Faith groups join lobby of MPs to urge climate action

Lobby groups outside QE2 Centre

Faith groups joined a mass lobby of parliament on climate change and biodiversity yesterday, (Wednesday 9 July). Calling for action 'For People, For Climate, For Nature' they met their local MPs from across the UK, urging them to tackle the climate crisis and protect the natural world in line with moral responsibility, human dignity and the stewardship of creation.

They wanted the government to commit to delivering funds to communities hit hardest by climate change in the UK and around the world, to restore nature and to back UK jobs for a greener, fairer future. Many raised the issue of UK Government preparations for November's UN COP30 climate summit in Brazil.

The lobby was organised by The Climate Coalition, which represents more than 120 leading UK organisations, secular and faith based. It includes CAFOD, Christian Aid, Tearfund, Operation Noah, Green Christian and Operation Noah. More than 5,000 people from across the UK attended and it was thought at least 500 MPs were lobbied, about 80% of the total.

CAFOD's chief executive, Christine Allen, was there and said: "This mass lobby is a key moment during the Jubilee Year to speak out and demand change. The UK must lead bold global reforms to cancel unjust debt and unlock funds to fight a crisis these countries did least to cause. This is about justice, and urgent action."

Campaigners gathered in sun-drenched Parliament Square for photos wearing colourful t-shirts, holding up artwork, flags, signs and banners reading: "Act Now, Change Forever.' CAFOD groups held up the banner, "We are pilgrims of Hope.' Laudato Si Animators displayed, 'Laudato Si Movement.' A grandparents group called Our Grandchildren's Climate, were in the crowd to campaign for pensions to divest away from fossil fuels. Around 50 people attended a Christian Climate Action prayerful vigil outside the gates of Parliament.

In the late afternoon, groups from Catholic schools gathered at Westminster Cathedral Hall for activities organised by CAFOD. Over a hundred school children attended the lobby and they were enthused by meeting MPs, collecting badges from stalls of the organising charities, and contributing towards the struggle for justice and for poor communities and the environment.

In a collaborative programme between the Columban Justice, Peace and Ecology Team - led by James Trewby - and the London FCJ Centre for Spirituality and Ecojustice - led by Sr MaryAnne Francalanza - five schools in Birmingham Archdiocese and one in Liverpool Archdiocese sent delegates to the lobby. They were Bishop Ullathorne and Cardinal Newman in Coventry, Archbishop Illsley and St Thomas Aquinas in Birmingham, St Peters in Solihull and Bellerive in Liverpool. "What a privilege to support young adults from Catholic schools to raise their voices, said James Trewby; "I was so impressed with the way they put Catholic Social Teaching into action - sharing concern not only for their own futures, but also for biodiversity and people around the world."

Two students from Cardinal Newman School in Coventry described the lobby as "really exciting" and tied in with work they do locally such as tree planting. They would be writing a report for their school's newsletter. Their chaplain, Alfie McMillan, reported that the children spoke confidently with MPs about the issues, having a good base knowledge of Catholic Social Teaching, experience of participation in the school's eco-groups, and education work with CAFOD. St Oscar Romero School in Worthing also had pupils and staff joining in activities in the hall. This school has five action groups which promote sustainability, including tackling climate change.

Catholic groups came together for a 5.30pm Mass at Westminster Cathedral celebrated by Bishop John Arnold of Salford, lead bishop on the Environment for England and Wales. He reminded that in the encyclical 'Laudato Si', Pope Francis spoke of the need to care for God's creation and said, "Pope Leo is following the same vision." Concelebrants included Salesian Fr Marton Poulsom, a Board member of Operation Noah, Fr Michael Fitzsimons of Liverpool Archdiocese, a long-standing CAFOD campaigner, and Fr Charles Chilufya SJ a CAFOD partner from Kenya, who delivered the homily to a congregation where many wore CAFOD t-shirts and lobby wristbands.

Fr Charles - who has spoken to UN, G20, and IMF/World Bank meetings, advocating for debt relief, climate justice, and economic systems that serve people over profit - said, "we are breaking bread together at the end of a remarkable day which demonstrated our shared humanity." He reminded that the lobby was in a long tradition of Church campaigning for justice, listening to 'the cry of the Earth and the cry of the Poor'. He recalled the Jubilee Debt campaign at the millennium and the Make Poverty History march in Edinburgh in 2005, where Church leaders publicly demonstrated "leadership rooted in love and compassion." He urged the congregation to continue this mission and "be fired" to support the vulnerable "with healing in our hands and justice in our voices."

Prime Minister Keir Starmer sent a message to those lobbying their MPs, saying: "The issues you are discussing today are central to my commitment to tackling climate change, both here in the UK and around the world."

The same day, Pope Leo XIV celebrated the first Mass for the Care of Creation at the Laudato Si' Village in Castel Gandolfo, near Rome, and urged Christians to embrace the mission to bring peace and reconciliation to our world and all creation. He said, "we must also pray for the conversion of many people, both inside and outside the Church, who still do not recognize the urgency of caring for our common home."

LINKS

The Climate Coalition: www.theclimatecoalition.org/

CAFOD: https://cafod.org.uk/campaign

Columban Missionaries: https://columbans.co.uk/