediate future, and we join our voices with those of you at the Conference who are calling for justice. We ask the Church to:
- “Work creatively to enable the churches of wealthier nations to show fellowship with the climate-vulnerable, …
- Sever all remaining financial ties with fossil fuel companies, …
- Empower young people - particularly young people in climate-vulnerable nations …
- Speak out on the climate emergency, …"
Independent Catholic News, Young Christian Climate Network, 3 Aug 2022, https://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/45218
“Walk. Talk. Act - for climate action
“The impact of climate change on our world is now evident to all. Scientists have been warning us about the implications for decades - and now we're seeing them. We should have acted years ago, but we didn't. Every further day without radical action increases the pain we will sustain and the challenge of controlling the climate and its impact on people and planet.
“In the run-up to COP27, a mass participation initiative is happening around the world to catalyse climate action by creating an opportunity to learn from each other, build solidarity, and make important connections. Participants are welcome from all countries and across the key stakeholder groups of governments and cities, companies, NGOs, students, faith groups, and friends and family.
“Walk2COP27 is an opportunity to get people moving wherever they are - a collaborative 45-day journey where participants can track their distances walked, run, cycled or travelled in a wheelchair and interact with communities of like-minded people. Every kilometre travelled means more trees planted….
“Walk2COP27 starts on 22nd September 2022. The 45-day virtual journey features 12 locally hosted town hall-hybrid meetings between Glasgow (COP26) and Sharm el-Sheikh (COP27), showcasing how climate change is impacting each location and the solutions that are being deployed. The town halls will be hosted in the 12 countries between the two COP hosts - Scotland and Egypt. The 12 are: Scotland, England, France, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria, Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt. People can join these gatherings online, or in person.
“Participant-led discussions on climate action, spanning the four target outcomes of decarbonisation, resilience, justice and circularity will be hosted on the Clubhouse app between the town hall gatherings.
“In the final week of the journey, the voices of all participants will be recorded and synthesised into a proclamation for the COP27 attendees….
“The communities built, discussions held, commitments made, health and wellbeing enhanced, voices raised, and trees planted all make this initiative an opportunity worth joining in the battle against climate change.
“Participants can register for free on an app (atlasGO) from the 1st of September, join their team and start to plan for the kick-off on the 22nd of September.
“Raise your voice for climate action. Get moving. Walk. Talk. Act. Together we can.
“As the African proverb says: When is the best time to plant a tree? Twenty years ago. When is the next best time? Today.”
Independent Catholic News, Virginia Bell, 11 Aug 2022, https://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/45261
"Show the love" for our common home this February - CAFOD
“Displaying green hearts alongside allies from organisations across the climate movement is a way for Catholics to echo both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor.
“Last year, CAFOD supporters mobilised in huge numbers to bring this message to our government and world leaders ahead of COP26….
“CAFOD supporters, alongside countless others around the world, did make a difference. They helped persuade governments to take greater action, even if world leaders still don’t recognise the urgency required….
“CAFOD joined Oxfam and Christian Aid to organise a post-COP briefing in parliament; giving MPs and Peers an opportunity to hear our partners’ reaction to the COP outcomes. We will soon begin the season of Lent, and CAFOD will host a reflection so MPs can contemplate how they ought to respond to the call to care for creation. In March, following the thousands of letters sent to MPs by CAFOD supporters, we will invite Human Rights and Environmental Defenders from Colombia to speak to MPs about a new Business, Human Rights, and the Environment Act.
“CAFOD knows that climate justice cannot be achieved alone, but by working together with allies in this country and around the world. That's why we are a proud member of The Climate Coalition, we showed our green hearts in Glasgow, and we are showing them again once more.”
With Permission, CAFOD, Frances Leach, 15th February 2022
“Vocation for Justice: Listen for a Change
“The Spring 2022 issue of the Columban Social Justice newsletter 'Vocation for Justice' is now available. It takes the general theme 'Listen for a Change' from a key theme of the campaigning around the United Nations COP26 climate conference in Glasgow last November….
“Columban JPIC in Britain walked alongside the COP26 Coalition, the Laudato Si Movement, Jesuit Missions and many others to call for world leaders to tackle multiple crises of inequality, climate instability and the COVID19 pandemic…. Those present found it a life-affirming experience of listening to multiple voices, including indigenous people, communities facing extreme weather, and young people….
“This issue takes the theme, 'Listen for a Change', highlighting the importance of listening to prophetic voices and to recognise changes happening to build a sustainable future….
“Andy Whitmore of the London Mining Network, of which Columbans are members, writes about a 'Just Transition', calling for a re-consideration of concepts of economic growth and consumption, and promoting a 'circular economy' where resources are re-used, but also a reduction in consumption in general. Such principles, if put into practice, would require major shifts in personal, government and business prioritisation. However, they would also form the basis of a true 'Just Transition'.
“'Vocation for Justice' is a 12-page magazine sent out three times a year since 1986 to around 7,000 readers.
“It can be downloaded at: https://columbans.co.uk/how-you-can-help/subscribe/vocation-for-justice/
“To request a hard copy of the Vocation for Justice magazine email: v4j@columbans.co.uk or call 01564 772096
With Permission, Independent Catholic News, Ellen Teague, 26th Jan 2022
“Diocese environmental group is launched
“The Diocese of East Anglia’s response to the environmental crisis stepped up a gear recently with the establishment of a small group tasked with addressing this important issue….
“[Fr Paul Maddison, chair of the group] said: ‘The remit of the group is to provide support, education and co-ordination across our parishes, schools and other diocesan structures as well as to facilitate national initiatives from the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales.’
“’Much has been done and more is planned not only to reduce our carbon footprint, but also to make real and lasting changes in response to the call of Pope Francis in Laudato Si to care for our common home,’ said Fr Paul.
“’Please get involved,’ said Fr Paul…. email the team at: eco@rcdea.org.uk”
(With permission) Diocese of East Anglia, Jan 7, 2022
https://www.rcdea.org.uk/diocese-environmental-group-is-launched/
“Ireland: Archbishop calls for Catholic institutions to become models of sustainability
"’Climate change driven by predatory economic interests impacts those on the margins’ Irish Primate, Archbishop Eamon Martin told graduates of theology and philosophy at Saint Patrick's College, Maynooth, yesterday. …
“A few weeks ago, on the Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi, Pope Francis - together with other Christian, Islamic, Jewish, Buddhist and Hindu leaders, - declared following a meeting with international climate scientists and experts, that:
“'We are currently at a moment of opportunity and truth.
“'Future generations will never forgive us if we squander this precious opportunity.
“'We have inherited a garden: we must not leave a desert to our children'
“From a faith point of view, God is calling us today, more than ever, to be caring stewards of creation, to protect and nourish our planet and its resources, and not to selfishly waste them or ruthlessly and excessively exploit and destroy them.
“In his 2015 encyclical Laudato Si' (159) Pope Francis reminded us that: 'Since the world has been given to us, we can no longer view reality in a purely utilitarian way, in which efficiency and productivity are entirely geared to our individual benefit'. The world belongs also to those who will follow us. Intergenerational solidarity is therefore 'not optional, but rather a basic question of justice'….
“We all share responsibility for the problems facing our world, but equally, we share responsibility for finding the solutions. Each one of [us] must accept our personal and collective need to change and make sacrifices, recognising the inherent issues of justice and fairness that are involved, and realising, as Pope Francis says, that 'the cry of the earth' is especially 'the cry of the poor'….
“As servants of God and of one another, this will also mean accepting our own share of the pain necessary for ecological conversion.”
With permission, Independent Catholic News, Source: Irish Catholic Media Office, 7th Nov. 2021
“Church to EU ahead of COP26: 'Limiting global warming to 1.5°C is a profound moral imperative'
“In a letter addressed to all leaders of the European institutions participating in the upcoming COP26, the President of COMECE, Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, urges the European Union to play a leading role at the international level for a bold response to tackle the climate emergency: ‘finding a pathway likely to respect the 1.5°C threshold for global warming is a profound moral imperative’.
“Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich SJ calls on the EU leaders participating in COP26 to accelerate climate action and to promote a holistic care of our Common Home.
"’The COVID pandemic has brought to light the fact that everything is interconnected and interdependent and that our health is inextricably linked to the health of the environment in which we live’ - the letter reads. "’The Earth cries out - and those cries have taken the form of soaring temperatures with records being broken across many regions; of deadly floods and wildfires devastating communities across Europe and the world; of material loss compounded by social and psychological trauma.’
“Moreover, in this period of global transformation, Europe has a responsibility to respect, protect and promote the rights and dignity of people, not least those in the most vulnerable and marginalised situations.”
With permission, Independent Catholic News, Source: COMECE, Oct. 27th 2021
“Global faith institutions make largest-ever divestment ahead of COP26
“… five days before the UN climate conference, COP26, in Glasgow, and four days before the G20 Summit in Rome, 72 faith institutions, including 37 from the UK, announce their divestment from fossil fuels in the largest-ever joint divestment announcement by religious organisations.
“The global divestment announcement comes from faith institutions with more than $4.2 billion of combined assets under management in Australia, Ireland, Italy, Kenya, Nepal, Peru, Ukraine, the UK, the United States and Zambia. … “The UK Churches and dioceses involved in this announcement represent nearly 2,000 local churches.
“It follows the recent call from Pope Francis and other faith leaders to global governments to address the 'unprecedented ecological crisis' ahead of COP26 and calls from an international alliance of grassroots multi-faith activists who have called for an immediate end to all fossil fuel finance. [This] announcement shows an increasing number of Catholic institutions are responding to the recent Vatican recommendation to divest from fossil fuel companies and invest in climate solutions.
“Bishop Bill Nolan, Bishop of Galloway and Lead Bishop on the Environment for the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Scotland, said: ‘The bishops decided that disinvestment would show that the status quo is not acceptable and further, that given the harm that the production and consumption of fossil fuels is causing to the environment and to populations in low income countries, it was not right to profit from investment in these companies. Disinvestment is a sign that justice demands that we must move away from fossil fuels.’
“Many UK Churches have fully divested from fossil fuel companies this year, including the Church of Scotland, the Church in Wales and the Baptist Union….
“Tomás Insua, Laudato Si' Movement Executive Director, said: ‘People of faith are divesting at scale from dirty coal, oil and gas, demanding the G20 in Rome to finally conclude that there is no future for fossil fuel finance. As Pope Francis said, 'enough of the thirst for profit that drives the fossil fuel industry's destruction of our common home'.'…
“Revd Fletcher Harper, Executive Director of GreenFaith, said: ‘In the midst of a climate emergency, fossil fuel divestment is a moral imperative. More and more religious groups - Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist and Jewish as well as Christian - must continue to add their names to the growing list of divestment commitments, and must also lead the way by investing in ensuring access to clean energy for absolutely everyone - particularly the 800 million people who lack electricity.’"
With permission, Independent Catholic News, Oct. 26th 2021
“NJPN Blog: Can climate change became (sic) a transformative tool for humans?
“…Last month, Christians celebrated the Season of Creation and ‘the integral web of relationships that sustain the well-being of the Earth’ - a fitting prayer for COP 26 which begins on 1st November.
… we must stabilise the climate by reducing CO2 emissions.
“The complexity of the task is awesome and perhaps I expect too much from COP26. It is about more than fossil fuels, world economies, technologies and ‘the science’, important though these are. It needs a vision suggesting the meaning of the world and the place of humankind (and our fellow travellers) within it, appealing to intellect, emotion and spirit; in other words, a within as well as a without, a joining of creation and nature, heaven and Earth.
“The presence of Pope Francis brings Laudato Si and Fratelli Tutti to the table, reminding us that ‘In the Judaeo-Christian tradition, the word ‘creation’ has a broader meaning than ‘nature’, for it has to do with God's loving plan in which every creature has its own value and significance. Nature is usually seen as a system which can be studied, understood and controlled, whereas creation can only be understood as a gift…’ (LS 76)…. “Each and all of us must discover within ourselves the gift of intentional creativity in response to the climate emergency; that is, to adapt, form new structures, generate new behaviour patterns, solve new problems, create new narratives of 'progress' and collectively to embed innovations into our cultural repertoires. 'Our goal is to become painfully aware, to dare to turn what is happening to the world into our own personal suffering and thus to discover what each of us can do about it’ (LS 19)….
“Climate change was transformational in our human journey. DNA research suggests that megadroughts around 100,000 years ago may have bottled up early humans in Africa, making travel risky. A climate shift bringing wet periods probably helped propel the first migrations out of Africa. Climate change became a transformative tool for humans. In the best sense, may it prove to be again.”
With permission, Independent Catholic News, Paul Southgate, Oct. 5th 2021
Reclaim Our Common Home – CAFOD Campaign
“’Anyone who thinks that the only lesson to be learned was the need to improve what we were already doing, or to refine existing systems and regulations, is denying reality.’ Pope Francis, Fratelli Tutti, #7
“In 2020, we experienced the worst global health crisis in a century. …
“The pandemic exposed many of the inadequacies of how our world currently works. It has proved that we need greater cooperation between nations, solidarity between people and a greater focus on the poorest in society. …
“Pope Francis, and popes before him, have consistently called for a transformation of the way our global economy works and the ideology upon which it is built. For too long, it has been based on the pursuit of profit and growth, above care for people and our planet.
“A system based on unregulated free markets has created extreme inequalities, and has allowed some countries and companies to become wealthy at the expense of others while the precious gifts of climate, nature and biodiversity have been destroyed. …
“As Catholics, we are called not to stay silent and not to be passive. This is why Reclaim Our Common Home is a call to action! It’s a call to participate both individually and collectively in rebuilding a more dignified and sustainable world after the pandemic.
“To do this we need to:
- RECLAIM nature so that everyone can breathe clean air and be protected from the threat of climate disasters.
- RECLAIM the world’s land and resources so they are more fairly distributed and all our brothers and sisters around the world can live in dignity.
- RECLAIM power so that everyone can be involved in decision making and have control over their own lives.”
CAFOD, https://cafod.org.uk/Campaign/Reclaim-our-common-home
A separate ‘Supporter’s Briefing’ with more information on this important CAFOD campaign is available at https://cafod.org.uk/content/download/54502/757303/version/2/file/Supporter%20briefing%20-%20Reclaim%20Our%20Common%20Home%20-%20January%202021.pdf
Why is CAFOD campaigning on climate?
“Climate change affects our health, our homes, our heritage and our beautiful landscapes. Our community centres where we meet, our sports fields where we play and our places of pilgrimage where we reflect. It also ruins the work we do to fight poverty.
“Enough. Together as Catholics, we can turn the tide. We can call our politicians to go further and faster with emission cuts. We can treat our common home with respect and choose to live sustainably. …
“What are the links [of climate change] with our faith?
“God reveals himself to us in nature. The world is a gift from God and its future is intimately bound up with our own lives and choices.
“At CAFOD we have also been inspired by Pope Francis’ letter on the environment Laudato Si'. It complements what the Catechism of the Catholic Church says that our responsibility as good stewards of creation is to care for our world and not ‘steal’ resources from future generations.
“In Laudato Si' Pope Francis speaks openly about the devastating effects of climate change on people and the planet. He says that climate change is real, urgent and it must be tackled. He also describes the climate as "a common good, belonging to all and meant for all". He calls us to an ecological conversion and invites us to praise God for the gifts of creation.
“Explore Pope Francis’ message in Laudato Si’ with your parish or school. Find resources to help you do this. [at https://cafod.org.uk/Pray/Laudato-Si-encyclical ].”
CAFOD, https://cafod.org.uk/Campaign/Climate/Climate-change-FAQs
World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation
‘"The annual World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation will offer individual believers and communities a fitting opportunity to reaffirm their personal vocation to be stewards of creation, to thank God for the wonderful handiwork which he has entrusted to our care, and to implore his help for the protection of creation as well as his pardon for the sins committed against the world in which we live."’ (Pope Francis, Letter inaugurating World Prayer of Care for Creation)
Prayer
O Lord, good Father, who in your providence have entrusted the earth to the human race, grant, we pray, that with the fruits harvested from it we may be able to sustain life and, with your help, always use them to promote your praise and the wellbeing of all.
Roman Missal