New Zealanders and people from Pacific Island nations were among representatives from all over the world attending the International Conference “Saving our Common Home and the Future of Life on Earth” at the Vatican July 5-6 to commemorate Pope Francis’s encyclical on the Care of Creation. The conference was attended by faith leaders, youth activists, Read more
Pope Francis told world oil executives meeting at a two-day conference at the Vatican that transiting to less-polluting energy sources “is a challenge of epochal proportions”. The two-day conference was a follow-up to Francis’s 2015 encyclical on the environment, Laudato Si’. The encyclical calls for an energy policy “aimed at averting disastrous climate changes that Read more
World-leading oil company executives will be attending a conference at the Vatican on Friday and Saturday this week. The executives are from companies such as Exxon Mobil, Eni, BP, Royal Dutch Shell and Pemex. The executives have been invited to the “Energy Transition and Care for Our Common Home” conference because the oil and gas Read more
The ecological and moral emergency of climate change needs urgent help. A call to action to address the emergency while there “is still time” has been issued. Boston Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley, as well as other faith leaders and scientists, made a press statement about the emergency last week. They timed their statement to go Read more
The heads of the Catholic and Orthodox churches will publish a joint message later today about caring for creation. Pope Francis says he and “our dear brother Bartholomew, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople” prepared the message together to mark the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation. Francis says their message invites everyone to Read more
The Vatican fountains are unusually quiet at present. That’s because Pope Francis has had them turned off to show solidarity and conserve water during the drought affecting much of Italy. Francis’s encyclical Laudato Si denounces wasteful practices and highlights the importance of clean drinking water. The prolonged drought has hit two-thirds of farmland and has Read more
Religious groups are reacting strongly to President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw the United States from the 2015 Paris climate change agreement. The United States is now one of three nations – the others are Syria and Nicaragua – not committed to the voluntary restrictions outlined in the agreement. Many worry about the effect Trump’s Read more
Numerous Catholic organisations are divesting fossil fuels from their share portfolios. They want to show the world it is not okay to keep polluting the environment. As an example, nine Italian organisations divested from fossil fuel corporations in time to send a message to the G7 summit being held today and tomorrow in Taormina, Sicily. Read more
“A very solid scientific consensus indicates that we are presently witnessing a disturbing warming of the climatic system,” warns Pope Francis in his landmark environmental encyclical Laudato Si (“On Care for Our Common Home”). Indeed, the scientific consensus is very solid. According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), “97 percent or more of Read more
Pope Francis is in a movie about global warming with a stella cast including world leaders including Bill Clinton,Barak Obama and Ban Ki-moon. The film “Before the Flood” was produced by National Geographic. It was released this week. Leonardo Di Caprio, who narrates the movie, says Francis’ leadership on climate change is “inspirational and essential”. Read more