Media Release

Monday 10 September 2007

Commission Encourages Parishes to Follow Grovely Climate Change Example

The Catholic Justice and Peace Commission of Brisbane has commended the Grovely Parish Social Justice Group for its Walk to Mass Sunday initiative.

The Grovely Parish Social Justice Group’s initiative, which aims to encourage parishioners to become more aware and active in relation to climate change, will take place this Sunday 16 September.

Parishioners are being encouraged to walk to Mass on the day and to take other actions in their daily lives to reduce greenhouse pollution.

The Commission’s Executive Officer, Peter Arndt, said the Commission is very happy that parishes are continuing to take up the call to ecological conversion.

“In 2003 and 2004, parishes in Brisbane, the Gold Coast, the South Burnett and the Fraser Coast took up the challenge to respond to the climate change crisis as part of our Cool Communities Project and it is pleasing to see continuing interest in this important matter,” Mr Arndt said.

“Catholics from many parishes and schools in the Archdiocese participated in the Climate Change Conference we held in collaboration with the Social Action Office earlier this year and it is a sign that many more Catholics are starting to understand that the environmental challenges of our times are a faith issue,” he said.

The Grovely Parish Social Justice Group has produced a brochure to both explain why climate change is a faith issue and what Catholics can do in their daily lives to respond to the climate change crisis.

Why should Climate Change be a Catholic Social Justice Issue?

Mr Arndt said that the Commission is presently working on initiatives to assist parishes to become more environmentally conscious and responsible.

“In time, the Commission hopes that the call to ecological conversion will be taken seriously in practice in every part of the Archdiocese,” he said.

For further information, please contact Peter Arndt on (07) 3336 9173 or 0409 265 476.