Since the release of the encyclical Laudato Si’ in 2015, there have been high hopes that the Catholic Church in the United States would embrace a stronger commitment to environmental justice and care for creation.
However, many members of the clergy continue to shy away from addressing these critical issues during homilies, often due to fears of alienating conservative parishioners.
This has left many feeling frustrated and disappointed, particularly as the impact of climate change continues to devastate vulnerable communities worldwide.
While the bishops from the Global South recently released a joint appeal calling for urgent climate action ahead of the COP30 conference, many in the U.S. church appear largely unresponsive.
The statement, titled “A Call for Climate Justice and the Common Home,” was issued by bishops from the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM), the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC), and the Latin American Episcopal Conference (CELAM).
Together, they represent over 820 million Catholics across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean, collectively urging action on environmental justice.
In their appeal, the bishops condemned various forms of false solutions such as “green” capitalism and extractivism, particularly criticizing practices like oil drilling and mining that prioritize profit over sustainability.
In an era where climate change is increasingly a global threat, particularly for the poor who suffer the most, their demands are both timely and relevant.
These bishops called for rich nations to pay an ecological debt to poorer nations, a staggering figure projected to reach $192 trillion by 2050.
They also urged for the phasing out of fossil fuels to avoid catastrophic weather patterns, which could produce further floods, droughts, and global famine.
Moreover, the bishops emphasized the need for economic justice in communities impacted by environmental exploitation and called for the protection of Indigenous peoples and ecosystems through measures like zero deforestation within five years.
At the unveiling of the statement at the Vatican, Archbishop Spengler of Porto Alegre, Brazil, articulated the necessity for ecological conversion, urging a shift from consumption to sacrifice and from greed to generosity.
This call resonates powerfully, especially considering that regions of Africa, often characterized as “poor,” have been systematically looted of their resources for profit, crippling the local populations.
Cardinal Besungu pointed out that 500 million people in the Global South are already suffering the impacts of climate change despite contributing the least to the problem.
Countries like the United States, which consume vast amounts of energy, ironically waste over 60 percent of their produced power, highlighting a stark contrast in environmental responsibility.
Moreover, island nations face existential threats from rising sea levels, with recent legal victories in international courts emphasizing the responsibility of more affluent nations to mitigate their harmful environmental practices.
The bishops from the Global South have framed climate change as an existential issue of justice, dignity, and the care that is owed to our shared home.
They reiterated the need for adherence to the Paris Agreement, which aims to limit global temperatures and promote international cooperation towards climate justice, a pact that the Trump administration had previously abandoned.
Yet, in the U.S., the current sociopolitical climate seems to further hinder action on climate issues.
Legislative moves like the “Big, Beautiful Bill” seek to boost fossil fuel production, reversing progress made in previous years.
The silence from U.S. bishops in condemning climate action opposition poses a significant concern, as their focus on issues like abortion continues to dominate political discourse within the church.
Although the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has made some statements on climate change recently, their prioritization of abortion as a primary issue has minimized the urgency of climate action in the broader narrative.
As many begin to wonder if the powerful appeals from the southern bishops will yield any change in U.S. attitudes toward climate action, the dire impacts of global warming persist.
Numerous voices in the faith community stress that failing to address this existential threat may indeed represent a sin of omission, and holds significant moral implications.
Moving forward, U.S. bishops are urged to take a stand, calling for both prayer and concrete actions to address climate change, starting at the parish level with initiatives promoting energy conservation and ecological awareness.
Recent IRS decisions allowing churches to endorse political candidates present an opportunity for clergy to weigh in on climate-related positions of candidates, emphasizing the need for accountability.
Despite the challenges, the compelling message from the southern bishops, along with advocacy from figures such as Pope Francis, serves as a timely reminder of the moral imperative facing faith communities in their responsibilities toward the environment.
Aligning with the urgent calls for action, it becomes increasingly crucial for Catholic leaders to acknowledge and confront climate issues to remain true to their commitment to upholding the sanctity of all life.
In summarizing the collective call to action from the bishops, it is crucial for the U.S. church to elevate the conversation surrounding climate change, seeking justice not only for today but for future generations.
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