Catholics call for environmental action at Rio de Janeiro's iconic Christ the Redeemer statue
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazilian Catholic worshippers laid down an eco-friendly carpet in front of the world-famous Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday and called for the protection of the environment ahead of UN climate talks in the Amazon.
Tapestries are a fixture of the Corpus Christi religious feast when Catholics celebrate what they believe is the presence of Christ in the Eucharist.
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CTV News
5 hours ago
- CTV News
Catholics call for environmental action at Rio de Janeiro's iconic Christ the Redeemer statue
The Archbishop of Rio de Janeiro, Cardinal Orani Joao Tempesta at the Christ the Redeemer statue on Thursday, June 19, 2025 (AP Photo/Bruna Prado) RIO DE JANEIRO — Brazilian Catholic worshippers laid down an eco-friendly carpet in front of the world-famous Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday and called for the protection of the environment ahead of UN climate talks in the Amazon. Tapestries are a fixture of the Corpus Christi religious feast when Catholics celebrate what they believe is the presence of Christ in the Eucharist. This year, the colorful carpet was made from approximately 460 kilograms (1,014 pounds) of recycled plastic caps. Over the past few years the Christ the Redeemer sanctuary has increasingly used the attention the iconic statue generates to spotlight environmental concerns. 'These caps could be polluting the environment. Today they're here as a carpet,' said Marcos Martins, environmental manager and educator at the sanctuary. 'It's the circular economy: we take the material, we're reusing it here and then we're going to reuse it again with an exhibition.' Just after day break and before the first flock of tourists arrived Thursday, Cardinal Orani João Tempesta led celebrations at the site overlooking Guanabara Bay and Rio's famed Sugarloaf mountain. The caps are 'a good reminder of our co-responsibility with ecology, of our concern for the environment, which are very characteristic of Christ the Redeemer,' Rio's archbishop told journalists. Thursday's celebration also paid homage to the late Pope Francis and his Laudato Si', a landmark environmental encyclical in which he cast care for the environment in stark moral terms. In the papal letter Francis called for a bold cultural revolution to correct what he said was a 'structurally perverse' economic system in which the rich exploited the poor, turning Earth into a pile of 'filth' in the process. 'The COP30 is coming up and we've just had the UN Ocean Conference. Nothing makes more sense than Christ being a great spokesperson for this issue,' said Carlos Lins, the sanctuary's marketing director. Earlier this month, the sanctuary held workshops, discussion groups and actions focusing on environmental preservation. The statue — perched on the Corcovado mountain - is itself located in the Tijuca National Park. Brazil has been hit by a series of environmental disasters in recent years, including severe droughts in the Amazon, wildfires in the Pantanal and flooding in the south. This week heavy rains killed at least two people in the southern region Rio Grande do Sul, just over a year after it was hit by the worst flooding on record. Scientists say extreme weather is happening more frequently due to human-caused climate change. Eléonore Hughes, The Associated Press
Global News
5 hours ago
- Global News
Black bear finally freed of lid that was stuck on its neck for 2 years
For at least two years, a Michigan black bear traipsed around the forest, a blue barrel lid wrapped around its neck, as state wildlife experts tried to track it down. The bear was first spotted on a trail camera as a cub back in 2023, but it remained elusive. It occasionally turned up on other trail cameras, but disappeared just as quickly. View image in full screen A trail camera on private property in Hillman, Mich., captured this photo of a black bear with a lid stuck on its neck. Handout / Private Resident via DNR The uncomfortable saga came to an end this spring, according to a press release chronicling it, when a resident in Montmorency County spotted the 110-pound bruin on a trail camera roaming his wooded acreage and alerted the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Story continues below advertisement With the landowner's permission, the DNR set up a cylindrical trap and lured the bear inside. Once captured, staffers were able to sedate the animal and free it from its plastic burden before it woke up and was released back to the woods. View image in full screen In this image provided by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, DNS staffers, from left, Angela Kujawa, Sherry Raifsnider and Miranda VanCleave work to remove a lid from the neck of an immobilized black bear near Hillman, Mich., on June 3, 2025. Michigan Department of Natural Resources via AP View image in full screen In this image provided by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, wildlife biologist Angela Kujawa collects data from an immobilized black bear after a lid was removed from the animal's neck near Hillman, Michigan, on June 3, 2025. Michigan Department of Natural Resources via AP 'It's pretty incredible that the bear survived and was able to feed itself,' state bear specialist Cody Norton told The Associated Press. 'The neck was scarred and missing hair, but the bear was in much better condition than we expected it to be.' Story continues below advertisement View image in full screen In this image provided by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, the neck of a black bear is shown after a lid was removed after two years on June 3, 2025, near Hillman, Mich. Michigan Department of Natural Resources via AP According to the DNR, the blue lid matched those used to cover large 55-gallon barrels, which are popular among rural landowners and hunters to hold grain and feed used to attract bears. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Though Michigan permits bear baiting, the law limits the use of bait containers to private land and requires that any openings be either under one inch or over 22 inches wide. In this case, while it's not clear how or where the bear got the lid wrapped around its neck, the opening did not comply with local bear baiting laws. View image in full screen A DNR drone photo of the black bear after the lid was removed from its neck. Michigan Department of Natural Resources 'Container openings of a certain size can result in bears and other wildlife getting their heads or other body parts stuck in them, leading to injury or death,' Norton said in a statement.
Toronto Star
5 hours ago
- Toronto Star
Catholics call for environmental action at Rio de Janeiro's iconic Christ the Redeemer statue
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazilian Catholic worshippers laid down an eco-friendly carpet in front of the world-famous Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday and called for the protection of the environment ahead of UN climate talks in the Amazon. Tapestries are a fixture of the Corpus Christi religious feast when Catholics celebrate what they believe is the presence of Christ in the Eucharist.
