Catholic Climate Covenant

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Catholic Climate Covenant

• Name of host organization (parish, etc.)
• Date
• Name of Catholic Climate Ambassador

CatholicClimateCovenant.org
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U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB)

• At its core, global climate change is not about
  economic theory or political platforms, nor about
  partisan advantage or interest group pressures.
  It is about the future of Gods creation and the
  one human family.
• Global Climate Change
• A Plea for Dialogue, Prudence, and the Common
  Good
• 2001

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Care for Gods Creation- Biblical

• The LORD God then took the man and settled him
  in the garden of Eden, to cultivate and care for
  it.
• Genesis 215
• The land shall not be sold in perpetuity for
  the land is mine, and you are but aliens who have
  become my tenants. Therefore, in every part of
  the country that you occupy, you must permit the
  land to be redeemed.
• Leviticus 2523

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Care for Gods Creation-
St. Francis of Assisi

• Praised be my Lord for our mother the Earth,
  which sustains us and keeps us.
• St. Francis Canticle of the Sun
• Francis reminds us that the wisdom and
  benevolence of the Creator is expressed through
  Creation. He understood nature as a language in
  which God speaks to us, in which reality becomes
  clear, and we can speak of God and with God.
• Pope Benedict XVI, Saint Francis of Assisi
• General Audience, 27 January 2010

CatholicClimateCovenant.org
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Care for Gods Creation-
Modern

• Humanitys dominion over inanimate and other
  living beings granted by the Creator is not
  absolute it is limited by concern for the
  quality of life of our neighbor, including
  generations to come it requires a religious
  respect for the integrity of creation."
• Catechism of the Catholic Church, No. 2415

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Care for Gods Creation-
Modern

• Care for Creation is not a new component of
  Catholic identity. It is as old as Genesis, and
  is woven into the very fabric of Catholic
  mission.
• Dan Misleh
• Executive Director, Catholic Coalition on Climate
  Change
• "Stewardship implies that we must both care for
  creation according to standards that are not of
  our own making and at the same time be
  resourceful in finding ways to make the earth
  flourish."
• USCCB
• Renewing the Earth, 1991, p. 6

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Care for Gods Creation-
Modern

• I wish to repeat that the ecological crisis is a
  moral issue. (emphasis in original)
• Pope John Paul II
• 1990 World Day of Peace Message, No. 15
• Preservation of the environment, promotion of
  sustainable development and particular attention
  to climate change are matters of grave concern
  for the entire human family.
• Pope Benedict XVI
• Letter of His Holiness Benedict XVI to the
  Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople
• on the Occasion of the Seventh Symposium of the
  Religion,
• Science and the Environment Movement (2007)

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Care for Gods Creation- The Human Environment
and the Natural Environment

• Today, indeed, there is a growing awareness that
  humanity and the environment are more
  inseparable than ever.  The environment
  essentially conditions our life and
  development, while humanity, in our turn,
  perfects and ennobles our environment through
  our presence, work, and contemplation.
• Pope Paul VI
• A Hospitable Earth for Future Generations
• Message to the Stockholm Conference on Human
  Environment
• June 1, 1972

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Care for Gods Creation- The Human Environment
and the Natural Environment

• In nature, the believer recognizes the wonderful
  result of God's creative activity, which we may
  use responsibly to satisfy our legitimate needs,
  material or otherwise, while respecting the
  intrinsic balance of creation.
• If this vision is lost, we end up either
  considering nature an untouchable taboo or, on
  the contrary, abusing it. Neither attitude is
  consonant with the Christian vision of nature as
  the fruit of God's creation.
• Pope Benedict XVI
• Encyclical letter Caritas in Veritate, No. 48
• 2009

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Care for Gods Creation- The Human Environment
and the Natural Environment

• We cannot interfere in one area of the
  ecosystem without paying due attention both to
  the consequences of such interference in other
  areas and to the well-being of future
  generations. (emphasis in original)
• Pope John Paul II
• 1990 World Day of Peace Message, No. 6

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Care for Gods Creation- Life and Dignity of the
Human Person

• Our tradition calls us to protect the life and
  dignity of the human person, and it is
  increasingly clear that this task cannot be
  separated from the care and defense of all of
  creation.
• USCCB
• Renewing the Earth An Invitation to Reflection
  and Action on the Environment in Light of
  Catholic Social Teaching, 1991

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Care for Gods Creation- Life and Dignity of the
Human Person

• If you have people who will exclude any of
  God's creatures from the shelter of compassion
  and pity, you will have people who will deal
  likewise with their fellow humanity.
• St. Francis of Assisi

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Care for Gods Creation- Life and Dignity of the
Human Person

• How can we separate, or even set at odds, the
  protection of the environment and the protection
  of human life, including the life of the unborn?
• Pope Benedict XVI
• 2010 Address to the Diplomatic Corps
• The way humanity treats the environment
  influences the way it treats itself, and vice
  versa.
• Pope Benedict XVI
• Papal Encyclical Caritas in Veritate,
• No. 51 (2009)

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Pope Benedict XVI

• The environment is God's gift to everyone, and
  in our use of it we have a responsibility towards
  the poor, towards future generations and towards
  humanity as a whole.
• Encyclical letter Caritas in Veritate, No. 48
• 2009

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http//www.ecy.wa.gov/climatechange/whatis.htm
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Predicted Impacts of Climate Change
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Anthropogenic Climate Change

• The National Aeronautics and Space Administration
  (NASA)
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
• The National Oceanic and Atmospheric
  Administration (NOAA)
• U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF)
• U.S. National Academies of Science

• Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
• Academia Brasiliera de Ciências (Brazil)
• Royal Society of Canada
• Chinese Academy of Sciences
• Académie des Sciences (France)
• Deutsche Akademie der Naturforscher Leopoldina
  (Germany)
• Indian National Science Academy (India)
• Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei (Italy)
• Science Council of Japan
• Royal Society (UK)

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U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB)

• We accept the consensus findings of so many
  scientists and the conclusions of the
  Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
  as a basis for continued research and prudent
  action.
• Global Climate Change
• A Plea for Dialogue, Prudence, and the Common
  Good
• 2001

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Pope Benedict XVI

• Can we remain indifferent before the problems
  associated with such realities as climate change,
  desertification, the deterioration and loss of
  productivity in vast agricultural areas, the
  pollution of rivers and aquifers, the loss of
  biodiversity, the increase of natural
  catastrophes and the deforestation of equatorial
  and tropical regions?
• Can we disregard the growing phenomenon of
  environmental refugees, people who are forced
  by the degradation of their natural habitat to
  forsake it and often their possessions as well
  in order to face the dangers and uncertainties
  of forced displacement?
• 2010 World Day of Peace Message, No. 4

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Seven Key Themes of Catholic Social Teaching
(USCCB)http//www.usccb.org/sdwp/projects/socialt
eaching/excerpt.shtml

• Life and Dignity of the Human Person
• Call to Family, Community, and Participation
• Rights and Responsibilities
• Option for the Poor and Vulnerable
• The Dignity of Work and the Rights of Workers
• Solidarity
• Care for Gods Creation

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Seven Key Themes of Catholic Social Teaching
(USCCB)

• Many people recognize that the issue of climate
  change relates to the seventh theme, Care for
  Gods Creation . . .
• But it is also true that other principles of
  Catholic Social Teaching can help inform our
  consciences and actions as we face the question
  of climate change.
• Catholic Social Teaching and Climate Change
• Catholic Coalition on Climate Change
• 2010

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Key Principles Guiding US Catholic Bishops
Approach to Climate Change

• Prudence
• Poverty
• The Common Good

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Prudence

• A thoughtful, deliberate, and reasoned basis
  for taking or avoiding action to achieve a moral
  good.
• The virtue of prudence is paramount in
  addressing climate change.
• USCCB
• Global Climate Change
• A Plea for Dialogue, Prudence, and the Common
  Good
• 2001

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Prudence

• "In facing climate change, what we already know
  requires a response it cannot be easily
  dismissed.
• Significant levels of scientific consensus- even
  in a situation with less than full certainty,
  where the consequences of not acting are serious-
  justifies, indeed can obligate, our taking
  action intended to avert potential dangers.

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Prudence

• "In other words, if enough evidence indicates
  that the present course of action could
  jeopardize humankind's well-being, prudence
  dictates taking mitigating or preventative
  action. (emphasis added)
• USCCB
• Global Climate Change
• A Plea for Dialogue, Prudence, and the Common
  Good
• 2001

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Poverty

• The effects of climate changeincreasingly
  limited access to water, reduced crop yields,
  more widespread disease, increased frequency and
  intensity of natural disasters, and conflict over
  declining resourcesare making the lives of the
  worlds poorest people even more precarious.
• USCCB Catholic Relief Services
• Catholics Confront Global Poverty

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Poverty

• People living in povertyboth at home and
  abroadcontribute least to climate change but
  they are likely to suffer its worst consequences
  with few resources to adapt and respond.
• USCCB Catholic Relief Services
• Catholics Confront Global Poverty
• This great inequality between polluters and
  victims makes anthropogenic climate change into a
  fundamental problem of global justice. (emphasis
  added)
• The German Bishops
• Climate Change A Focal Point of Global,
  Intergenerational and Ecological Justice- An
  Expert Report on the Challenge of Global Climate
  Change (published in 2006, updated in 2007)

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The Common Good

• Every person has a fundamental right to life
  and a right to those things required for human
  decency. Corresponding to these rights are duties
  and responsibilities--to one another, to our
  families, and to the larger society.
• USCCB
• Seven Key Themes of Catholic Social Teaching

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The Common Good

• Global climate is by its very nature a part of
  the planetary commons. The earth's atmosphere
  encompasses all people, creatures, and habitats.
• Responses to global climate change should
  reflect our interdependence and common
  responsibility for the future of our planet.
• USCCB
• Global Climate Change
• A Plea for Dialogue, Prudence, and the Common
  Good
• 2001

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The Common Good

• A greater sense of intergenerational solidarity
  is urgently needed. Future generations cannot be
  saddled with the cost of our use of common
  environmental resources.
• Pope Benedict XVI
• 2010 World Day of Peace Message, No. 8

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The Common Good

• The Church has a responsibility towards creation
  and she must assert this responsibility in the
  public sphere. (emphasis in original)
• Pope Benedict XVI
• Papal encyclical Caritas in Veritate
• No. 51 (2009)
• In a word, concern for the environment calls for
  a broad global vision of the world a responsible
  common effort to move beyond approaches based on
  selfish nationalistic interests towards a vision
  constantly open to the needs of all peoples.
• Pope Benedict XVI
• 2010 World Day of Peace Message, No. 11

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The Common Good

• As the U.S. Congress considers climate
  legislation, Catholics Confront Global Poverty
  invites Catholics to advocate for policies that
  reduce the impact of climate change on people
  living in poverty. Well-designed climate change
  policies can help both reduce the severity of
  climate change and protect the most vulnerable
  by
• Assist poor and adversely affected communities
  in adapting to and easing the effects of global
  climate change . . .
• Ensure that the most useful technology is
  promptly made available to people in the most
  vulnerable developing countries . . .
  (adaptation mitigation)
• Promote the participation of local communities
  in programs for adapting to climate change and
  easing its effects.
• USCCB Catholic Relief Services
• Catholics Confront Global Poverty

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The Common Good

• I wish to reflect today upon the relationship
  between the Creator and ourselves as guardians of
  his creation. In so doing I also wish to offer my
  support to leaders of governments and
  international agencies who soon will meet at the
  United Nations to discuss the urgent issue of
  climate change.
• Pope Benedict XVI
• Message to UN Climate Change Conference 2009

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The Common Good

• For this reason I share the growing concern
  caused by economic and political resistance to
  combatting the degradation of the environment.
  This problem was evident even recently, during
  the XV Session of the Conference of the States
  Parties to the United Nations Framework
  Convention on Climate Change held in Copenhagen
  from 7 to 18 December last.
• I trust that in the course of this year, first
  in Bonn and later in Mexico City, it will be
  possible to reach an agreement for effectively
  dealing with this question. The issue is all the
  more important in that the very future of some
  nations is at stake, particularly some island
  states.
• Pope Benedict XVI
• 2010 Message to the Diplomatic Corps

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Pope Benedict XVI

• The environment is God's gift to everyone, and
  in our use of it we have a responsibility towards
  the poor, towards future generations and towards
  humanity as a whole.
• Encyclical letter Caritas in Veritate, No. 48
• 2009
• Preservation of the environment, promotion of
  sustainable development and particular attention
  to climate change are matters of grave concern
  for the entire human family.
• Letter of His Holiness Benedict XVI to the
  Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople on the
  Occasion of the Seventh Symposium of the
  Religion, Science and the Environment Movement
  (2007)

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Video
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The Catholic Climate Covenant

• Individual, family, school, parish, arch/diocese
• 25 Catholic Partners
• The St. Francis Pledge to Care for Creation and
  the Poor

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The St. Francis Pledge to Care for Creation and
the Poor

• PRAY reflect about our duty to Creation and the
  poor
• LEARN about Catholic teaching and climate change
  and educate others
• ASSESS our contributions to the problem
• ACT to change behaviors and choices
• ADVOCATE on behalf of those without a voice

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The St. Francis Pledge to Care for Creation and
the Poor

• United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
  (USCCB)
• USCCB Dept. of Justice, Peace and Human
  Development
• USCCB Dept. of Migration and Refugee Services
• Catholic Relief Services
• Catholic Charities USA
• Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities
  
• National Catholic Rural Life Conference
• Catholic Health Association of the U.S.A.
• National Council of Catholic Women
• Conference of Major Superiors of Men

• The Jesuit Conference
• The Roundtable Association of Diocesan Social
  Action Directors
• National Association for Lay Ministry
• National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry
• Catholic Campus Ministry Association
• National Federation of Priests Councils
• National Diaconate Institute for Continuing
  Education
• National Organization for Continuing Education of
  Roman Catholic Clergy
• U.S. Catholic Mission Association
• Africa Faith and Justice Network

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Polling Shows Progress
Zogby International Poll 1,000 Catholics,
March/April 2009
CatholicClimateCovenant.org
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Polling Shows Progress
Zogby International Poll 1,000 Catholics,
March/April 2009
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What Others Are Doing

• Ambrosio Family Little Falls, NJ
• - Replaced gas mower with push mower
• - Brita water instead of bottled
• - Clothes line instead of dryer
• - Lights and computers off when not needed
• - Installed geothermal carbon footprint down
  70

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What Others Are Doing

• John the Evangelist Kindergarten Naples, FL
• - Gave copy of St. Francis Pledge to all
  students and students wrote own pledges
• - Discussed Whos Under Your Carbon Footprint
  Video
• - Gathered litter around the school as a
  service project

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What Others Are Doing

• St. Clement Lancaster, WI
• - 93 efficient boilers
• - Insulated 18,000ft2 attic
• - 20 of costs covered with energy grant
• St. William Louisville, KY
• - Solar Panels produce 30 of electrical needs
• St. Matthias Redwood City, CA
• - Focus group on citys Climate Action Plan
• - 100 Mile Potluck

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What Others Are Doing

• Nativity Church of Fargo Fargo, ND
• Promoted the St. Francis Pledge on its website
  and advocated for commitments around the Feast of
  St. Francis (October 4)

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What Others Are Doing

• Nativity Church of Fargo Fargo, ND
• Promoted the St. Francis Pledge on its website
  and advocated for commitments around the Feast of
  St. Francis (October 4)
• St. Mary of the Assumption Parish Whittier, CA
• Organized a special observance of the Feast of
  St. Francis (October 4) by encouraging
  parishioners to take the St. Francis Pledge
• More than 100 parishioners took the Pledge
• See Resources page
• (http//catholicclimatecovenant.org/resources)
• for promotional materials, parish sign up sheets
  and more

Courtesy of Sr. Marjorie Guingona
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What Others Are Doing

• Archdiocese of Los Angeles
• In his letter, Cardinal Mahony asked
  parishioners to take the St. Francis Pledge,
  which urges Catholics to pray, learn, assess, act
  and advocate for the poor and vulnerable around
  the world by contributing to climate change by
  our own energy use, consumption, waste, et
  cetera.

http//www.the-tidings.com/2010/100110/sustainabil
ity.htm
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Available Resources

• Immaculate Heart of Mary Sisters, Monroe, MI
  This Is Your Home
• New Jersey Catholic Coalition for Environmental
  Justice (NJCCEJ)
• St. Francis Pledge Packet Archdiocese of
  Hartford

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Available Resources

• USCCB Catholic Relief Services Catholics
  Confront Global Poverty
• National Catholic Rural Life Conference Global
  Climate Change Response Study Guide
• JustFaith Gods Creation Cries for Justice
  Climate Change Impact and Response

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Available Resources

• Franciscan Action Network C4C
• National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry
  Catholic Youth Care for Creaiton and the Poor
  (http//climate.nfcym.org)
• Catholic Coalition on Climate Change Center for
  Ministry Development Five Session Youth Lesson
  Plan (April, 2011)

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What You Can Do

• Join others by taking the St. Francis Pledge and
  registering your commitment at http//CatholicClim
  ateCovenant.org
• See How to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint at
  http//CatholicClimateCovenant.org/resources/takin
  g-personal-action/
• Encourage others (family, parish, school,
  arch/diocese) and promote the St. Francis Pledge
  (see Planning Guide for Promoting Taking the
  St. Francis Pledge at http//CatholicClimateCovena
  nt.org/resources)

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What You Can Do

• Sign up to receive weekly Coalition emails at
  http//CatholicClimateCovenant.org
• Connect on social networks
• - Facebook http//www.facebook.com/catholicclim
  atecovenant
• - Twitter _at_CatholicClimate
• - MySpace Catholic Climate Covenant
• Call or write the Catholic Coalition on Climate
  Change
• - [phone]
• - info_at_catholicsandclimatechange.org

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