The Mexican cardinal said “integral ecology” and the need for “ecological conversion” have been central points of the synod. “We all agreed that the church should be a factor for wakening consciences to care for the common home,” he said.
Environment
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
Cardinal Ambongo: The Congo faces similar problems to the ones we see in the Amazon
The cardinal expects the synod’s final document to highlight the different levels of “responsibility towards Mother Earth, towards the natural environment, and on this we are all in agreement. What is said of Amazonia is also true of the Congo basin.”
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
What the Catholic Church is doing to protect the Amazon in Bolsonaro’s Brazil
Rainforests are not the only things under threat in the Amazon region. There has also been an uptick in violence against native peoples: land invasions, illegal exploitation of natural resources and damage caused by invaders of indigenous lands went from 96 in 2017 to 109 in 2018.
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
Amazon Synod Weekly Roundup: Calls for ecological protection and new ministries for women
Participants expressed support for proposals to ordain women deacons and warned of the deadly consequences of climate change.
Posted inPolitics & Society, Short Take
The climate strike was just the beginning for Gen Z. Here’s what comes next for us.
In November we will strike again, and on Earth Day we will strike in even greater numbers than before.
Posted inColumns, Politics & Society
We need faith, ethics, science and economics to save the planet
As the crisis of climate change attains more urgency, many more people—especially the young—are coming to protest how humans are treating the planet to the detriment of all the living.
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
Cardinal Parolin: We must protect forests for the future of humanity
At a time of increasing urbanization, the “irreplaceable importance” of forests is being “taken for granted and underestimated,” the Vatican’s secretary of state said Sept. 23 at a high-level meeting at the United Nations.
Posted inDispatches, Faith
The working document for the Amazon Synod has been controversial—just not in Brazil
But the Pan-Amazon Synod’s organizers say much of the unhappiness with the its working document simply reflects Eurocentricism. Many critics “have little knowledge of the Amazon and in some cases have no commitment to its people.”
Posted inDispatches, Faith
In another journey to Africa, Pope Francis brings hope to the periphery
In all three countries, Pope Francis pleaded for protection of the environment. Mining by foreign companies to extract precious minerals has been a major problem in Madagascar and Mozambique. In Madagascar, deforestation is especially a threat.
Posted inFaith, News
Pope Francis promotes integral ecology to combat ‘culture of waste’
Integral ecology requires a cultural and spiritual conversion built on a “culture of encounter.”