Vigil with Bishops

On Monday 14 November, members of Catholics for Christian Climate Action were joined by a number of Bishops as they kept vigil outside on the first day of the Bishops of England and Wales Autumn Plenary Meeting at Hinsley Hall, Headingly, Leeds.

The group sat in front of the conference venue in prayer for vital global financial assistance for the poorest and most vulnerable countries affected by climate change. They held a banner reading 'Loss and Damage is a Pro-Life Issue' referring to the effects of the harm caused by human-generated climate change and also a contemporary icon of Mary Mother of Mercy.

The group was asking the Bishops to speak out to the UK Government about paying the debt owed to these vulnerable countries by the UK as a result of its share of historic and ongoing greenhouse gas emissions which have led to the current climate crisis. They were also asking the Bishops to call on the Catholic faithful to raise the profile of this issue by means of a pastoral letter and to encourage the showing of the film The Letter recently released by the Laudato Si Movement in partnership with The Vatican Dicasteries of Communications and of Integral Human Development.

Prior to the plenary meeting the group had written to each of the Bishops setting out the background to their concerns which was signed on a personal basis by fifty Catholics from a variety of campaigning groups including Catholics for Christian Climate Action, the Laudato Si Animators UK, the National Justice and Peace Network, and Green Christian. They also invited the Bishops to join them in prayer on the day. A number of Bishops came to pray with them before the afternoon session when Bishop John Arnold, CBEW Spokesperson for the Environment, was due to speak.

After praying with the group Bishop John Arnold said: "We must all take our part in facing a crisis which is global and we all have a part to play in repairing the damage and living in hope as Christians using the gospel values to promote a healthy future in which everyone may prosper."

The vigil took place four weeks after the Catholic Bishops in Africa described climate change as "a moral outrage" which has plunged many populations on the African continent into deep suffering and naming it as a striking example of structural sin.

I joined the group. It was a very moving experience to be praying while the bishops discussed these important issues. The film of The Letter is freely available and a very good resource to share in parishes to stimulate discussion and consider what they can do both as individuals and collectively. It’s vital that our government takes action to reduce our dependency on fossil fuels and to support people in the developing world through a fund fir Loss and Damage. As our banner said - It’s a pro life issue.

https://theletterfilm.org/

African bishops statement
https://www.aciafrica.org/news/6870/climate-change-is-structural-sin-bishops-in-africa-say-demand-world-leaders-action

(Barbara Wilson)