On January 14, 2015, Catholic organizations and leaders throughout the world came together as a movement called ‘’ the Global Catholic Climate Movement “composed by Lay, clergy, theologians, scientists and activists, which is working toward a sustainable climate future. The GCCM launch coincided with the trip of Pope Francis to the Philippines where he met survivors of the typhoon Haiyan.
AMECEA Justice Peace and Caritas has joined the Global Catholic Climate Movement (GCCM) which is a network of over 200 Catholic Organizations and over 200,000 faithful working to deliver the message of the Encyclical on Our Common Home, Laudato Si to the wider Catholic community and to governments attending the Paris Climate Summit (COP21), which will take place from November 30th– 11th December, 2015.
Early this year, Pope Francis released “Laudato Si” in an effort to get a conversation going about “Our Common Home” the earth and the effect our human activities have on the environment, as well as the negative impacts of climate change.
The Pope has a moral obligation to issue this encyclical because of the arrogance, indifference and non-commitment of world leaders to deal with the glaring problems of climate change. Over the years, world leaders have met to outwit each other on legal terms around climate change, global warming, emissions, carbon trading, national security and so on and so on. In every COP meeting, there has been no shortage of drama on who negotiated for what and which standpoint was taken by whom.
The Holy Father has redirected these negative energies into one simple yet complex positive notion “Our Common Home”. I believe nobody would want to see their home destroyed, either by others or by their self-doing. For a long time, the rich nations had a notion that they could be able to cope with climate change and in some cases they thought they could keep it away. Today, they have been proven wrong. They have been shown how common this home is.
From flooding, to excessively cold winters to excessively hot summers to droughts, to climate refugees, etc. The problems of poor and developing nations have landed in the developed countries. The Holy Father is asking us to take moment to reflect on where we have come from, where we are and where we want to go.
World leaders will meet in the U.N. Climate Summit in Paris (called COP21), hopefully to sign a treaty to tackle climate change. The Pope presents to usLaudato Si with a specific emphasis on you and me.
In Laudato Si, you will see a message for personal reflection, a message for the citizen, a message for the government, a message for the youth – who are the future, a message for private sector bodies, a message for our religious leaders and a message for a collective globe. He is calling upon you and me to act in our own capacities and realm to deliver on a common vision on climate change, which has an option for the poor. He is asking us to make sure we get an agreement in Paris during the COP21.
Through this petition we urge political leaders to drastically cut greenhouse gases emissions, to not only keep the global temperature increase below 1.5° but to reverse the gradual heating of the earth.
One (1) million of signatures is the minimum we need to be introduced to COP 21. But we can achieve more through your assistance and through signing up the petition here (link to page).
Africa remains one of the hardest hit continents by climate change. This is a continent that boasts of two thirds of her population being youth. It is only befitting that the Catholic Youth Network for Environmental Sustainability in Africa (CYNESA)organization based in KENYA and created in January 2012 by young Catholics from Kenya, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Zambia, Rwanda and South Africa is spearheading the awareness campaign to the youth inspired by St. Pope John Paul II’s 1990 message for World Day of Peace.
AMECEA Justice, Peace and Caritas has joined this petition which has already seen the endorsement of Holy See, Bishop Titus Joseph Mdoe, Bishop-Elect of Mtwara (Tanzania) and Bishop Jose Luis Ponce DE Leon, of the Manzini Diocese.
AMECEA Justice Peace and Caritas in collaboration with GCCM invites the Catholic Church especially our Bishops in the Dioceses to take into consideration the call of the Pope in Laudato Si and help Christians to understand what its links them to the environment as Christians. Let us bring the knowledge of what is happening to our Mother Africa due to climate change to our people. Let us join the petition by AMECEA and other Global Catholic Climate Change Movement institutions.
Call to Action
We are calling upon the Catholic Faithful and all those who are of goodwill to take a moment to:
® Visit the AMECEA Website and signup to the petition
® Promote the petition by sharing with your networks and friends
® Take action on wastage, pollution, disregard of nature and other issues affecting our common home
® Join the Holy Father in prayer and solidarity as we prepare for COP 21
By – Antony Mbandi AMECEA Justice Peace and Caritas Coordinator and Micheline Leila Butoyi Global Catholic Climate Change Movement Campaigns Coordinator for Africa and France