Mass Lobby of Parliament participants outside the QEII Centre, London
On Wednesday 9 July 2025, around 5,000 people came together in Westminster for the Act Now, Change Forever Mass Lobby. We called on MPs to act now for a healthier, fairer, safer future, in one of the biggest moments for climate and nature this year, and the largest mass lobby of the decade.
People from across the UK travelled, far and wide to speak directly to their MPs. From schoolchildren to surfers, parents to pensioners, campaigners to conservationists, the diversity and strength of the movement was impossible to ignore.
For the Catholic community, CAFOD supporters were present in great numbers. Colette Joyce, the Westminster Justice and Peace Co-ordinator, spent the day on the Faith for the Climate stall in the QEII Centre.
“There was a constant stream of visitors to the stall all day,” she said. “It was fantastic to meet people from all over the country, of all faiths and none, who were glad to see us there and keen to find out how faith groups are contributing to the climate, nature and debt movements.”
A photo of faith groups was taken in Parliament Square
Mass Lobby of Parliament 9 July 2025 – Faith Groups in Parliament Square
The Mass Lobby with its Act Now, Change Forever message was a powerful reminder of what’s possible when we show up – together, side by side – to demonstrate the overwhelming public support for action on climate and nature.
Together, we brought our MPs an unmissable message: communities across the UK are ready for bold, practical action on climate and nature – and we won’t stop here. We’re just getting started.
The Diocese of Westminster marked the 10th Anniversary of Pope Francis’ encyclical ‘Laudato Si’ – On the Care of our Common Home’ with an afternoon of celebration held at the FCJ Centre for Spirituality and EcoJustice in Somerston, Euston, on Saturday 7th June 2025.
Fr Richard Nesbitt and John Paul de Quay were our guest speakers, as we also enjoyed prayer, workshops and home-made soda-bread!
Watch the 60 seconds highlight video above!
The event was organised by Westminster Justice and Peace Commission in collaboration with the Westminster Laudato Si’ Animators and the FCJ Sisters.
A very special combined event was hosted by the Southern Dioceses Environment Network and the Northern Dioceses Environment Group on 4th June 2025 to mark the tenth anniversary of Pope Francis Papal Encyclical ‘Laudato Si’ – On the Care of Our Common Home (2015).
Colette Joyce (Westminster) and Mark Wiggin (Salford) facilitated the meeting, with prayers led by Bernadette Jordan (Salford) and Siân Thomas-Cullinan (Brentwood).
We calculated that approximately 115 people registered for the event and we estimate 95 attended.
Our guest speaker, Austen Ivereigh, is a well-known Catholic journalist, writer and commentator with a special relationship with Pope Francis.
Austen helped us to reflect on where we have come in the last ten years and what we are being called to do in the next ten.
The publication of the papal encyclical Laudato Si‘ in 2015 galvanised Catholics around the world and in every country to unite with those of all other faiths and none in the common cause of caring for our home planet and all the people on it. Pope Francis urged us to integrate questions of justice into our debates on the environment, ‘so as to hear both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor’ – for they are one and the same thing. (LS, 49).
Austen deepened our reflection on the method that Pope Francis adopts to respond to the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor, using a broad SEE-JUDGE-ACT model. The first stage is to enter the crisis and open our eyes to places where there is pain and suffering. What is happening to our Earth? The second task is discernment: finding where God’s action can be seen and what frustrates God’s action. The third was to move to proposals for action in line with the Kingdom, confident that what is aligned with the arc of the Kingdom is never wasted.
He suggested that the Laudato Si’ apostolate can be considered as enabling these three tasks: (a) helping people to see what is happening to our Earth and to help people experience grief and the desire to repent; (b) helping people enter into an understanding of what is happening (as does Laudato Si’ in chapters three and four); and (c) enabling processes of synodal discernment that move through these two stages into concrete actions.
The Great Reformer- Francis and the Making of a Radical Pope (2014). Biography of Pope Francis.
Let Us Dream (2020). Pope Francis reflection on what we learnt during the Covid pandemic.
First Belong to God: On Retreat with Pope Francis (2024). An eight-day Ignatian retreat drawing on the wisdom of Pope Francis and the spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola. Pope Francis and St Ignatius encourage us recognise our triple belonging: to God, to Creation and one another.
Opening prayer: Bernadette Jordan (Diocese of Salford)
Adapted from a prayer by David Kossoff in ‘You have a minute, Lord?’ 1977
Lord, a word. It’s about the world. Your world that you made in six days, Resting on the seventh and being pleased with your work. And rightly so Lord. It is a beautiful world you made. Beautiful. Well, Lord, it’s getting dirty. We’re dirtying it, Lord. You made the seas and the creatures therein, Lord. And we are choking the creatures with filth and oil, Lord. You made all the creatures that fly and swim and live on land. And you looked on them and said, ‘Good.’ Well Lord, there’s quite a few You wouldn’t be able to find. Extinctions have happened and are happening right now. We try to improve on your work, Lord. We make a lot of noise and a lot of smoke. And a lot of what are called waste-products. Pollutants, Lord. Effluents and such. Wonderful gifts you have given us, Lord. Riches beyond imagination Now we have the fastest roads and The fastest cars and the fastest planes. But sometimes we don’t stop to see the wonders that are with us every day. Every Spring you make it all new again, Lord, Every summer it all grows. Every autumn you show us colours to Catch the breath, to swell the heart. Every winter you remind us of your presence. We need reminding, Lord. We litter the place. We clash with the colours. And worse, to be quite honest, Lord, A lot of us don’t notice.
Reflection from Bernadette Pope Francis raised our awareness in his encyclical Laudato Si’ and coming together in celebration gives us hope. The natural world springs back new each year on Earth’s untrodden ground. This fills me with gratitude and thanksgiving. We are called to Hope that is linked to love and to a sense of responsibility for those who come after us. Lord, let us tread lightly on the Earth by reducing our demands and living simply.
Loving God, as we close this time together, we pause to recognise Your presence among us.
In our conversations, in our questions, and in our shared commitment to care for this beautiful, fragile world we carry with us the vision of Laudato Si’ A vision of a world where the earth is treated not as a resource to be used, but as a gift to be cherished.
A world where the dignity of every person is honoured, where the vulnerable are protected, and where justice and sustainability walk hand in hand.
Together, we hold onto the hope of a world that is fairer, greener, and more deeply connected, where communities flourish, creation is respected, and future generations can live with joy and peace.
As we step back into our daily lives, give us the imagination to dream big, the courage to act boldly, and the grace to stay rooted in love for You, for each other, and for our common home. Amen
A mass lobby is an event where lots of people meet with their MPs on the same day to have powerful conversations about issues we care about.
Supporters of more than 100 organisations from across the UK will come to Westminster that day to ask our MPs to take action on climate, debt and nature.
In this Jubilee year, it’s vital that MPs also hear from people of faith. So please come along and promote this mass lobby in your local community and parish.
Colette Joyce, the Westminster Justice and Peace Co-ordinator, will be based at the Faith for the Climate stall throughout the day in the QEII Centre, Broad Sanctuary, London, SW1P 3EE. Call or message her on 07593 434905 if you would like to meet up on the day or assist for an hour or two on the stall yourself.
Catholics in Westminster are also invited to join the Lobby via CAFOD who will also have a strong presence on the day. There are travel subsidies available for those who would benefit from receiving assistance to get to the event. Follow the CAFOD link for details.
If you have joined in with previous mass lobbies, you will know how powerful these moments are and about the uniquely inspirational atmosphere generated on the day.
For those who haven’t attended a mass lobby before, this day will be a unique opportunity to join the Church’s global debt campaign and make our call for the cancellation of the debts of countries hit hardest by the climate crisis, loud and clear. Even if you don’t get to meet your MP you can still be part of a big public act of solidarity and witness that will make a difference.
On the day, the Mass Lobby will end with Mass at Westminster Cathedral at 5.30pm! The Celebrant is Bishop John Arnold, Bishops Conference of England and Wales spokesman on the Environment.
All are welcome to join us for this Diocese of Westminister celebration to mark the 10th Anniversary of the papal encyclical Laudato Si’ and the 800th Anniversary of the Canticle of the Creatures.
The event will include conversation, music, liturgy and workshops.
Speaker: Fr Richard Nesbitt, Parish Priest of Our Lady of Fatima, White City.
Organised by Westminster Justice & Peace and the Westminster Laudato Si’ Animators, in collaboration with the FCJ Centre Spirituality and Eco-Justice in London.
Free to attend but please register in advance as places are limited.
Bokani Tshidzu (Operation Noah)and James Buchanan (Laudato Si’ Movement)
Source: Ellen Teague
Justice and Peace contacts from dioceses around England and Wales gathered on Saturday 10th May 2025 for a networking day on ‘Opening doors to a sustainable world for future generations’. It was the third meeting in the series of events for this Jubilee Year of Hope organised by the National Justice and Peace Network (NJPN).
Held at CAFOD’s office in South London, it brought together around 40 participants from Arundel and Brighton, Birmingham, Brentwood, Cardiff/Menevia, Clifton, Hallam, Leeds, Liverpool, Nottingham, Portsmouth, Southwark and Westminster. They were joined by representatives of CAFOD, Religious Links, FCJ Sisters, Jesuit Missions, Columbans, Journey to 2030 and Laudato Si’ Animators.
The day opened with reflective prayer and singing of the hymn, ‘O Word of God come into this place,’ by Ricky Manalo, led by Sr MaryAnne Francalanza, Director of the London FCJ Centre for Spirituality and EcoJustice, and Colette Joyce, Westminster Justice & Peace Co-ordinator.
The first speakers were Mary and Peter Johnson of the Livesimply parish of St Teresa of Lisieux Parish at Lexden in Brentwood Diocese, whose projects include creating a prayer garden, producing sustainable lifestyle ideas and creation-centred prayers of intercession, and making Laudato Si’ better known. They are trained Laudato Si animators and are active with social projects of Caritas Brentwood and have helped organise the installation of 24 solar panels on their church roof. “The Season of Creation is now embedded in our parish,” they said. There were plenty of ideas for other parish groups.
Mary Finnerty, Lead Economist at CAFOD, and Andrea Speranza of CAFOD campaigns talked on ‘Tackling debt and the climate crisis in this Jubilee Year.’ The meeting was urged to support and bring to Catholic parishes a Caritas Internationalis petition calling for debt cancellation for the world’s poorest countries. It aims to reach 10 million signatures. CAFOD is also calling for a Debt Justice Law in the UK and a new comprehensive debt framework. Some in the room had been involved in Jubilee 2000 – which prompted the cancellation of $130 billion of debt 25 years ago – and endorsed a focus on structural change to try and prevent poor country indebtedness building up again. “There are structural issues keeping countries in debt that have never been addressed,” said Andrea. Maria pointed out that there are particular opportunities for campaigning in the UK because 98% of the loans of poor countries are governed by English Law.”
All were urged to attend and promotes a lobby of parliament on 9 July, which includes Christian development agencies and civil society networks, and will urge MPs to work towards the UK becoming a global leader in tackling climate change and restoring nature by 2030. “Faith groups have an important role to play,” said Andrea. And then there will be a build up to campaigning for significant climate action at the UN’s COP30 climate conference in Brazil in November.
James Buchanan of the Laudato Si Movement and Bokani Tshidzu of Operation Noah spoke to ‘Greening Church Investments: fossil fuel divestment and investment in climate solutions.’ Participants were urged to join the ‘Big Bank Switch’ and ‘Share Action.’ Bishop Gerardo Alimane Alminaza of San Carlos in the Philippines sent a video message challenging extractive industries which harm the environment and urged ethical investment. He was particularly concerned about HSBC and Standard Chartered’s financing of liquefied natural gas terminals and fossil gas power plants in the Verde Island Passage: Everyone clapped as he concluded with, “we hope we can count on you to join and support us.”
The Muslim Director of Faith for the Climate, Dr Shanon Shah, led group work on creation-centred theology – taken from ‘Laudato Si’, ‘Laudato Deum’ and the Muslim document ‘Al-Mizan: A Covenant with the Earth.’ Participants undertook to network more ecumenically and interfaith on justice, peace and ecology issues. Interfaith collaboration was also mentioned in a message from Bishop John Arnold, Lead Bishop for the Environment in England and Wales. He welcomed initiatives in parishes and schools to care for the environment over the 10 years since the publication of Laudato Si’. And he added that, “internationally, there has also been good news, especially with the impact of the Islamic document ‘Al-Mizan’ which so closely mirrors the contents of Laudato Si’.”
In the feedback at the end one participant reflected, “this is a great network of individuals, groups and organisations and we are strong when we work together.” Inspired by the day, actions suggested for building a sustainable world included promoting CAFOD’s Livesimply programme in parishes and schools and lobbying dioceses to have paid staff offering expertise on renewable energy projects and fossil-free banking. Creation-care should be embedded in Church liturgies and sacramental preparation. Church monies should be used ethically.
The next major NJPN event will be the annual national conference at the Hayes Conference Centre in Swanwick, Derbyshire, on 25-27 July 2025. The theme will be: ‘Towards a Just Peace – Challenging the Inevitability of Violence.’ Keynote speakers will be Dr Rowan Williams, former Archbishop of Canterbury and Dr Joanna Frew of Rethinking Security. All are welcome.
We are thrilled to announce that a new date has been set for the joint event hosted by the Northern Dioceses Environment Group and the Southern Dioceses Environment Network to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Pope Francis’ encyclical, Laudato Si’.
The event, originally scheduled for Thursday, 8th May, will now be held on Wednesday 4th June, 7.00-9.00pm.
All Catholics and our friends are welcome to join us for this online evening of celebration for the 10th Anniversary of Laudato Si’ – On the Care of Our Common Home.
Following the Papal Conclave, this will be the first scheduled event for each of our networks during the pontificate of Pope Leo XIV. Together we will explore the legacy of Pope Francis, especially on the environment.
We are delighted that Austen Ivereigh has been able to find a new date for us so soon after his recent labours as a commentator in Rome for the funeral of Pope Francis and on the Papal Conclave which elected Pope Leo XIV. We look forward to welcoming him as our guest speaker and facilitator.
The publication of the papal encyclical, Laudato Si‘, galvanised Catholics around the world and in every country to unite with those of all other faiths and none in the common cause of caring for our home planet and all the people on it. Pope Francis urged us to integrate questions of justice into our debates on the environment, ‘so as to hear both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor’ – for they are one and the same thing. (LS, 49)
Both the Northern and Southern environment meetings grew out of a desire to put the teaching of the encyclical into practice. Austen will help us to reflect on where we have come in the last ten years and what we are being called to do in the next ten.
Those who booked for the 8th May meeting do not need to book again, but if you are able to confirm your attendance by rebooking via Eventbrite, then it will help us to get a better idea of numbers.
NEW DATE – Wednesday 4th June, 7-9pm, Celebrating Laudato Si’ with Austen Ivereigh.
All are warmly invited to the third meeting in the National Justice and Peace Network (NJPN) series of events for this Jubilee Year of Hope The day at CAFOD’s office at Romero House, 55 Westminster Bridge Road, London SE1 7JB, on Saturday 10 May, 10.15am until 4.00pm.
This day will be facilitated by the NJPN Environment Group, and will include experience of being in a Live Simply parish; Tackling Debt and the Climate Crisis in the Jubilee Year; Greening Church Investments: fossil fuel divestment and investment in climate solutions; and Honouring our Covenants for Care of Creation.
A Filipino bishop who has played a key role in the implementation of Laudato Si’ in the Philippines and Avril De Torres (Deputy Executive Director of CEED Philippines) are to speak on the day’s theme of, ‘Opening doors to a sustainable world for future generations’. In the lead up to Laudato Si Week, Bishop Gerardo Alimane Alminaza of San Carlos will focus on extractive industries and the need for ethical investment, alongside Bokani Tshidzu of Operation Noah and James Buchanan of the Laudato Si Movement.
Shanon Shah, the Muslim Director of Faith for the Climate, will lead group work on creation-centred theology – taken from ‘Laudato Si’, ‘Laudato Deum’ and the Muslim document ‘Al Mizan: A Covenant with the Earth.’ Other speakers include Mary Finnerty, Lead Economist at CAFOD, and Mary and Peter Johnson of the Livesimply parish at Lexden in Brentwood Diocese and the Southern Dioceses Environment Network.
J&P activists from around England and Wales will be attending the day, which will be chaired by Paul Kelly of the Northern Dioceses Environment Group. Sr MaryAnne Francalanza of the FCJ Centre for Spirituality and EcoJustice at Euston and Colette Joyce (Westminster Justice & Peace) will lead liturgies. .
We are asking that you register to attend this Networking Day by emailing Sharon Chambers at admin@justice-and-peace.org.uk as we are limited to a certain number.
Tea and coffee will be provided, please bring your own lunch.
The Northern Dioceses Environment Group and the Southern Dioceses Environment Network are combining to present this evening of celebration for the 10th Anniversary of Laudato Si’ – On the Care of Our Common Home on Thursday 8th May 2025 online from 7.00-9.00pm.
Our speaker and facilitator for the event is journalist and papal biographer Austen Ivereigh, who will help us to reflect on where we have come in the last ten years and what we are being called to do in the next ten.
As we also remember, mourn and celebrate the life of Pope Francis, the evening will have a synodal style so come ready to participate, listen and share as a full and valued contributor whether this is your first NDEG/SDEN meeting or whether you are a veteran of many previous gatherings! All are welcome.
The publication ofthe papal encyclical, Laudato Si‘, in 2015 galvanised Catholics around the world and in every country to unite with those of all other faiths and none in the common cause of caring for our home planet and all the people on it. Pope Francis urged us to integrate questions of justice into our debates on the environment, ‘so as to hear both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor’ – for they are one and the same thing. (LS, 49)
Both the Northern and Southern environment groups grew out of a desire to put the teaching of the encyclical into practice. We invite you to join us as we celebrate all that has been accomplished through so far through the promulgation of this encyclical and all that is yet to be.
Interim communications officer, Jon Chew, reflects on the recent multi-faith eco-summit on 23 February, 2025.
Colette Joyce (Westminster Justice and Peace Co-ordinator and Trustee of Faith for the Climate) and Fr Dominic Robinson SJ (Justice and Peace Chair) were in attendance on behalf of the Diocese.
“Out beyond ideas of wrongdoingand rightdoing there is a field. I’ll meet you there. When the soul lies down in that grass, the world is too full to talk about.” – Jalaluddin Rumi
Rabbi Debbie Young-Somers, trustee of Faith for the Climate. Photo by Jon Chew
As Rabbi Debbie Young-Somers, a trustee of Faith for the Climate, led us in ‘Hinei Ma Tov’ – a Jewish hymn sung at Shabbat feasts – I was reminded of the field the Sufi poet Rumi speaks of. While evocative, this translation by Coleman Barks has been accused of de-Islamifying Rumi a bit too much.
There is another translation by the British scholar A.J. Arberry that is closer to the original meaning of the Persian:
“Beyond Islam and unbelief there is a ‘desert plain.’ For us, there is a ‘passion’ in the midst of that expanse. The knower [of God] who reaches there will prostrate [in prayer], (for) there is neither Islam nor unbelief, nor any ‘where’ (in) that place.”
In this rendering, the middle ground between belief and unbelief feels like a blank canvas, a place that may be too scary for some to enter. But here, a worshipper of God finds a unique passion, where your heart and devotion to truth and healing fills the expanse. A passion that is no less devoted, that causes us to prostrate in prayer, but maybe, a place where fellow pilgrims are feasting with each other. A place where we are bound not by the ferocity of our arguments, but by our need to find kinship.
Hinei mah tov umah na’im / Shevet achim gam yachad. Behold how good and pleasing it is, for people to sit together in unity.
An act of gathering can be a provocation for our times, because these are the times we live in. On February 23, around 150 of us spent an afternoon at Friends House in London for our ‘Healing the Earth, Healing Ourselves’ summit. Co-organised with Christian Climate Action and Quakers in Britain, we came together in The Light Auditorium, where a vaulted roof stretched with holy hands to the skylight above, almost in recognition that the sacred provides safety for the extra-ordinary.
Event attendees gathering inside The Light Auditorium. Photo by Jon Chew
Diocese of Westminster Justice and Peace Commission 