This summer, Pope Francis plans to release an encyclical letter in which he will address environmental issues, and very likely climate change. His statement will have a profound impact on the public debate. For one, it will elevate the spiritual, moral and religious dimensions of the issue. Calling on people to protect the global climate Read more
Pope Francis reportedly cleared his schedule last week to focus on a final revision of his upcoming encyclical on the environment. The document is expected to be released in June or July. According to a Catholic News Service report, the encyclical will build on what Pope Francis’s predecessors have said. The document is expected to Read more
Pope Francis has met Tongan King Tupou VI and Queen Nanasipau’u Tuku’aho in the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican. They later met Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, accompanied by Archbishop Paul Gallagher, secretary for Relations with States. King Tupou expressed his satisfaction at the election of the first Cardinal from Tonga, Cardinal Soane Patita Read more
Pope Francis expressed in a message at the major U.N. climate change summit in Peru this week that the consequences of environmental change represent a “serious ethical and moral responsibility,” and warned that the time for action is running out. Francis warned Manuel Pulgar-Vidal, Minister of the Environment of Peru and President-Designate of the conference, Read more
Caritas supports the government’s prioritising of the Pacific for direct climate change related funding, rather than making a major contribution to the global Green Climate Fund. At the G20 summit in Australia on the weekend, Prime Minister John Key pledged $3 million to the Fund, but said New Zealand would continue to focus on the Read more
Pope Francis is to convene a meeting of faith leaders to address climate change issues ahead of two international summits next year. An encyclical on the environment, which will also address climate change, is expected from Francis next year. Bishop Marcelo Sánchez Sorondo, chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, said the encyclical would be Read more
Voices from Oceania recently gathered by Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand in an environment report lend weight to the latest United Nations report calling for dramatic cuts in fossil fuel use to avoid catastrophic and irreversible climate change impacts. “People across Oceania are already losing shorelines and experiencing rising temperatures and unusual weather patterns that have Read more
Book Review: This Changes Everything, Capitalism vs the Climate by Naomi Klein. This is a comprehensive and timely book. Klein says in part one, “If there has ever been a moment to advance a plan to heal the planet that also heals our broken economies and our shattered communities, this is it.” In the introduction Read more
The government of Kiribati has paid the Anglican church Fiji $15.3 million [US$8 million] for 5400 acres of land located on Vanua Levu in Fiji. It is part of a 5700 acre piece of land given to the church by a Mr Campbell. The Anglican Archbishop of Polynesia, Winston Halapua, said the church has kept Read more
To raise awareness of the impact of climate change, representatives of churches, ecumenical organisations and the United Nations stood together in the sea in Apia. The prayer was conducted on Thursday, 4 September, as part of the OurVoices.net international campaign of people from diverse religious and spiritual backgrounds who are urging world leaders to agree Read more