Category: News

Report from Southern Dioceses Environment Network Meeting, 12th December 2022

Feedback on COP27, Advent and Planning for 2023

Neil Thorns, Director of Advocacy and Communications at CAFOD, gives feedback from COP27 which he attended as a delegate of the Holy See

Presentation by Neil Thorns, Director of Advocacy and Communications, CAFOD

Neil was a delegate for the Holy See (the Vatican) to COP26 and COP27. He told us that what was different about COP27 was that the Holy See had acceded to the Paris Agreement (2015) and so are now a party to the COP for the first time (as a State). This happened toward the end of October 2022 and it is worth noting that signing up comes with difficulties and challenges. It requires commitment. Preparation was minimal in terms of time, so the Vatican was not able to prepare this time in the way they probably will in future.

COPs have a direct impact influence on countries’ economies and policies, unlike e.g. The Sustainability Goals, which are voluntary. There are accountability and transparency mechanisms which is vital for the principles behind the COP and the impact it will have moving forward. What happens at COP matters because it has to be taken back to countries domestically.

The fault lines are clear between the countries that caused the climate crisis through historic emissions (UK, US, France, Germany etc.) and those that didn’t (Saudi Arabia, China, Brazil, India etc.) The common, yet differentiated, responsibilities between the two groups are held by some as a matter of principle and have political consequences.

At a COP there are actual negotiations and political signals (found primarily in the cover text).

THE GOOD

  • The cover text included food, rivers, nature-based solutions and right to a healthy environment for the first time.
  • Innovative financing options were part of the discussions and included in the cover text.
  • Negotiating streams dealt with:
  • Averting the climate crisis (mitigation) 
  • Minimising the harm from climate change (adaptation) 
  • Addressing the harm already done (loss and damage) 
  • A fund for loss and damage (compensation) has been agreed in principle and a transition group has been set up to work out the detail of how this is to be done.
  • Excellent expert report presented on reaching net zero and calling out greenwashing.
  • Sharm El-Sheikh Programme of Work established to take forward issues on food.

COP27 could have been worse – the first pavilion was a HUGE Saudi Arabian pavilion. Egypt was the president of COP27 and this first pavilion told a story of the influence the Saudi Arabians had on them.

THE BAD

Best expressed by Alok Sharma (UK COP26 President) in his closing remarks at COP27:


“Emissions peaking before 2025, as the science tells us is necessary.

Not in this text.

Clear follow-through on the phase down of coal.

Not in this text.

A clear commitment to phase out all fossil fuels.

Not in this text.

And the energy text, weakened, in the final minutes.

Friends, I said in Glasgow that the pulse of 1.5 degrees was weak.

Unfortunately, it remains on life support.”

Alok Sharma, COP27, Closing Remarks
  • The Climate crisis continues to hit people hard and fast.
  • The influence of fossil fuels companies took over.
  • No strengthening of 1.5 targets or phasing out fossil fuels, even though UK government strong stance on these negotiations. 
  • Climate finance – targets still not met from 2009 – big disappointment.
  • From CAFOD and Holy See point of view – disappointment with the narrow, productionist, approach to food systems. Nature/people outlook didn’t get a look in.

CAFOD, Holy See, and the Future 

The Holy See made a number of interventions.

  • Pressed for a comprehensive view of food systems, as found in Laudato Si’.
  • https://twitter.com/CAFOD/status/1592434466479542272 
  • Asked for separate financial mechanism for loss and damage. Taken notice of by other states. Thanked by the small island states for doing it.
  • Positive as a Catholic family for our voice to be heard.
  • In the build-up CAFOD had done work with partners. African Climate Dialogues. Brought partner voices into the COP.
  • Hope to be stronger and better prepared for the next COP. Early preparation is important.
  • It is important for us to think about pushing the UK Government.
  • We need to push on loss and damage, the food system as a national discussion (also the next CAFOD campaign.)

Q & A:  

  • What is the best way to push the UK government? Contacting MPs and being consistent is strong and don’t be afraid to send evidence. The more who speak the better – especially if they are Conservative. 
  • How does the work of the Holy See filter down through the Diocese level? If only – Being a part of the Holy See is seen as a government. A report will be done for the Bishops Conference of England and Wales by Neil Thorns and a suggestion has been made that the Holy See themselves do this but it is not simple. 
  • Was there a presence of other faiths? There are various groups recognised such as Indigenous groups, there is a strong representation of faith groups which is great to see. 
  • How influential are the side groups? Not one answer to this but if you see COP in the two ways – political/negotiating but then also the conversation that happens outside such as deals and agreements making traction.  
  • Has there been writing following COP27? Formal writing is not shared from my knowledge. Church globally sees this as important enough to take action – Bishops/Cardinals can be asked how we are translating the Paris agreement into our local realities. A bottom-up approach. 

Question: What is your response to Neil’s presentation? Where do you think we are now and what do you think will be important in 2023? 

Next Southern Dioceses Environment Network Meetings

Monday, 9 January  2023, 12.45-2.00pm  – Joint meeting

To start the year, the Northern Dioceses Environment Group and Southern Dioceses Environment Network will be meeting together to reflect on the challenges that lie ahead in 2023.

The meeting will hear from the Diocese of Salford that has been carrying out extensive surveys of all parish and diocesan buildings to develop a decarbonisation pathway and to help prioritise decarbonisation projects.

We will also get an update on the Guardians of Creation initiative with a focus on the engaging parishioners in the ‘ecological conversion’ we all need to make if we are to respond with urgency to the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor.”

Monday          13 Feb             12.45-2.00pm            
Monday          13 March        12.45-2.00pm            
Monday          15 May            12.45-2.00pm         
Monday          12 June           12.45-2.00pm
Monday          10 July            12.45-2.00pm            
Monday          11 Sept           12.45-2.00pm
Monday          9 Oct               12.45-2.00pm
Monday          13 Nov            12.45-2.00pm
Monday          11 Dec             12.45-2.00pm

KEY CLIMATE DATES
LINKS TO EVENTS & ORGANISATIONS

Resources

Journey to 2030 Updates:

‘Let Us Dream’ Activity Workshops

Advent resources to try and let us know your thoughts

New Journey to 2030 School Page

From the Catholic Bishops Conference of England and Wales (CBCEW):

Bishops Conference Environment Resolutions – Autumn 2022

Bishop John’s Podcast on ‘Call of Creation’

Revised document: ‘Call of Creation’ (October 2022)

Advent with Jesuit Missions: 17-24 December: ‘See Beyond the Headlines’ – Sign up or login to help create a more just world this Christmas.

King Charles III Meets Aid to the Church in Need Representatives and Survivors of Persecution

l-r: Fr Alfred Ebalu, Fr Dominic Robinson SJ, Dr Caroline Hull and King Charles III © ACN

Source: Aid to the Church in Need

HM King Charles III met witnesses of Christian persecution yesterday (Thursday, 8th December) at an Advent event in London where Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) took part.

The King listened as Father Alfred Ebalu, a survivor of abduction, death threats and violence in Nigeria, highlighted growing persecution of Christians and others in Africa’s most populous country.

Father Ebalu’s testimony was followed by an overview of heightened persecution in other parts of Africa, where it is requested that details go unreported for fear of endangering the faithful there.

Leading the delegation was ACN (UK) National Director Dr Caroline Hull, alongside Father Dominic Robinson SJ, the charity’s UK National Ecclesiastical Assistant (chaplain) and John Pontifex, ACN (UK) Head of Press and Information, who introduced the witnesses.

The King was given an introduction to ACN’s Persecuted and Forgotten? A Report on Christians oppressed for their Faith 2020-22, launched ahead of last month’s #RedWednesday, the charity’s campaign on behalf of the suffering Church.

The meeting took place at King’s House, a centre of worship, community outreach and mission run by King’s Cross Church, where representatives of social action and welfare groups gathered alongside Christian charities to meet the King.

Other VIPs included the Most Rev Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, who also met the ACN group, and Dame Sarah Mullally, the Bishop of London.

After the event, people packed into the nearby Ethiopian Christian Fellowship Church UK for an Advent service with Christmas music, prayers and blessings with input from King’s Cross Church, Archbishop Welby and Coptic Orthodox Archbishop Angaelos of London.

Friends and supporters of ACN were present at the service and the reception that followed.

After the event, Dr Hull said: “We are so grateful to the King for giving us the opportunity to introduce him to witnesses of Christian persecution. It’s so important that their stories be heard and our thanks go out to King’s House and all those who made the event such an important testimony to the vital role faith plays in our world today.”

LINK

Aid to the Church in Need: http://www.acnuk.org/

Southern Dioceses Environment Network Meeting Monday 12th December, 12.45-2.00pm, On Zoom – Guest Speaker: Neil Thorns

Banner made by a Yr 7 pupil for the London mobilisation on the Global Day of Action for COP27, 12th November 2022

The next meeting of the Southern Dioceses Environment Network will be on Monday 12th December, 12.45-2.00pm, on Zoom.

The Guest Speaker is Neil Thorns, the Director of Advocacy and Communications at CAFOD. Neil attended the UN Climate Conference COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt (6-18 November 2022) as part of the Vatican delegation. He will be sharing with us some of his insights and reflections from that experience.

We will also spend some time reflecting on the Advent Season and looking ahead to 2023

Register with Eventbrite

All Catholics and our friends with an interest in climate justice and protecting the environment are welcome to attend. For more details on the Southern Dioceses Environment Network and recordings of previous meetings please visit our webpage:

Southern Dioceses Environment Network

Peace and Justice for Nature – Antonio Guterres opens UN COP15 on Biodiversity

Source: Independent Catholic News

“We are waging war on nature. This Conference is about the urgent task of making peace.”

UN Secretary-General António Guterres gave the following address at the opening of UN Biodiversity Conference COP15 in Montreal, Canada, on 6 December. He is a practicing Catholic.

Nature is humanity’s best friend.

Without nature, we have nothing.

Without nature, we are nothing.

Nature is our life-support system.

It is the source and sustainer of the air we breathe, the food we eat, the energy we use, the jobs and economic activity we count on, the species that enrich human life, and the landscapes and waterscapes we call home.

And yet humanity seems hellbent on destruction.

We are waging war on nature.

This Conference is about the urgent task of making peace.

Because today, we are out of harmony with nature.

In fact, we are playing an entirely different song.

Around the world, for hundreds of years, we have conducted a cacophony of chaos, played with instruments of destruction.

Deforestation and desertification are creating wastelands of once-thriving ecosystems.

Our land, water and air are poisoned by chemicals and pesticides, and choked with plastics.

Our addiction to fossil fuels has thrown our climate into chaos – from heatwaves and forest fires to communities parched by heat and drought, or inundated and destroyed by terrifying floods.

Unsustainable production and consumption are sending emissions skyrocketing, and degrading our land, sea and air.

Today, one-third of all land is degraded, making it harder to feed growing populations.

Plants, mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish and invertebrates are all at risk.

A million species teeter on the brink.

Ocean degradation is accelerating the destruction of life-sustaining coral reefs and other marine ecosystems, and directly affecting those communities that depend on the oceans for their livelihoods.

Multinational corporations are filling their bank accounts while emptying our world of its natural gifts. Ecosystems have become playthings of profit.

With our bottomless appetite for unchecked and unequal economic growth, humanity has become a weapon of mass extinction.

We are treating nature like a toilet.

And ultimately, we are committing suicide by proxy.

The loss of nature and biodiversity comes with a steep human cost.

A cost we measure in lost jobs, hunger, diseases and deaths.

A cost we measure in the estimated US$3 trillion in annual losses by 2030 from ecosystem degradation.

A cost we measure in higher prices for water, food and energy.

And a cost we measure in the deeply unjust and incalculable losses to the poorest countries, Indigenous populations, women and young people.

Those least responsible for this destruction are always the first to feel the impacts.

But they are never the last.

Dear friends,

This Conference is our chance to stop this orgy of destruction.

To move from discord to harmony.

And to apply the ambition and action the challenge demands.

We need nothing less from this meeting than a bold post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework:

One that beats back the biodiversity apocalypse by urgently tackling its drivers – land and sea-use change, over exploitation of species, climate change, pollution and invasive non-native species.

One that addresses the root causes of this destruction – harmful subsidies, misdirected investment, unsustainable food systems, and wider patterns of consumption and production.

One that supports other global agreements aiming at protecting our planet – from the Paris Agreement on climate, to agreements on land degradation, forests, oceans, chemicals and pollution that can bring us closer to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

And one with clear targets, benchmarks and accountability.

No excuses.

No delays.

Promises made must be promises kept.

It’s time to forge a peace pact with nature.

This requires three concrete actions.

First – Governments must develop bold national action plans across all ministries, from finance and food to energy and infrastructure.

Plans that re-purpose subsidies and tax breaks away from nature-destroying activities towards green solutions like renewable energy, plastic reduction, nature-friendly food production and sustainable resource extraction.

Plans that recognise and protect the rights of Indigenous peoples and local communities, who have always been the most effective guardians of biodiversity.

And National Biodiversity Finance Plans to help close the finance gap.

LINK

Watch António Guterres’ address here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IORwC64I6w

6th December, 7pm – PACT Christmas Carol Service 2022 at Farm Street Church

You are warmly invited to the beautiful surroundings of The Church of the Immaculate Conception – Farm Street Church – in Mayfair, London, for the Prison Advice and Care Trust (PACT) 2022 Carol Service.

This very special event will take place at 7pm on Tuesday 6th December 2022.

Bishop Richard Moth will be presiding at the service. He is the Liaison Bishop for Prisons at the Catholic Bishops Conference of England & Wales.

Uplifting music will be provided by the Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School Sixth Form Choir, directed by Scott Price.

BOOK

Saturday 3rd December, 2pm, Pax Christ Peace Service – Advent 2022

This year’s Pax Christi Advent Service will be held at the Church of the Holy Apostles, 47 Cumberland Street, Pimlico, London SW1V 4LY.

The music will be led by Julie McCann and singers and instrumentalists will gather to rehearse at 10am in the church.  See Julie’s call for musicians here: https://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/45851

The service will be followed by an Alternative Christmas Market with Fairtrade and Palestinian goods, crafts and gifts, books, cards, refreshments and children’s activities.

You can watch the livestream of the service via the parish website https://www.holyapostlespimlico.org/ 

You may like to download the Service from the website and have a candle ready:   https://paxchristi.org.uk/

Westminster Justice and Peace E-Bulletin December 2022

Family members mourning Shereen Abu Akleh at a meeting with the Holy Land Coordination group May 2022

Bishop Nicholas Hudson writes:

“For the peace of Jerusalem pray!” (Psalm 122, 6). That was the phrase that resonated most deeply within me as we sought as a group of bishops to fathom Jerusalem’s religious vocation. We had gathered from diverse nations to make up this year’s Holy Land Coordination.

That Jerusalem is a Jewish city, a Christian city, a Muslim city: that was the deepest truth we took away from our visit to this city, which is so sacred to all three faiths. We also took away the conviction that the Christian community in Jerusalem has a particular calling to articulate this conviction.  Not only is the Christian community an essential part of Jerusalem’s identity.  It also has a peculiar freedom to speak the truth of Jerusalem’s multiple identity.

Meanwhile the Holy Land Coordination feels duty bound to warn that the Christian community’s continued presence there is threatened by occupation and injustice.  Many of those we encountered are facing violence and intimidation by settler groups, restrictions on their freedom of movement, or separation from their families because of the status they are assigned.

Issues of occupation, status, diverse cultures and faiths being forced to live alongside one another – every one of these modern realities was, of course, central to the Jerusalem into which walked the Holy Family two millennia ago. The Massacre of the Innocents, of “Rachel weeping for her children” (Jeremiah 31, 15), were made all the more real for us as we witnessed the pain being experienced by the family of Palestinian Catholic journalist Shireen Abu Akleh. She had been gunned down as she went about her work as a journalist reporting on the inequities she observed in Israeli society – only for her mourners to be fired upon as they laid her body to rest.

“I came into the world for this,” Jesus told Pilate, “to witness to the truth” (John 18).  Because he witnessed to the truth, his life was taken from him.  The life was taken from Shireen because she too witnessed to the truth.  

Visiting Jerusalem at the time of her mourning brought home to us with greater force than ever the truth that Christians worldwide share a dual vocation with regard to Jerusalem: to denounce the persecution of the continuing Christian community there but, at the same time, call that community to have the courage to declare more loudly than ever that this sacred place is not only Christian but also Jewish and Muslim. For that is surely the only way to “the peace of Jerusalem”.

+Nicholas Hudson

Advent 2022

Bishops meet with family of Christian Palestinian journalist killed in Jenin

Westminster Justice and Peace E-Bulletin December 2022Download

Posthumous Diocese of Westminster Award to Peace Campaigner Bruce Kent

Bruce Kent with the Pax Christi Banner

On Thursday 17 November, the Diocese of Westminster presented awards to eleven volunteers or groups of volunteers for their work in responding to needs in their parishes and communities. During the evening special mention was made of two individuals who had committed their lives to volunteering, and improving the lives of those around them. Bruce Kent, well known activist and campaigner for peace, and Libby Biberian, a volunteer at Caritas St Joseph’s.

Fr Joe Ryan, former Chair of Westminster Justice and Peace, gave this tribute to Bruce’s life and work:

“I have known Bruce Kent for over 50 years, firstly as a fellow-priest of the Archdiocese of Westminster. He was Secretary to Cardinal Hennan. As University Chaplain, he secured the premises at Gower Street and in priestly ministry I had always found him inspiring, encouraging and totally dedicated in his love of God and his fellow human beings. 

One can only stand in awe at the breadth and depth of his varied concerns for others.  

His vision was local but also there were no limits to his horizons. 

In five minutes how could anyone deal adequately with his involvement and leadership in the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND): Abolition of War; Amnesty International; Pax Christi; Social Justice; Human Rights; Geneva Conventions; Rights of Prisoners; His extensive Letter Writing and Prompting notes to Leaders; Ethical Investments; Parish involvement….. and much more 

All this involvement done with sincerity, clarity and a sense of humour. 

Whether you were rich or poor; powerful or less-so; Bruce treated each person with the same dignity and respect. 

He was a gifted speaker with natural authority. He had a razor-sharp intellect always able to get to the kernel of his topic in the minimum of words. His clarity of thought and his Christian faith brought light and direction to many of us struggling with complex arguments around subjects like war and peace and the care of our planet. 

He was all the time probing as to the underlying causes of injustices and human tragedies. This was where many people saw him as a threat. It was like Archbishop Helder Camera who once said: 

“When I feed the hungry, they call a saint, but when I ask why the poor are hungry, they call me a communist” 

When I replaced Bruce as parish priest in St Aloysius, Somers Town (Euston), our friendship entered a new phase. I had seen the work he had done in the parish and beyond and found it all so inspirational and uplifting. Personally, I am very much in debt to Bruce also for his encouragement during me thirteen years as Chair of the Westminster Justice and Peace Commission. 

And a new image of Bruce!  I could see him as God’s ventriloquist or the ventriloquist of the Holy Spirit! One who spoke on behalf of others who had no voice of their own. Jesus needs our hands, our hearts and our voices today to proclaim the Gospel message with clarity and conviction. Bruce did this with distinction! 

As we celebrate this award, given posthumously, and accepted by Valerie, his wife, there are a few important items for us all. The best way to pay tribute to Bruce is to take up maybe just one of the many concerns he had in his life. His tireless concern for the poor, the marginalised, those in whatever need they find themselves, the asking of relevant questions – these are the ways we can keep Bruce’s memories alive”. 

Diocese of Westminster Volunteering Awards

Pax Christi

“Extent of poverty in our country remains a scandal” – CSAN comment on Autumn Statement

Raymond Friel, CEO, CSAN

Source: Raymond Friel, Caritas Social Action Network

Last Thursday 17 November, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt MP, presented his Autumn Statement to Parliament. This came just under two months after the government’s disastrous mini budget on 23 September, which caused market turmoil with a plan to redistribute wealth to the already wealthy at a time when many were being dragged into poverty by a cost-of-living crisis.

The Autumn Statement is more responsible and measured, with a fairer approach to redistribution, but raises profound questions about the quality of life in the UK and the state of our public services for years to come. Extra funding for health and education is welcome, although it is modest. The most concerning aspect of the approach to public spending is that the most difficult decisions regarding cuts have been put off until 2025, after the next election.

The uprating of benefits in line with inflation, which we called for in our cost-of-living campaign is welcome. However, this uprating is not timely, coming into effect in April 2023. In the meantime, many people relying on benefits will struggle this winter to bridge the gap between their needs and what they receive, with inflation at a 40-year high and energy prices rising steeply. We call on the government to increase benefits in line with inflation immediately.

We are disappointed that no consideration was given to the removal of the two-child cap on universal credit payments, one of the ‘asks’ of the Bishops’ Conference’s Department for Social Justice briefing paper and the CSAN cost-of-living campaign. This is unfair on larger families and should be removed, or at the very least suspended pending a review of its impact.

We are also deeply concerned that the long-awaited social care reforms, a 2019 Conservative Manifesto pledge, will not now be implemented next year as planned.

Andrew Dilnot, who drew up the plans for reform, commented: “Without these reforms, individuals and families facing the possibility of long social care journeys are left entirely on their own, with the state only helping once their assets – including their homes – have dwindled down to the threshold”. We call on the government to honour their pledge to “fix social care” without delay.

The extent of the poverty in our country remains a scandal. In a recent report, the Trussell Trust revealed that 1300 foodbanks across the UK had given out 1.3 million emergency food parcels between 1 April and 30 September this year, an increase of 50% on pre-pandemic levels. This “tsunami of need” as they describe it has put charities at breaking point as they try to respond with diminishing resources.

Patrick O’Dowd, the Director of Caritas Salford, said recently: “Research from the University of Loughborough highlighted that about 228,000 children, we believe, living in Salford diocese are living in poverty. And that’s as high as about 42% of children in Manchester, one of the biggest, most populated areas in the city”. Patrick highlighted how Caritas Salford was working with other Catholic charities and CSAN members, such as the SVP and Out There, to meet the extraordinary level of need.

The economic outlook is bleak. Paul Johnson, the Director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, said: “The truth is we just got a lot poorer. We are in for a long, hard, unpleasant journey; a journey that has been made more arduous than it might have been by a series of economic own goals”.

The fifty-four member charities of Caritas Social Action Network stand in solidarity with those who experience various forms of poverty which prevent human flourishing. We are inspired by our Gospel mandate to proclaim good news to the poor and to build up God’s kingdom of justice, peace and love. We are committed not only to meeting the humanitarian needs of the present time but also, as Pope Francis said, (in Evangelii Gaudium, 188) “to eliminate the structural causes of poverty and to promote the integral development of the poor”.

We call upon the Catholic community to write to their MP to amplify our ‘asks’ of the government, revised in the light of the Autumn Statement, to describe the reality of poverty in their community and to share the good news of what the Catholic community is doing to meet this urgent need.

Raymond Friel is the CEO of Caritas Social Action Network

LINKS

For more information on CSAN Cost-of-Living campaign see: www.csan.org.uk/cost-of-living-crisis/

Read full Briefing Paper from the Bishops’ Conference Department for Social Justice: www.cbcew.org.uk/briefing-cost-of-living-crisis/.

Guardian comment: www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/nov/17/delaying-social-care-reforms-jeremy-hunt-uk-vulnerable

www.trusselltrust.org/2022/11/10/almost-1-3-million-emergency-parcels-provided-to-people-across-uk-experiencing-hunger-over-past-six-months-as-cost-of-living-emergency-drives-tsunami-of-need-to-food-banks/

www.cbcew.org.uk/caritas-salford-at-forefront-of-catholic-response-to-cost-of-living-crisis/

https://ifs.org.uk/collections/autumn-statement-2022

www.csan.org.uk/member/

Our Lady of Fatima Parish, West London, win the LiveSimply Award

Hilda McCafferty, Colette Joyce and Fr Richard Nesbitt at the parish of Our Lady of Fatima

By Ellen Teague. Source: Independent Catholic News

Love in Action – Live to Love’ are displayed in large letters on an arch greeting people entering the parish of Our Lady of Fatima in London’s White City. They were immediately welcoming to myself and to Colette Joyce, Co-ordinator of Westminster Justice and Peace Commission, as we visited the parish to assess it for the LiveSimply Award on 17 November. The award is given to Catholic parishes and schools in England and Wales which commit to live more simply and sustainably and to act in solidarity with the world’s poor.

We soon realised that we were in a beacon parish, with multiple initiatives for social justice and care of God’s creation. The parish has now become the seventh parish in Westminster Diocese and one of more than 70 parishes in England and Wales to achieve the award.

So much impressed us as we were shown around by parish priest Fr Richard Nesbitt – who is a trained Laudato Si’ animator – and parishioner Hilda McCafferty, who coordinates justice, peace and ecology work. The space around the church, once fairly bare, has been transformed into a beautiful green oasis which is prized in a built-up area with blocks of five-storey flats surrounding. The garden has been developed, “to increase biodiversity supporting a greater variety of wildlife and an environment where parishioners of all ages can enjoy nature and get more involved in ‘hands-on’ gardening.” Evergreen laurels are supplemented with flowering plants which are friendly to pollinators. In fact, several small insects landed on my glasses as we toured. A water feature and composting bin were nearby. Benches made from recycled plastic welcome parishioners to sit in the parish grounds, where one side has a Grotto and on the other a statue of St Francis with birds. Even on a soggy Autumn day the garden was inviting. We saw photos of a pet blessing in the local park of seven dogs and a cat.

Inside the church doors was a display of the parish LiveSimply project, including posters of a ‘Care of Creation Quiz Night’, a ‘Green Living Fair’, a parish viewing of ‘The Letter’, and ‘We are proud to be a Fairtrade Parish.’ The parish commitment of prohibiting disposable plastic was highlighted. Indeed, the parish has banned the use of throwaway crockery and cutlery in its parish hall and insists on the use of eco-detergents. Battery recycling was available by an entrance. Fair Trade products were on prominent display in the repository, alongside Archbishop Romero crosses produced in El Salvador. This demonstrated that while the parish maintains support for communities in the global south – with volunteering, fundraising and awareness raising for CAFOD, Mary’s Meals and linked parishes in Tanzania and Nigeria – the LiveSimply journey has led it to a commitment to the local community in White City. There are good links with Caritas Westminster and the Catholic Children’s Society.

There is a weekly sale of second-hand clothes – stored in the parish garage – and an annual ethical fashion show is very popular with the young people of the parish, especially Confirmation Candidates who are involved in its organisation. Walking, cycling and car sharing are promoted. In fact, the parish organises free cycling, maintenance and safety awareness classes for people of all ages, as part of an initiative to encourage parishioners to reflect on their transport choices. The Caritas ‘Love in Action’ programme gives parishioners a deeper understanding of the core principles of Catholic Social Teaching, which guides work in the parish. There are regular ‘Live Simply Challenges’ in the parish newsletter and online to encourage consuming less and living more simply and sustainably, such as ‘less wasteful Christmases’ and aspiring “not to have more but to be more.”

Parishioners get involved in supporting on-line and local campaigns on environmental, trade justice and poverty issues. This time last year – during the UN’s COP26 on Climate in Glasgow – a ‘Parliament in the Parish’ was organised involving local MP Andy Slaughter. In April 2022 parishioners joined CAFOD’s Walk Against Hunger. More recently, Hilda joined Westminster Justice and Peace at the London march for the Global Day of Action on Climate, linked to COP27. Around 15 parishioners meet regularly in a ‘Care of Creation’ zoom meeting.

On ‘Living Sustainably’, the parish has established an annual Care for Creation month (mid-September to mid-October) with a variety of events finishing with a parish Creation Mass. This aims to inform, educate and inspire the parish community to the “ecological conversion” which Pope Francis promotes in ‘Laudato Si’. It is also part of a desire for the parish to highlight environmental action within the wider local community. After a carbon footprint/energy usage audit, the parish has insulated buildings and changed all lighting to LED systems. There is an annual parish trip to a local recycling centre and new initiatives considered all the time.

The parish aims to make its parish centre a community hub and has resisted lucrative offers to rent which would have reduced access to the local community. This means regular classes and groups, as well as the Thursday Club for elderly parishioners, organised by Laura Allison, the parish’s Community Support Worker. She told us it was, “the highlight of my week,” and it was great that our visit was on a Thursday. We met senior citizens knitting squares for blankets for Ukraine and one was teaching seminarian John Casey to knit! Anastasia, aged 91, was crocheting a shawl to donate to the cause. Other rooms were used for keep fit classes for seniors, IT training and a ‘Reduce, Reuse and Recycle’ upcycling centre run by a Colombian parishioner called Marisol, who has received National Lottery funding to teach sewing and upcycling classes.

A culture of neighbourly care has been developed, with home visits for the housebound, elderly and isolated and transport for housebound parishioners. Weekly vegetarian meals are provided for the wider community, with 70-80 people of all faiths attending regularly. Surplus food is distributed in partnership with charities FoodCycle, Felix Project and City Harvest. The parish newsletter and social media provide regular feedback on the activities.

But back to the church, Colette and I were so impressed by new stained-glass windows in the church, created by London artist Mark Cazalet. Images contained faces which reflected the multi-cultural nature of the parish and background outlines of the White City landscape. Contextual theology was the inspiration, where theology has responded to the dynamics of this specific context. In two collages, saints of colour – such as Josephine Bakhita, Martin de Porres and Andrew Kim Taegon – were honoured alongside Bernadette of Lourdes and Maximilian Kolbe. Just last year the parish produced a book ‘Rooting out Racism from our Parish,’ with the desire to celebrate the diversity of the congregation and counter racism.

A young person in the parish – Alessandro, aged 10 – had been given a wall in the parish centre to decorate on the theme of ‘Love Creation’. The central globe was made of recycled materials; the land area with green bottletops from milk containers. Alongside drawings of flowers he wrote, ‘Save our Colours’. A power station belching out gases was among ‘The Causes of Global Warming’, and a cause of pollution, recognising that air quality is an issue in the area. It was life-affirming to see a young artist given this platform.

Hilda felt the award “will help us appreciate what we have done over the years.” Laura explained that “so many people have put such hard work into building up the parish and community, it is nice for everyone to celebrate.” Fr Richard took the view that, “all this work is an expression of living the Gospel in this real and raw community.”

The Catholic Bishops of England and Wales, meeting in Leeds last week, commended the LiveSimply Award as a response to Pope Francis’ invitation in Laudato Si’ to “work with generosity and tenderness in protecting this world which God has entrusted to us”. They encouraged all parishes and schools to consider signing up to the award “as a sign of their solidarity with the poor and their desire to live in harmony with God’s creation.”

The programme is administered by CAFOD and first award was given ten years ago, in 2012.

LINK
LiveSimply Award – https://cafod.org.uk/Campaign/LiveSimply-award