Leadership on climate change ‘urgently required’ – Bishop

The Bishop of Kilmore is urging politicians solemn duty to tackle the climate emergency and biodiversity crisis "in a serious way".

The regional groups of the Council for Justice and Peace – a council of the Irish Bishops’ Conference - will hold a short webinar this Wednesday, September 15 at 7.30pm on the topic of ‘Healthy Planet and Healthy People – the Catholic Petition’.

Welcoming this initiative, Bishop Martin Hayes, a member of the ‘Laudato Si Working Group’, encouraged people to join the webinar and, moreover, to sign the petition.

Bishop Hayes said, “It is vitally important that we use every opportunity to put before our political leaders their solemn duty to tackle, in a serious way, the climate emergency and biodiversity crisis that confronts us.

“Pope Francis’ attendance at the COP26 in Glasgow, in November, is a powerful expression of the Catholic Church’s commitment to saving our planet at this crucial time. The joint message issued by the Holy Father, the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch in recent days, points again to our responsibility, regardless of faith or worldview, to listen to the cry of the earth and of the poor who are suffering and at risk because of climate change. This petition is an important statement from Catholics and others that change and forthright leadership on this question is urgently required.”