Sisters Of Loretto Divest From Fossil Fuels, Cite Pope’s Encyclical
Antonia Blumberg, Huffington Post
The Sisters of Loretto, a Kentucky-based Catholic community, are joining a growing movement of religious groups taking a stand for the environment. The sisters voted unanimously during their July assembly meeting to divest from fossil fuels, citing Pope Francis’s landmark encyclical on the environment.
Jeb Bush says human activity contributes to climate change, calls for GOP to ’embrace science’
Scott Sutton, Sun Times Network
“The climate is changing, whether men are doing it or not,” Bush said during that speech, adding that he remained “a little skeptical” about taking advice about climate change from Pope Francis, who was just days away from releasing his climate change encyclical at the time.
The time for resisting change in the Church is over
Michael Sainsbury, UCA News
Asked for the reason, he said: “I cannot give one coherent reason for this, but I was talking to a Buddhist monk recently in Chiang Mai and he had the same message. He sees a decline in vocations to the monkhood, especially in the cities. “He gave similar reasons to what I have heard among our religious, such as an increase of consumerism, rise of secularism, the culture of the cities and what our superior general calls the ‘globalisation of superficiality’. Also, of course, families are smaller, opportunities are greater and there are more distractions.”
Here’s a trick to break through climate change apathy
Tom Jacobs, The Week
The economic frame was crafted to emphasize either fairness, much like the message of Pope Francis in his recent encyclical (“Unless we do something about climate change, there will be dire consequences for the poor”), or the direct harm that will be done to our own nation (“The United States will incur large costs”).
Pope Francis: ‘Facts are more important than ideas’
Thomas Reese, National Catholic Reporter
It is not that Pope Francis is dumb or an anti-intellectual. He is well-read and thoughtful, but by no stretch of the imagination can he be called a scholar. His training as a scientist and his life experience make him approach theory in a different way than John Paul and Benedict. It also helps explain his approach to the environment in Laudato Si’.
Evangelicals back carbon reduction plan
Adelle M. Banks, The Washington Post
Alexei Laushkin, EEN vice president, said Washington-area Catholics and evangelicals are planning meetings ahead of the pope’s September visit to the nation’s capital in hopes of continuing their joint work on climate change.
Summit of Conscience for the Climate is Attended by Faith Leaders Across the World
Alison Lesley, World Religion News
Pope Francis was hopeful that the meeting in Paris would succeed, but told the mayors of large cities worldwide that they are the “conscience of humanity.”
Impact of Laudato si’ on United Nations’ deliberations
Vatican Radio
Pope Francis’ recently-released Encyclical ‘Laudato si’ includes practical suggestions aimed at influencing government policies regarding climate change. Daniel LeBlanc is a non-governmental organization (NGO) representative at the United Nations in New York for the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI) and VIVAT International.