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Philippine bishops issue pastoral letter on 'climate emergency'

  • CBCP

The Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) has released a major pastoral letter on the 'climate emergency', urging their communities to ecological conversion, to listen to the cry of the Earth and the poor, and to act together to mitigate the negative effects of climate change. Signed by Archbishop Romulo Valles of Davao, the president of the CBCP, the pastoral letter, issued on 16 July, is entitled "An urgent call for ecological conversion, hope in the face of climate emergency".

The Philippine bishops say the climate crisis has claimed tens of thousands of lives, displaced millions and resulted in tragic devastation in many parts of the world. The bishops also lamented extractive mining operations, the building of dams, the country's dependence on coal, climate-induced disasters and the extinction of plant and animal species. The CBCP said: "The reality of climate crisis, proven by the catastrophic impact of typhoons and other human induced disasters, has made us aware that the time to act is now, not tomorrow. We must activate climate action on behalf of the voiceless people and the planet".

Climate a 'common good'

The bishops stressed that Christians should be concerned with the climate because it is a "common good" and to cause its undesirable change is a "moral issue". They also said social indifference to climate change is immoral because it affects the innocent, especially the poor. "In this light, our efforts to mitigate global warming and our collective moves aimed at helping others adapt to the new normal brought about by climate change may be meaningfully viewed both as acts of reparation for our ecological sins," the CBCP said.

CBCP called on dioceses to make ecology their special concern. The bishops also committed to live simply and minimise consumption, promote diversified and sustainable agriculture, push for transition to safe, clean and affordable energy, and not allow financial resources of Catholic institutions to be invested in coal-fired power plants and mining companies.

CBCP said: "We, in the Philippine Church, are one with the Holy Father in pursuing a common agenda to protect our fragile ecosystem from the threat of the continuing ecological crisis. We have the moral imperative to act together decisively in order to save our common home. This is our Christian duty and responsibility". In 2015, Pope Francis issued 'Laudato Si,' which laments environmental degradation and global warming and encourages people to take "swift and unified global action". The encyclical stressed that climate change "represents one of the principal challenges facing humanity and its worst impact will probably be felt by developing countries in coming decades.

The 16 July pastoral letter is the eighth in a series of environment-related documents that the Philippine bishops have released over the past three decades, since the publication of the first one in 1988 entitled, "What is Happening to Our Beautiful Land?"


Link to the full nine-page text:

http://cbcpnews.net/cbcpnews/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/CBCP-Pastoral-Letter-on-Ecology-July-2019.pdf







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