Category: News

Two Augusts in Japan

Urakami Cathedral - largest church in East Asia. It took 30 years to build, 30 seconds to destroy
Urakami Cathedral – largest church in East Asia. It took 30 years to build, 30 seconds to destroy

Source: Independent Catholic News

August 2021. The eyes of the world are focused on Japan. The world’s athletes compete for gold, silver and bronze medals.

August 1945. The eyes of the world are focused on Japan. The two most destructive weapons ever produced fall on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

A Message from the Mayors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki:

“In August 1945, atomic bombs instantaneously reduced our cities to utter ruin and took over 201,000 precious lives. Many of those who survived have since suffered the devastating after-effects of radiation, the never-ending horror of a nuclear weapon. Even today, the full scope of radiation effects is unknown, and survivors still live in dread.

Hiroshima and Nagasaki have consistently followed the lead of our survivors, who arose from the depths of despair to warn the world about nuclear weapons. Through the efforts of many, we have thus far prevented a third use of such weapons, but sadly, our cherished hope of eliminating them has yet to be fulfilled.”

We at Christian CND find that many people are still ignorant of the horror of what happens after a nuclear blast. If they truly understood, they could not contemplate how a so-called civilised country, let alone one that shelters under the label of “Christianity,” would base its security on such evil. Pope Francis understands this absolutely and has called even the possession of such instruments of death, immoral. The Vatican has led the nations of the world in signing the Treaty to Abolish Nuclear Weapons.

This is what happened in Hiroshima on 6 August 1945. The temperature on the ground was 3,000 to 4,000 degrees. An observer writes that, “on the riverbank I saw figures that seemed to be from another world. Ghost-like, their hair falling over their faces, their clothes ripped to shreds, their skin hanging in tatters. A cluster of these injured persons moved wordlessly towards the outskirts.”

The Shiroyama National School lost 1,400 primary aged children, 31 teachers, and 105 students. The Shima Hospital was directly under the hypocentre. The initial radiation emitted was lethal as far as 1000 metres from the hypocentre. Most in that area died within a few days and many others, including relief workers, within the next few months. Many developed cancers five to 30 years later.

Many of those who could, escaped to Nagasaki. “This is a Christian City”, they said; “we will be safe here.” Three days later Nagasaki also received an atomic bomb!

Keiji Nagazawa was a child of six when the bomb fell on Hiroshima. When he grew up he became a film maker. ‘Barefoot Gen’ is a Manga film of his memories of that 6 August. It is still available online, intensely moving and a passionate plea for the end of war.

Knowing what these terrible weapons do to God’s beloved people and the beautiful home given to us, how can we ever contemplate their use? How can we tolerate our own government’s increasing its lethal stock of warheads, each one over eight times as powerful as the one dropped on Hiroshima? How can we allow more than two billion pounds being spent to renew and expand our Trident weapons programme? How can we tolerate the frequent convoys carrying these horrendous instruments of death up and down our public roads between Aldermaston and Coulport in Scotland?

If you want to know more about what can be done, or help in the campaign to rid the world of such evil, please get in touch with us at Christian Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament or Pax Christi.

Michael and Patricia Pulham are on the Christian CND Executive

LINK

Christian CND – https://christiancnd.org.uk/

Pax Christi – https://paxchristi.org.uk/

Westminster Diocese committed to becoming carbon neutral by 2030

Photo: Lawrence Lew OP

Photo: Lawrence Lew OP

Source: Diocese of Westminster

The Diocese of Westminster has committed to do its utmost to become carbon neutral by 2030 in its parishes and curial buildings. It has also expressed its commitment to working with schools to encourage them to follow the same path.

As Pope Francis explains in Laudato Si’, caring for God’s created world and cooperating with the Holy Spirit in this work of creation is everyone’s responsibility, not least that of the faithful.

Taking the lead and setting an example for others is an important part of this work. To that end the diocese has been working for a number of years to transition away from reliance on carbon fuels and to implement policies that will promote a greener future.

The comprehensive plan, which currently includes 14 policies and 43 separate project streams, focuses on four pillars:

1. Clean energy sources: Since 2017, a concerted effort has been made to transition towards cleaner sources of electricity and gas supply for parishes and diocesan offices. We have worked proactively with other dioceses to establish Inter Fuel Management (IFM), a Catholic mutual which sources energy from green sources. Together with Churchmarketplace, another Catholic mutual owned by the dioceses of England and Wales, which increases our collective purchasing power, we rely on these partners to help us find solutions that will enable the transition to a carbon neutral future. Currently, 100% of the electricity supply is from green sources, as over 70% of the gas supply comes from the by-product of biological processes, with the remainder being offset. As the bio gas market expands, we expect that 100% of our gas supply will come from green sources.

2. Investment policy: For a number of years, we have been working with other churches to use our collective investment portfolios to engage with energy companies to encourage them along the path of decarbonisation. Our investment portfolio does not include shares in any major coal producers, producers of oil from oil sands or in companies that do not engage fully with disclosure projects. In the past couple of years we have taken the additional decision to divest entirely by the end of 2021 from electrical utility and fossil fuel companies that have not taken any steps to manage their businesses in line with the Paris Accord (that is, to limit temperature rises to well below 2C above pre-industrial times). We are on track to meet this objective.

3. Carbon emissions from energy usage in parishes and diocesan buildings: There are two simple, but difficult, steps that will be taking to reduce carbon emissions: a) reducing consumption, and b) eliminating carbon being burnt. Reducing consumption requires a change in each of us, a conversion, to understand that it is up to each one of us to reduce energy use. Today, more than ever, priests and people are very aware of the need to reduce consumption and are already taking steps. It is our hope to continue to encourage everyone to reduce their consumption.

Eliminating carbon emissions as a by-product of consumption is more challenging. It will require changing heating systems in all properties, including diocesan offices, residential units, presbyteries, churches and other ancillary parish buildings. Some of these will be easier to change than others. With changes in technology, it will be possible to install heating systems that use clean energy, such as ground source heating, in residential properties. Changing heating systems in our churches can be substantially more challenging because of the size and nature of these buildings, and the historical listing of some of them. However, we are committed to helping parishes along this journey, and will be focusing on helping those parishes that have higher energy consumption at present to find the right solution, such as underfloor heating which uses electricity.

4. Generating energy: With technology continuing to evolve, we hope that it will be possible for us to generate energy using the various parish and diocesan properties. Some clean energy generation, such as solar panels, can be difficult because of the nature of church roofs, particularly on listed churches. However, other sources, such as ground source energy and wind energy, may prove viable options. We already have a number of successful examples of energy generating systems in parishes and other diocesan properties. These sources of energy can help us accelerate the move away from carbon sources, and provide a viable alternative to the benefit of our communities.

As part of the culture shift, we are also embedding these pillars in our decision-making processes. This will affect every project we undertake, including building and/or refurbishing properties.

We have already made some strides along the path to a carbon neutral future. It is not an easy process, but this is a calling and a responsibility for us all. Working together with everyone, as well as anticipated technological advances and changes in government policies, will enable us to achieve our goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2030.

NJPN Conference Report – Taking Action for Life on Earth: Moment of Truth

Christine Allen, Bishop John Arnold and Lorna Gold

Christine Allen, Bishop John Arnold and Lorna Gold

Source: Ellen Teague, Independent Catholic News

The chant: “We come together for our common home”, ran through the liturgies at this year’s annual conference of the National Justice and Peace Network of England and Wales (NJPN). It attracted 200 participants to Derbyshire for the first face to face meeting of Justice and Peace activists from every diocese since the pandemic started. The line came from a new hymn written by liturgical musician Marty Haugen especially for the conference, which took the theme, ‘2021: Moment of Truth – Action for Life on Earth’.

A music group led by Colette Joyce, Justice and Peace Co-ordinator in Westminster Diocese, and including pianist Christine Allen Director of CAFOD and Columban co-worker James Trewby on the clarinet, reflected the broad range of participants seeking to mobilise for the November COP26 climate talks in Glasgow. Also, to promote ecological conversion and action in the Church and wider society, all inspired by the papal encyclical Laudato Si’.

Conference chair Christine Allen reminded the gathering that there are now 100 days to COP26 and CAFOD is working with the Global Catholic Climate Movement (GCCM) and faith leaders to lobby for global warming to be kept below 1.5 degrees. She reported that CAFOD, “amplifies voices around the world in climate vulnerable situations”. Bishop John Arnold of Salford, lead bishop on the environment for England and Wales, said Churches and faiths are making clear they want action. He has been in zooms with COP26 president Alok Sharma MP, “trying to speak loudly to politicians”. He thanked NJPN “for who you are, what you stand for and what you want, and for keeping Pope Francis as an inspiration in our lives and actions.” “It is important to acknowledge the truth of the crisis of our common home,” he said.

Fr P Joshtrom Isaac Kureethadam SDB, Coordinator of the ‘Ecology and Creation’ sector of the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, told the conference in a video message: “the planet is crying out and the poor are crying out; we need to open our ears and hear these painful cries.” He felt there is hope and that “this could be a watershed, a moment of change.” He told NJPN that, “you can count on the support of our Dicastery as we work together under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit as families, parishes, communities, institutions, to heal and protect mother Earth.”

Keynote speaker Lorna Gold, Chair of the Board of the GCCM and author of ‘Climate Generation: Awakening to Our Children’s Future’, highlighted the “vibrant network of networks sustaining and nurturing ecological conversion right across the world” and turning Laudato Si’ “into a lived reality.” She applauded the role young people have played in stimulating climate action. “Young people have done more in two years than the rest of us have done over three decades” she said. Lorna felt the pandemic is teaching us that we are all connected to each other and to nature and what it means to act together to face a common threat. She felt Pope Francis’ vision of ecological conversion refers to “community conversion” and asked: “What if that process of community ecological conversion was to extend to the entire world of faith communities that still encompass 80% of the world’s population?”

Andy Atkins, head of Arocha UK, underlined how far Churches have come with programmes such as Live Simply, Eco Church, Eco Congregation, Climate Sunday and Fossil Fuel Divestment with Operation Noah. In fact, more than 5000 churches across the denominations are registered with green schemes which “was unimaginable 30 years ago” but “we need to speed up.” He deplored the UK government’s loss of credibility to deal with the crises facing us. “At a time when the government says it is leading the world it has cut its aid budget and has opened the door to fossil fuel development,” he lamented; “we should be saying No More Fossil Fuel Exploitation in This Country!” Lorna felt the 20 October announcement of fossil fuel divestment should include the 18 Catholic dioceses on England and Wales that have not yet announced divestment.

Speaker Mark Rotherham, of the Northern Diocese Environmental Group, felt it essential we transform our current economic system so that it promotes both social equality and environmental protection. “A good life sustaining economy is about slowly down and recognising planetary boundaries” he said. He described the arms industry as “a huge shadow over our nation” and felt that we need to withdraw legitimacy from this draw on global resources and energy.

There was so much more, from Fr Eamonn Mulcahy CSSp developing a critique of anthropocentrism and the technocratic paradigm, taken from Laudato Si’, to NJPN Chair Paul Southgate teaching the conference a Navajo hymn of praise! Young university and school students told the conference they would like “less of fossil fuel companies pretending to care and schools accepting money from them”. They called for Catholics “to challenge the increasingly hostile policy towards refugees”, many of whom are victims of our actions in arms trading and raising global temperatures. One highlighted “the detachment of our education system from real life” and the attitude that “the more money we have the more successful we are.”

An action planning session at the end included dioceses forming Laudato Si’ Action Platform groups, organising Climate Sunday Masses, promoting the Live Simply programme in parishes and schools, and urging divestment from fossil fuels. Columbans and Salesians are among those arranging a 24-hour prayer vigil on 5 November that parishes can join, with intentions fed in from around the world. Many dioceses plan to connect with the Young Christian Climate Network (YCCN) pilgrimage to Glasgow and the Camino to COP26, setting off in September.

There were more than 20 stalls in the ‘Just Fair’ and around 15 workshops on such topics as: ‘Sustainable Development Goals,’ ‘Conflict and Environment,’ and a ‘Nature Explorer Walk’ with a botanist. Justice and Peace Scotland gave a briefing around ‘Attendance at COP26 – real or virtual’.

Since 2005, NJPN has regularly taken an environmental theme for the national conference and its Environment Working Group, formed that year, helped plan the 2021 conference.

LINKS

NJPN Conference 2021 Hashtag: #NJPNlifeonearth

The video of Fr Eamonn is now on YouTube at: https://youtu.be/GBxQe-ZKdwU

All videos from the weekend will be added to the playlist at https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4HAuivOZMEWq7cF8bAWUskTb1kF91_09

Text of Bishop John Arnold’s Homily at the NJPN Conference Mass

NJPN Conference 23-25 July in Swanwick – 1 Free Place – last minute opportunity

THE PLACE HAS BEEN FILLED. THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR INTEREST

Owing to a late cancellation, Westminster Justice & Peace has a free place to offer to one lucky person from the Diocese who would like to attend the Conference this coming weekend.

‘2021: Moment of Truth – Action for Life on Earth’ is the theme of the 43rd annual conference of the National Justice and Peace Network of England and Wales (NJPN). It will take place 23-25 July in Derbyshire with nearly 200 participants and taking Covid precautions.

The Conference is chaired by Christine Allen, the Director of CAFOD, and Speakers include Fr Eamonn Mulcahy, Lorna Gold, Mark Rotherham and Lord Deben. The Conference Mass will be celebrated by Bishop John Arnold, Lead Bishop for the Environment for the Catholic Bishops Conference of England and Wales.

The offer includes fully paid return train travel – leaving St Pancras Station at 12.05 on Friday 23rd July and returning at 17.47 on Sunday 25th July.

Please contact Colette Joyce, the Justice & Peace Co-ordinator, by 12noon on Thursday 24th July to express your interest. Priority will be given to young adults age 18-30 but please contact Colette anyway if you are older than this as we would like to ensure that the booking is used if at all possible!

Email: colettejoyce@rcdow.org.uk Mobile: 07593 434905

If sending an email please include a short statement (no more than 2/3 sentences) saying why you would like to go to the Conference…

Find out more about the Conference plans here – https://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/42666

Visit the NJPN website – National Justice and Peace Network

Caritas Westminster Statement on Nationality and Borders Bill

Source: Caritas Westminster

One of the principles of Catholic Teaching is the “Preferential Option for the Poor”. This means going beyond treating people equally, but rather working to bring people out of their desperate situations, enabling them to live full and dignified lives. It means we can judge our decisions, and the decisions of policy makers on their impact on those who have the least. It also means, as Pope Francis says, to put the poor at the centre of our thinking

On 6 July the Nationality and Borders Bill entered parliament. The government has said this Bill will produce a fair and just asylum system. But many Catholic charities have said that the proposals are unfair, unjust and will not work. They also do nothing to address the root causes of forced migration and trafficking.

Bishop Paul McAleenan spoke at the latest Diocese of Westminster network meeting for those working with migrants and refugees, saying, “one can look at what is immediately before us, refugees seeking shelter, and address that question, which we should do. We can also be bolder and ask, ‘How did this happen?’ Are we somehow responsible for creating this situation?” For example, when people flee from conflict, we could ask “who supplied the weapons for that war?” And if someone needs to leave their home because it has become uninhabitable due to the changing climate, we know that wealthier countries like the UK have contributed more to climate breakdown.

Watch Bishop Paul’s contribution at this meeting on YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSdhV-_KCFc

The Nationality and Borders Bill treats people who have been forced to flee their home, as a problem to be solved, rather than as a product of an unjust global situation. Its aim is national self-preservation and self-interest, rather than compassion, and care for humanity.

Those working in foodbanks, homeless drop-ins and other projects supported by Caritas Westminster, witness first hand how our asylum system forces people into destitution.

The new Bill will make this worse by deliberately dividing refugees into two groups – those who came here under a government resettlement scheme, and those who had to make their own way using unsafe and so-called “illegal” routes. This in itself is discriminatory.

As Bishop Paul said: “Catholic Social Teaching states that each person must be treated with equal care, equal compassion and equal dignity, all are made in the image of God. They are all refugees, all fleeing for whatever reason.”

The Government also claims that penalising those who have been forced to pay traffickers for unsafe boat crossings will put those traffickers out of business. But as Bishop William Kenney, a member of the Santa Marta Group, said of these proposals: ‘Across the world it has been consistently demonstrated that policies criminalising those seeking sanctuary and introducing new border security measures do not save lives but are simply a charter for trafficking’

The Bill includes plans to expand the use of asylum accommodation centres. Centres like the Napier Barracks have been housing asylum seekers in prison like conditions, effectively punishing people who have arrived using “illegal” routes. This could be against article 31 of the 1951 Convention on Refugees. The use of such centres is not only inhumane, but provides little support for people to navigate their way through the complex asylum claim system. It also prevents refugees integrating into British community life, creating more division and suspicion in our population.

Caritas Westminster, along with other Catholic Charities sees three main issues that the Government needs to address:

The asylum system should never penalise people for arriving spontaneously or without documents, or differentiate asylum claims on the basis of how people got here. Most refugees have no choice of how they travel.

Asylum claimants should have safe and dignified accommodation within British communities.

Secure safe routes to the UK and prevent dangerous Channel crossings. We need ambitious, compassionate and detailed plans that will meaningfully expand safe routes to the UK for refugees – until then, people will continue to risk dangerous journeys to reach protection and loved ones.

What can you do?

Responses from Catholic charities with expert knowledge of refugees and the asylum system:

The SVP says: “In a nutshell, only those who have travelled directly to the UK from a country where their life or freedom was at risk will be able to claim asylum on arrival. Those who arrive via a third country will have no opportunity to claim asylum on arrival and will be at risk of being sent offshore, leaving them vulnerable and stripped of their human rights. This approach abandons the principle of international protection and ignores the reality of forced migration. This proposal is unlikely to deter people making dangerous journeys to the UK to find safety.”

“The Refugee Convention does not state that a person must claim asylum in the first safe country they reach. We believe that by penalising asylum seekers based on their mode of transport to the UK and the route they took to arrive on our shores the Government is creating an asylum system lacking any kind of empathy or compassion for human beings in need.”

On the publication of the Bill, Sarah Teather the Director of JRS UK said: “Today is a dark day in British history. Punishing people seeking safety for how they travelled to the UK is a shameful violation of our commitment to international law & puts many more lives at risk. Those seeking refuge on our shores deserve to be welcomed with humanity, and fair process – not a barbaric culture of hostility.”

LINKS

Nationalities and Borders Bill – https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3023

JRS report published earlier this year: Being Human in the Asylum System – www.jrsuk.net/publications/

Message of Pope Francis for World Day of Migrants and Refugees 2021 – www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/messages/migration/documents/papa-francesco_20210503_world-migrants-day-2021.html

Response to the Bill from Safe Passage – www.safepassage.org.uk/news/2021/7/7/our-response-to-the-borders-bill

Preparing for the Season of Creation

Source: Ellen Teague Independent Catholic News

It is July and I am watching birds pecking at the first signs of tiny fruit on a damson tree in my garden. I don’t mind – there is enough for sharing, and plenty of tasty ripe damsons will be harvested for us and our neighbours in the Autumn. It is wonderful that harvest services in our churches around October have long celebrated the fruitfulness of Earth, our common home, and the generosity of God, the Creator.

In Britain, planning has started for marking the Season of Creation in our parishes and schools. The Season of Creation is the annual Christian celebration of prayer and action, which starts 1 September, the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, and ends 4 October, the Feast of St Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of ecology. Within it is CAFOD’s Harvest Fast Day on 1 October.

United around this year’s theme ‘A home for all?’, Christians are planning to participate in initiatives of prayer, sustainability, and advocacy to care for our common home. Churches are invited to hold a climate-focused service on any Sunday before COP26 this November, but most will be in September. The collective impact of local church commitments and action will be presented to the UK Government at the Climate Sunday Service in Glasgow on Sunday, 5 September 2021 to demonstrate that the Churches are calling on our government to lead the way in delivering a cleaner, greener and fairer future.

This Season of Creation will also be a critical moment for Catholics to prepare to lift up the voices of the most vulnerable and advocate on their behalf ahead of two important summits, the UN Summit on Biodiversity in China (COP 15) in October and the UN Climate Summit in November (COP 26). The National Justice and Peace Network (NJPN), CAFOD, Columbans and others have prepared for the Season of Creation with sample services and resources for the whole month of September and early October. The NJPN annual Conference 23-25 July, ‘2021: Moment of Truth – Action for Life on Earth’, is a great opportunity for hearing about exciting creation-centred initiatives this year.

Ninety-five parishes and schools have now achieved CAFOD’s livesimply award, where they have worked towards projects to live simply, sustainably and in solidarity with the poor. Yet, the focus on Creation in the Autumn attempts to bring many more Catholics on board for caring for our common home. The Season of Creation offers the opportunity for a common witness of the Churches. And the time to do it is now, as the planet continues to warm, causing terrible suffering for the poorest communities on Earth, and many other species are being pushed to extinction.

2021 is also the year when the Vatican Dicastery of Human Development is inviting us to embark on a journey through the ‘Laudato Si’ Action Platform’, to be launched on 4 October 2021. All parts of the Church are expected to embark on this journey to sustainability, in the spirit of ‘Laudato Si’, towards integral ecology. It is hoped that each area pf the Church’s mission will make public commitments to the seven ‘Laudato Si’ goals:

– Response to the Cry of the Earth

– Response to the Cry of the Poor

– Ecological economics

– Adoption of Simple Lifestyle

– Ecological Education

– Ecological Spirituality

– Community Involvement and Participatory Action

Its time to start preparing for September and the Season of Creation.

LINKS:

Home Landing EN 2024

www.cbcew.org.uk/home/our-work/environment/season-of-creation

https://cafod.org.uk/Pray/Season-of-Creation

Short video review of the Season of Creation 2020 – www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMdGYmetPW8

Vatican Letter promoting the Season of Creation – https://drive.google.com/file/d/1inZAPqO76fiA9XirHaCc-QCUOUlwXz7P/view

Climate Sunday – www.climatesunday.org

Laudato Si’ Action Platform: https://laudatosiactionplatform.org/

Summer 2021 Columban Vocation for Justice Newsletter, ‘Prepare the Future’ – https://columbans.co.uk/how-you-can-help/subscribe/vocation-for-justice/

A Columban resource, explores the Sunday scripture readings during the Season: www.columban.org.au/catholic-mission-files/pdf/educational-resources/catholic-season-of-creation/2021-year-b/year-b-introduction-2021-web.pdf

Columban Laudato Si’ Study and Action Guide for Individuals and Groups – https://columbans.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/July2016Laudato-Si-Study-and-Action-Guide-by-JPIC-Britain.pdf

Journey to 2030 – Season of Creation Resources – https://journeyto2030.org/praying-with-the-gospels-stories-from-around-the-world-and-excerpts-from-laudato-si/

Countdown to COP26: www.indcatholicnews.com/news/42594

Countdown to COP26

Source: Independent Catholic News

The United Nations climate talks (also known as the Conference of Parties or COP), that were scheduled to have taken place in Glasgow in 2020, will now take place 1-12 November 2021. COP26 will be biggest summit ever hosted in the UK – Covid permitting – with around 30,000 attendees expected.

It is the most significant climate event since the 2015 Paris Agreement. That is because COP26 is the first summit when countries must report back on their progress since the Paris Agreement and set out more ambitious goals for ending their contribution to climate change.

DATES

23-25 July The Hayes Conference Centre, Swanwick: Annual Justice and Peace Conference- Action for Life on Earth’ With talks and workshops linked to COP26.
www.justice-and-peace.org.uk/conference/

18-26 September Great Big Green Week – Action on Climate Change
https://greatbiggreenweek.com/

4 October – Launch of the Laudato Si Action Platform
www.laudatosiactionplatform.org

1-12 November Civil Society Convergence Spaces – creative hubs across Glasgow where activists can gather and connect together, warm up with food and drink, book meeting rooms, produce artwork and socialise.
https://cop26coalition.org/

5-6 November Days of Action in Glasgow and across the UK

7-9 November Alternative Summit in Glasgow in-person and online

WALKING TO COP26

Young Christian Climate Network
www.yccn.uk
Cornwall to Glasgow 13 June – 30 October

Camino to COP26
https://caminotocop.com
London to Glasgow 5 September – 29 October

WEBSITES

Glasgow COP action
https://cop26coalition.org/

The Climate Coalition
www.theclimatecoalition.org/

Global Catholic Climate Movement
https://catholicclimatemovement.global/

Green Christian COP26
https://greenchristian.org.uk/cop-26-glasgow-2021/

CAMPAIGNS

Healthy Planet, Healthy People Petition
https://thecatholicpetition.org/

Catholic Climate & Ecological Emergency Network (CCLEEN) – Fostering ecological conversion in the spirit of Laudato Si’, authenticated by action within the Church and advocacy in society.
https://christianclimateaction.org/2020/10/25/new-catholic-cca-initiative/

Reclaim our common home CAFOD Campaign includes calling on banks to cancel the debt of the world’s poorest nations. https://cafod.org.uk/Campaign/Latest-campaigns

Eyes of the World – CAFOD Schools Campaign on climate change.
https://blog.cafod.org.uk/2021/06/08/schools-leading-the-way-on-climate-campaigning/

Operation Noah’s Bright Now Campaign for fossil-free churches
https://brightnow.org.uk

Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill. The Bill asks the UK to take responsibility for its fair share of greenhouse gas emissions. www.ceebill.uk

Global Justice Now
www.globaljustice.org.uk/

Updated by the National Justice and Peace Network (NJPN) Environment Working group.

Fr Tom O’Brien Address for London Climate Action Week Interfaith Service

Father Tom O’Brien, Parish Priest of Our Lady Immaculate and St Andrew, Hitchin, and member of Westminster Justice and Peace Commission, gave the following address at the online interfaith service to mark the start of London Climate Action Week “Take Care for our common home” on 27th June 2021.

Coming together as we are today, united in a passionate concern for our common home and sharing our insights and beliefs, is precisely what Pope Francis wanted to happen when, in 2015, he wrote a letter to everyone in the world called Laudato Si or Praise be to you. Recognising that we face a catastrophic crisis, Pope Francis publicly proclaimed and clarified our deep concern for the destruction happening to our planet. He also recognised that this crisis can only be addressed together and globally. Whatever our differences of faith or of non-faith, we are all united in our growing concern for the future of our planet. The letter spells out the challenges we face clearly and succinctly and also recognises that we need to act now before it’s too late.

We believe that God called us to be stewards of creation which Pope Francis summarises as cultivating, ploughing, working, as well as caring, protecting, overseeing and preserving the natural world. This implies a relationship of mutual responsibility between human beings and nature. Each community can take from the bounty of the earth whatever it needs for subsistence, but it also has the duty to protect the earth and to ensure its fruitfulness for coming generations. It is a call to work with a creation that is only too willing to work with us.

The letter recognises that: “We urgently need a humanism capable of bringing together the different fields of knowledge, including economics, in the service of a more integral and integrating vision. Today, the analysis of environmental problems cannot be separated from the analysis of human, family, work related and urban contexts, nor from how individuals relate to themselves, which leads in turn to how they relate to others and to the environment” (#141).

Throughout the letter care for the earth is conjoined with care for the poor. They are indispensably connected. Laudato Si: “The human environment and the natural environment deteriorate together; we cannot adequately combat environmental degradation unless we attend to causes related to human and social degradation. In fact, the deterioration of the environment and of society affects the most vulnerable people on the planet: ‘Both everyday experience and scientific research show that the gravest effects of all attacks on the environment are suffered by the poorest'” (#48).

Our exploitation and abuse of the resources of the earth have led to increased Tsunamis, a continuing global rise in temperature that affects climate in a way that the poor, who depend on the land for sustenance, face long term droughts leading to a lack of clean water and starvation (25,000 a day, UN). Seeking survival leads them into underpaid jobs in which they are exploited, their basic rights are ignored and their freedom denied, so that we can have cheaper food and cheaper clothes to which they have no access. Laudato Si states There can be no renewal of our relationship with nature without a renewal of humanity itself. There can be no ecology without an adequate anthropology” (#118).

We are called to an inner conversion to a radical change in lifestyle, to living more simply, being less wasteful, to recycle and re-use, to be more generous to those in need. We must urgently lobby the government not to decrease our overseas support aid and even increase it.

Some of the fastest growing businesses in America are in energy efficiency and renewable energy helping produce the same output for half the energy.”

Businesses, who promote sustainability through the supply chain, have reduced their costs. They see pollution as a form of waste.

An organization that doesn’t waste anything is proved to be more efficient and more profitable.

Young people, led by the likes of Greta Thunberg, are calling for and fighting for a radical reduction in Co2 emissions. The recent G7 meeting has committed to fading out the use of fossil fuels and investing in renewable energy.

Being positive and hopeful is actually an important way to combat climate change. “We must look toward our positive shared future. The more we articulate the ability to get to that place, the more likely we are to get there.”

Expression of Hope;

Encouragingly, in Laudato Si, Pope Francis adds:

“Yet all is not lost. Human beings, while capable of the worst, are also capable of rising above themselves, choosing what is good, and making a new start, whatever their mental and social conditioning. We are able to take an honest look at ourselves, to acknowledge our deep dissatisfaction, and to embark on new paths. No system can completely suppress our openness to what is good, true and beautiful. I appeal to everyone throughout the world not to forget this dignity which is ours. No one has the right to take it from us. (#205)”

This was the first time London Climate action week had held an interfaith service and it was organised by South London interfaith group and Faiths Forum for London. Among the wide range of speakers there was humanist Richard Norman and pagan Robin Horne. Dr Ruth Valerio of Tearfund, Rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg, Zahra Kanani from Streatham mosque, Zoroastrian Vista Khosravi, Robert Harrap General director of SGI-UK, Sikh Balbir Singh Bakshi and Jain Varsha Dodhia all spoke about what there faith teaches about Creation and some of the practical actions their communities have undertaken. Bishop Karowei Dorgu, Anglican Bishop of Woolwich spoke about Southwark as an eco-diocese and what parishes are doing.

The recording can be found at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Np08uqSWiok

Students lead CAFOD’s ‘Eyes of the World’ Climate Campaign at Westminster

Photo by Thom Flint/CAFOD, Westminster 1st July 2021

By Nana Anto-Awuakye. Source: CAFOD/Independent Catholic News

In a stunt on Parliament Square Green, Westminster, today, Thursday 1st July, a group of young people unfurled a banner reminding the government that the ‘Eyes of the World’ are watching. ahead of the UK hosting world leaders at the UN climate conference ‘COP26’ in Glasgow this November.

Inspired by the words of Pope Francis’s encyclical Laudato Si both the young student campaigners and gap year students from UK charity CAFOD’s youth programme ‘Step into the Gap, want Boris Johnson to tackle the climate crisis and ensure that those worst affected are put at the heart of this year’s climate talks.

University student from Kings College London, Alexander Ugoh, 19, explains why he got involved with the campaign run by charity CAFOD: “I am invested in my future and the future of those who are coming after me. As a young person I can no longer sit idle when the stakes are so high.

“In a few years’ time, it will dawn upon us as young people that the responsibility to protect and preserve our world falls wholly on our shoulders. When that time comes, let’s already have measures and legislation in place.

“I’d like to see the inclusion of young people in some capacity at the important table talks later this year- as well as redistribution of funds towards sustainability and the communities most affected and impacted.”

Fulford Sixth former, Jennifer Sayer, 18 said: “I would like the world leaders to put the world’s most vulnerable people at the heart of their decisions. This isn’t a national problem and globally people are already suffering from the consequences of climate change.

“Soon we won’t be able to reverse the damage we have done, and this could be the UK’s last big opportunity to make productive steps forward in creating a sustainable future.”

The ‘Eyes of the World’ banner first made an appearance on the opening day of the G7 summit in Cornwall in June.

Accompanied by a massive art installation, created by pupils from St Mary’s primary school in Falmouth, more than 12,000 young people have now joined CAFOD’s campaign, urging world leaders to take action on issues like the climate crisis.

Over the next five months, the banner will travel to 15 landmarks across the UK – including the Houses of Parliament, the Senedd (Welsh Parliament) and Blackpool Tower – reaching its final destination in Glasgow at ‘COP26’ in November.

Sinead Callaghan, CAFOD’s young leadership coordinator, concluded: “Young people in the UK want Boris Johnson and other world leaders to take responsibility and use this year’s COP talks to commit to concrete actions that meaningfully support those communities on the front line of the climate crisis, including increasing climate finance for low-income countries and ending support for all fossil fuels.”

Read more about the CAFOD Eyes of the World campaign