CLIMATE CHANGE - 2000 – 2025
by David Jackson former Laudato Si Animator contact person
Before 2011 themes Pope Francis described in Laudato Si in 2015 as ‘Care for our Common Home’ played background music in many of our lives. Many ‘loved’ nature, the countryside, birds, flowers, gardened, grew veg. CAFOD/J&P were an accepted part of parish life. Slowly we heard of the threats of man-made climate change. Climate change at home and its increasing impact on the poor in developing countries started to impact. It dawned that Christians needed to address and try and halt the damage we were all doing to the planet and its peoples.
Christians began to make connections between the natural world and the presence there of the Divine – of God. They asked: what is the connection between love of Jesus in the Eucharist and in creation? Should our Church be linking these more explicitly?
In 2015, Pope Francis issued his letter Laudato Si, ‘Care For Our Common Home’. It fell on fallow ground for increasing numbers of Catholics.
Ten years on and Catholics realise we face a growing threat to our planet and that the cry of the earth must be linked to hearing the cry of the poor.
Does our experience of worship, community and mission in the parish mirror that awareness and provide ways forward? Yes and no!
DEVELOPMENTS 2000 – 2025
- The Diocese produced an ‘Environmental Policy’ in 2019 but no programme for implementation.
- CAFOD and a J&P Climate Action Group were active in promoting awareness for action on behalf of climate justice – both centrally and at parish levels – e.g. CAFOD’s ‘Living Simply’ scheme.
- In 2023/4 the Diocese agreed to appoint an Environmental Officer, but an appointment has been delayed due to financial constraints. The J&P Climate Action Group has members in the Curial Environmental Group.
- From 2020 to 2024 the Diocese had a Laudato Si Animator contact person, linking the diocese with a UK network of animators. This post remains vacant.
AIMS
- To recognise that Laudato Si aspirations have not translated into effective coordination of the many disparate Diocesan efforts at parish and central levels to do so. Energies and resources to insert the messages of Laudato Si into the blood stream or DNA of the diocese must be redoubled.
- Our liturgy, the love of Jesus in the Eucharist has been linked insufficiently to love of Creation.
- Most clergy need the support in coming to regard Laudato Si issues as a fit topic for the pulpit. The hope is that a synodally shaped Church might provide ways to do so.
- Parish communities must be encouraged to set up Laudato Si or ‘Green Groups’.
- Parishes must be encouraged to use existing resources: from the Northern Diocesan Climate Network, CAFOD, J&P Climate Action Group, and many more.
FIND OUT MORE
The Diocese and its parishes could become the ‘Laudato Si’ ones Pope Francis urged – it has the catechetical, educational and expert resources aplenty – it just needs the will which flows from a collective experience of climate conversion.
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