Climate change is already affecting our lives in so many ways, but spare a thought for our creepy crawly friends, and the effect that hotter temperatures are having on their sex lives. A study published in the journal Ecology and Evolution has suggested that increasing temperatures are causing insects to change their colouring to avoid Read more
Posts Tagged ‘ecology’
Church slams World Bank for funding coal projects in Philippines
Monday, April 29th, 2024Church leaders and climate activists have found fault with international lending agencies, including the World Bank, for funding fossil fuel and coal projects in the Philippines. “We stand in solidarity with the communities which are hit by coal power projects,” said Father Warren Puno, director of the Ministry of Ecology in south-central Luzon. “This is Read more
Humanity is challenged to reconcile ecology and food security
Thursday, February 22nd, 2024
At a time of climate change and unprecedented demographic growth, a researcher who analyses thematic themes such as the dynamics of globalisation and human security a calls for placing food issues at the heart of our policies. “We must not forget that 735 million people are in a state of chronic hunger and more than Read more
Israel-Palestine tragedy has simple solution
Thursday, November 23rd, 2023
Nothing will ever be the same in the Holy Land after the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel – and after Israel’s apocalyptic response. So said Francesca Albanese to a Catholic audience in Wellington recently. Albanese is the UN’s Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories. But the Israel-Palestine issue has a simple solution, she Read more
Laudato Si’ deserves our attention
Thursday, May 25th, 2023
Perhaps you are wondering, “What is Laudato Si’ Week?” And for that matter, what does Laudato Si’ mean? Laudato Si’ is medieval Italian for “Praise be to you.” It is a quote from St. Francis of Assisi’s beautiful Canticle of the Creatures: “Praise be to you, my Lord, through our Sister, Mother Earth, who sustains Read more
What does it mean to believe in an ecological God?
Monday, May 22nd, 2023
Picture the Earth as seen in familiar photos taken from space. There it spins, a beautiful blue marble wrapped in swirling white clouds, luminous against the black background of endless space. We, humans, live here, as do millions of other species on and under the solid land, in the fresh and salty waters, and in Read more
Let’s not fail our biggest test
Thursday, June 2nd, 2022
Do you remember the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000? Did it make any difference in your life at the time? Has it had any lasting impact on your life and faith? Preparation for the Great Jubilee began on Nov. 10, 1994, when Pope John Paul II issued his apostolic letter Tertio Millennio Adveniente (As Read more
Why is Francis of Assisi the patron saint of ecology?
Monday, October 5th, 2020
For Catholics, Oct. 4 is widely recognized as the feast of St. Francis of Assisi. Among the best-known and most venerated of the saints, Francis of Assisi has become synonymous in religion pop culture with brown habits, birdbaths and the blessing of animals on his feast day. But beyond pets, Francis is also known as Read more
‘The fragile world’: Church teaching on ecology before and by Pope Francis
Monday, September 16th, 2019
How does Pope Francis’ thinking about ecology compare with that of Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI? Catholic teaching on ecology prior to Pope Francis In 1971 the document Justice in the World, issued by the Synod of Bishops, represented a major step in the development of Catholic teaching on the environment; Barbara Ward-Jackson Read more
Letter for life to Pope Francis
Monday, April 8th, 2019
Tēnei te mihi ki a koe a Pāpā Werahiko, te kaihautū o te waka o te Hahi Katorika,kei te mihi, kei te mihi, kei te mihi. Greetings to you Pope Francis leader of the Catholic Church. I write to you in light of a call from the global campaign organisation Avaaz, Letters for life on Read more