LEICESTER, United Kingdom – Pope Francis’s new document reaffirming his support for the fight against the global climate crisis has been sent to Britain’s Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, by England’s lead bishop for environmental Issues.
It was a copy of Laudate Deum, the most recent Apostolic Exhortation by Francis issued Oct. 4, and it serves as an update to the pope’s 2015 papal encyclical, Laudato Si’.
“Our parishes, as well as our 2,200 Catholic schools in England and Wales, are promoting understanding about this global challenge while working hard to ensure we make efforts to reach Net Zero in our local communities,” writes Bishop John Arnold of the Catholic Diocese of Salford.
The bishop notes the papal document notes care for each other as brothers and sisters is bound together “with our care for creation, with ecological concerns being intimately connected to the dignity of human life, especially the lives of the poorest and most vulnerable people who are most affected by extreme weather.”
“It begins by outlining the ways in which we in the industrialized world cannot necessarily rely upon the technocratic paradigm to address the climate crisis, given that resources for technological instruments are not themselves limitless,” he continues.
Arnold said Francis also points out that the world’s leaders have not yet developed the ethics, culture or spirituality capable of setting limits and teaching self-restraint in the use of technology, adding that the pope also calls on individuals, communities and governments to pursue personal and cultural as well as political change to address a crisis in which “every little bit helps.”
“Pope Francis therefore calls for reconfigured multilateralism, through which mechanisms we know the UK has been a successful vehicle of change in the past. Just as we as individuals all affect one another, in this global crisis no country is isolated from actions taken by other countries,” the bishop continues.
“The exhortation, however, recognizes that actions nobly taken by individuals, communities and individual governments are alone insufficient to achieve a sustained reduction in carbon emissions without coordinated action at the international level. Pope Francis therefore calls for reconfigured multilateralism, through which mechanisms we know the UK has been a successful vehicle of change in the past. Just as we as individuals all affect one another, in this global crisis no country is isolated from actions taken by other countries,” Arnold says.
He says the Catholic Church is asking the UK government to take a real global leadership role in this area for the sake of future generations. He says the Church recognizes that international tensions and conflicts at the current time make such leadership difficult, “but faced with, in the words of António Guterres, a ‘climate catastrophe’, it is important that everything is done to ensure that commitments made at COP meetings, and especially at the upcoming COP28 in Dubai, are kept.”
He added that the “rich tradition of Catholic social teaching” recognizes that securing the common good is the responsibility of all individuals and institutions in society, and that problems are too complex to be solved by the central government alone.
“I hope that, in addition to working towards reconfigured multilateralism, you will also consider approaches to the climate crisis which further champion and encourage action at the local and civil society group level, which the Catholic Church in England and Wales stands ready to support,” the bishop said.
Christine Allen of CAFOD, the main English Catholic charity, said Francis reminds the world that human beings and the earth are not replaceable commodities.
“We are interdependent and connected. Yet we continue to put greed over and above our love for each other or for our planet. We echo his calls for measures that will help to re-balance our world, including phasing out all fossil fuels and investing in clean energy sources,” she said when Laudate Deum was released.
“World leaders – including the UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak – cannot shirk their responsibility to the millions around the world who have contributed least to the heating of our planet. Instead of making hundreds of trips in private jets, politicians in wealthy countries must lead the way: Facing up to our historic responsibility as a major polluter, and providing more financial and technical support for communities to respond to the effects of climate change,” Allen said.
