Tag Archives: Climate Change

Lenten Call for Ecological Conversion

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Monday 14 March 2011

 

Brisbane in Flood 2011 Tony Robertson

Brisbane in Flood 2011 Tony Robertson

Brisbane’s Catholic Justice and Peace Commission has urged Catholics to be open to the possibility of ecological conversion during Lent.

Pope John Paul II called for an “ecological conversion” in 1990 when he reflected on the significant environmental challenges facing the world today

The Commission’s Executive Officer, Peter Arndt, said that Pope Benedict has continued to call for Christians to respond to the environmental challenges threatening the world, especially climate change.

 

Lent is a time of repentance and it is a good time for us Christians to reflect on how we and our lifestyles have contributed to the ecological damage and threats the world faces today,” Mr Arndt said.p>

 

“As we make more time to pray and reflect on scripture, we can take the opportunity to consider to what extent we are wedded to the consumerist culture which dominates our society and contributes significantly to the ecological damage our earth has suffered,” he said.

 

“Our fasting, too, can take many forms,” he said.

 

“Not only can we give up some food during Lent, but we could also consider giving up some of the practices which release carbon into the atmosphere,” he said.

 

“Consciously reducing some of the activities and practices which use electricity or petrol can help us to find a path to spiritual renewal which embraces care for the earth,” he said.

 

“Lent can be an important opportunity for us to draw closer to God who created the world and to our sisters and brothers who are already facing the consequences of dangerous climate change,” he said.

 

“God is constantly inviting us to draw closer to our neighbours including Pacific Islanders whose homes are being threatened by rising sea levels and to support them in their time of need,” he said.

 

“Embracing the challenge to care for the earth certainly means changing the way we live,” he said.

 

“It also requires us to be prophets who challenge the dominant consumerist culture in our society and the political, business and community leaders who maintain it,” he said.

 

“If we care for the earth and our brothers and sisters in every part of it, we must not only change our own behaviour, but also challenge our leaders to change their behaviour too,” he said.

 

“In the face of the serious threat posed by dangerous climate change, we cannot stay silent while our political and business leaders engage in political games which do not have the best interests of the earth and its people in mind,” he said.

 

“Let’s turn away from our own destructive behaviours and have the courage to also call on our society to turn away from approaches which threaten our world with even greater damage,” he said.

 

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

 NB  This release is issued with the approval of the Commission or its Executive under the provision of its Mandate which enables it to speak in its own right.  The views expressed in it do not necessarily represent the views of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane. 

Catholics Encouraged To Join Environmental Advocacy network

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Monday 26 October 2009 

CJPC Climate Action 2009

CJPC Climate Action 2009

 Brisbane’s Catholic Justice and Peace Commission staged a public promotion for action on climate change in the centre of Brisbane as part of an International Day of Climate Action last Saturday 24 October.

Commission members and supporters held up a banner bearing the number ‘350” in Reddacliff Place in the heart of Brisbane and distributed information sheets on the importance of reducing atmospheric carbon dioxide levels.

The number on the Commission’s banner refers to the level of atmospheric carbon dioxide which scientists say is necessary to prevent serious environmental consequences.

The Commission’s Executive officer, Peter Arndt, said that world leaders must take action to reduce the current carbon dioxide level of 389 parts per million to the safe level of 350 parts per million proposed by climate scientists. “

We are already seeing dramatic changes caused by global warming and the whole world must take decisive action to stop even more dramatic damage and change in the next few decades,” Mr Arndt said.

“We have joined with millions of other people around the world today to tell our leaders that they must agree to action which will bring about a rapid reduction in the emission of carbon dioxide into the air,” he said.

“When leaders gather in Copenhagen this December, we want them to be clearly focussed on taking action which protects the lands and homes of low-lying countries and which limits the environmental degradation and change which future generations will face,” he said.

The Commission also used the event as an opportunity to invite Catholics in the Brisbane Archdiocese to join a network committed to action and advocacy on important environmental issues such as climate change.

Mr Arndt said that the Commission wanted to support Catholics who were already active in environmental advocacy and to connect them with other Catholics who wanted to do something to promote a sustainable future for the world.

“There are many Catholics who already believe that our faith requires us to do what we can to protect the Earth and its resources,” Mr Arndt said.

“We would like to see how we can support what is already happening on the ground and develop new initiatives in which Catholics can participate,” he said.

Catholics interested in joining the Commission’s environmental advocacy network are asked to contact the Commission by e-mail at arndtp@bne.catholic.net.au, by phoning (07) 3336 9173 or by writing to the Catholic Justice and Peace Commission, GPO Box 282, Brisbane Q 4001.

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

NB This release is issued with the approval of the Commission or its Executive under the provision of its Charter which enables it to speak in its own right. The views expressed in it do not necessarily represent the views of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane.

Appeal for Commitment to Stronger Climate Change Action at Pacific Island Forum

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Monday 3 August 2009

Brisbane’s Catholic Justice and Peace Commission has called on Australia’s Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, to make a commitment to stronger action on climate change at the Pacific Island Forum meeting which will take place in Cairns this week.

The Commission’s Executive Officer, Peter Arndt, said that Australia has to take stronger action to cut greenhouse gas pollution because it has a moral responsibility to respond to the plight of its Pacific Island neighbours who are facing the consequences of global warming now.

“Many Pacific Island nations are threatened by rising sea levels which are mostly caused by the carbon pollution of developed nations like Australia,” Mr Arndt said.

“We cannot turn a blind eye to the plight of neighbours like the Carteret Islanders who are already leaving their homes because they are going under the sea,” he said.

“The Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change recommended that we cut greenhouse gas emissions by 25 to 40 percent of 1990 levels by 2020, but our Government’s Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme commits us to much less than this,” he said.

“The Government’s scheme makes too many concessions to the biggest polluters in the country and makes it much more likely that both Australia and our Pacific neighbours will all face the most awful consequences in decades to come,” he said.

“The Prime Minister should be telling Pacific leaders meeting in Cairns this week that we will make a full-blooded commitment to making deep cuts in our greenhouse emissions within the next ten years and beyond,” he said.

“Mr Rudd should be telling them that we will encourage a rapid shift towards renewable energy,” he said.

“And he should be telling them that, as one of the countries which has been responsible for their problems, we will help them to deal with the problems they are now facing,” he said.

“The Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme will be voted on in the Federal Parliament a week after Pacific leaders meet in Cairns and it should be drastically changed to ensure that our response to the climate change crisis is adequate and realistic,” he said.

Mr Arndt said that the Commission has also urged Catholics to look for ways to respond to climate change in their own communities.

“Many parishes in our Archdiocese hosted World Youth Day pilgrims who come from Pacific Island nations seriously affected by the consequences of climate change,” Mr Arndt said.

“The Commission hopes that Catholics here will not forget their plight and take action to cut carbon pollution in their homes, parishes, schools and offices,” he said.

“We applaud what is being done by Brisbane Catholic Education and many individual schools in the Archdiocese to become more environmentally responsible,” he said.

There are also many great examples of religious congregations, parishes and individual Catholics taking action too,” he said.

“Australia’s Bishops have given us a great resource to help us in Catholic Earthcare Australia and Archbishop Bathersby, who was its inaugural Chair, has encouraged us all to be passionate about taking responsibility for the environment,” he said.

“Pope Benedict has also given us a lead by using renewable solar energy in the Vatican,” he said.

“There is much good work being done in our country and the Church, but much more needs to be done quickly if our Pacific neighbours are going to be able to deal with the consequences of climate change,” he said.

For further information, please contact Peter Arndt on (07) 3336 9173 or 0409 265 476.
NB  This release is issued with the approval of the Commission or its Executive under the provision of its Charter which enables it to speak in its own right.  The views expressed in it do not necessarily represent the views of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane.