Catholics advised to beware of 'greenwash'

The international Catholic Coalition on Climate Change and its partners have always tried to encourage Catholics to beware of 'green-wash' where people and organizations (from schools to corporations) may do some of the right things for the environment - such as recycling and energy conservation - but have not integrated those efforts to what it means to live our faith fully including an embrace of the social teachings of the Church on the environment, human life and dignity, care for poor people, global solidarity, and so forth.

In a Vatican Radio interview for World Environment Day (5 June), Fr Joe Rozansky, OFM, director of the Order of Friars Minor Justice Peace and the Integrity of Creation in Rome, discusses the goals of his delegation to the Rio+20 UN Conference later this month. He and his colleagues will ask the bigger questions both at the UN Conference and the 'People’s Summit' - a separate meeting of non-governmental organizations. They will challenge the notion of the 'green economy' that, as currently framed, has the potential to be more green wash than the transformative work of linking these efforts to care for creation and care of our neighbor suffering environmental degradation and the effects of climate change. To read the full story and listen to the interview go to: www.news.va/en/news/world-environment-day