杏MAP导航

By Lisa Zengarini

On October 4, the Feast of St Francis of Assisi concluding the annual Season of Creation, 杏MAP导航 Francis will release 鈥淟audate Deum鈥� (鈥淧raise God鈥�), a new document intended to update his

According to Bishop John Arnold, Lead Bishop for Environmental Issues of the Bishops鈥� Conference of England and Wales (CBCEW), the follow-up of the landmark 2015 document on the protection of the environment and the dangers of climate change, 鈥渨ill be strong and will give an urgent warning鈥� for immediate action.

In a published on the CBCEW website ahead of the release of 鈥淟audate Deum鈥�, the Bishop of Salford explains why the time for renewed action for the environment is now.

Eight years on targets haven't been achieved

鈥淭he unfortunate thing is that eight years on, several COP meetings later, we really have not been achieving the targets that those COP meetings have agreed, and the damage is not being reduced. In fact, in some ways, it鈥檚 increasing鈥�, Bishop Arnold says. 鈥淪ome of the predictions of the environmentalists about what will be happening to the climate are proving to have been, in a way, simplified, and they鈥檙e actually accelerating faster now than those environmentalists were thinking鈥�.

Bishop Arnold remarks that there are many reasons for action now: 鈥淓very continent now has been struck and even in this country, we鈥檝e seen droughts and we鈥檝e seen unseasonal weather. It鈥檚 affecting our crops鈥�, he says.  

Scientific evidence on man-related climate change irrefutable

As for those who have a more sceptical view on the relation between climate change and human activity, Bishop Arnold notes that 鈥渢he evidence presented to us by people who really do understand the environment is irrefutable, that we are clearly going downhill rapidly.鈥�

We are stewards of creation

Echoing 杏MAP导航 Francis鈥� words, the English bishop therefore reiterates, that 鈥渆ach and every one of us has our part to play鈥� to address the crisis: 鈥淭hey may seem to be trivial measures that we take in order to save electricity, save water, eat less red meat, all these sorts of things, all small in themselves. But if we put them together, then they do make a big difference,鈥� he remarks. 鈥淲hat we鈥檝e got to look to is system change and the ending of fossil fuels 鈥� because they really are the most dangerous element in global climate change 鈥� we鈥檝e got to learn to live without fossil fuels.鈥�

A Christian duty

From a Christian perspective, Bishop Arnold recalls that we can鈥檛 take the most important commandments seriously unless we include nature and the environment: 鈥淚f we鈥檙e really going to love our neighbour, we鈥檝e got to look after the world in which we live because too many people are suffering through climate change and we鈥檝e plundered other nations for our profit, and that鈥檚 got to change鈥�.

In this same perspective, the Catholic Church too can do more for the environment, also in the field of education. 鈥淲e鈥檝e got to press ahead and make sure that we are a voice 鈥� a voice to our democratic nation that says we must change our policies and our life as a nation鈥�, Bishop Arnold concludes.

Source: https://www.cbcew.org.uk/