Bishop John Arnold of Salford has written to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, enclosing a copy of Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation Laudate Deum.
Bishop Arnold, the lead on the environment for the Bishops of England and Wales, appealed to Mr Sunak on 24 October to take further action against climate change and champion existing initiatives across civil society.
The bishop said that planetary heating is a global crisis that achieving a sustained reduction in carbon emissions will only happen with coordinated action at international level.
Bishop Arnold asked the prime minister to assume a “real global leadership role” to ensure that states keep to commitments made at the United Nations’ COP climate meetings – especially at the upcoming COP28 talks in Dubai.
These outcomes will be key to warding off what the secretary-general of the UN, António Guterres, who is Catholic, has called a looming “climate catastrophe”. The welfare of future generations is at stake, said Bishop Arnold.
Laudate Deum, released four weeks ago, argues that ecological concerns and good stewardship are intimately connected to the wellbeing of the poorest and most vulnerable communities, who are worst affected by extreme weather.
Pope Francis says that “the most effective solutions will not come from individual efforts alone, but above all from major political decisions on the national and international level”.
Bishop Arnold told Mr Sunak that Catholic parishes, as well as 2,200 Catholic schools in England and Wales, “are promoting understanding about this global challenge while working hard to ensure we make efforts to reach Net Zero in our local communities.”
He instanced the Guardians of Creation project, based at St Mary’s University, Twickenham, which assists dioceses and parishes with decarbonisation efforts across the UK.
This is within the context of the “rich tradition of Catholic social thought”, said Bishop Arnold, which recognises that “securing the common good is the responsibility of all individuals and institutions in society”.
A group of Catholics have responded to Laudate Deum by writing to Pope Francis asking him to give more thought to “the concept that animals, indeed all creatures, are created and beloved by God, in and of themselves, and were not made for humans to use”.
The letter, signed by four Laudato Si’ Movement animators from English dioceses and three priests, asks the Pope “to consider too, and perhaps bring to your prayer, the real question of whether humans should be using animals at all, if our use of them causes them suffering”.
“Surely, in the name of Jesus Christ and at the service of the earth created by God, we have a duty not to cause suffering, whatever the species that suffers, if we can avoid it?”
They argue that a “change of heart” towards animals and the planet “can best be expressed by following a vegan lifestyle”.
“Please promote a vegan lifestyle as one for which to aim – a lifestyle that respects the autonomy and freedom of those nonhuman creatures brought into being for a purpose by God himself, out of love and for love.”
The signatories have sent the letter to the Vatican, and asked the apostolic nuncio to Great Britain to draw it to the Pope’s attention.
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