Catholic bishops from Asia, Africa, Latin America demand climate justice
As a heat wave hits much of Europe, including the Vatican, the continental bishops conferences of the Global South penned a first-ever joint ecological appeal ahead of the next U.N. climate conference in November in Belem, Brazil.
In the document, they echoed the frequent environmental appeals by Pope Francis during his 12-year pontificate, but in a language that was far less diplomatic and far more urgent.
They blasted the 'openly denialist and apathetic stance' of 'so-called elites of power' in the industrialized world who pressure their governments to back off sufficient mitigation and adaptation measures.
The proposals merely perpetuate the exploitation of God's creation and its most vulnerable people, when what is really needed is the complete abandonment of fossil fuels and a new economic model that values the common good, the bishops said.
Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu, the archbishop of Kinshasa, Congo, said the document isn't just an analysis, 'but a cry of dignity.'
'We, the pastors of the South, demand climate justice as a human and spiritual right,' he told a Vatican news conference in prepared remarks.
The document said it was 'seriously contradictory' to use profits from oil extraction to finance green energy transition, saying carbon markets and mining for clean technologies were 'false solutions.'
This 'green economy' really serves as an 'ecological restructuring of capitalism' that just concentrates power again in corporations and regulatory systems, they said.
Francis made caring for the environment a hallmark of his pontificate and penned a landmark encyclical that has spawned global movements to care for the planet.
Pope Leo XIV has indicated he is following in Francis' footsteps, visiting the future site of a huge Vatican solar panel project and planning to spend the summer at the papal retreat outside Rome that Francis turned into an environmental center.
___
Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP's collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Humanitarian aid cuts leave victims of sexual violence in global conflicts without help, UN says
Major cuts in humanitarian aid have left victims of sexual violence in conflicts around the world without lifesaving help as clinics and shelters close, a senior U.N. official warned Tuesday. Pramila Patten, U.N. special representative on sexual violence in conflict, lashed out at the U.N. Security Council and the broader international community for making essential services for survivors the 'least accessible at the very moment they are needed most.' In conflict-torn eastern Congo, clinics are forced to turn away rape survivors because they aren't able to provide basic care, she said. And in conflicts in Sudan, Ukraine, northeastern Ethiopia and Gaza, 'health care systems have been decimated" and humanitarian groups are having to do more with less to help victims, Patten said. She decried humanitarian assistance being slashed without naming any countries, but she was clearly referring to the United States and other major donors. President Donald Trump has decided to pull the U.S. back from its position as the world's single largest aid donor, drastically curtailing funding that kept millions of people alive around the world. Even before his move, many other donor nations had reduced humanitarian spending. Acting U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Dorothy Shea stressed Trump's commitment to eliminating sexual violence in conflicts globally and expressed support for the work of Patten's office — but her remarks to the council made no mention of funding. Patten warned that as 'militarism is on the march and the clock is being turned back on women's rights,' organizations helping women affected by conflict 'are going from underfunded to unfunded.' 'We are told there is no money for lifesaving aid, even as military expenditure soars, and the world spends more in 24 hours on arms than it does in a year on addressing gender-based violence in conflict,' she said. Patten was presenting U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' annual report on sexual violence in conflicts, which was released last week and showed a 25% increase in cases last year. The U.N. chief reported that more than 4,600 people survived sexual violence in 2024, with armed groups carrying out the majority of the abuse but some committed by government forces. The highest number of cases were in the Central African Republic, Congo, Haiti, Somalia and South Sudan. Patten stressed the unseen faces behind the figures, citing as one example a young woman who boarded a bus in Sudan's capital to collect her college diploma and was dragged off by four members of a paramilitary force, gang-raped and left unconscious in a dark alley. She became pregnant and is struggling to care for her baby and deal with her trauma. Patten said she wished she could say the U.N. Security Council and international community would take responsibility for the suffering and stand with survivors and the organizations that help them. 'I wish I could say that the donor and diplomatic community will uphold its values and hold the line on funding for protection and assistance,' she said. 'But we shall see.'
Reuters
2 hours ago
- Reuters
Brazil's 'soy moratorium' site offline after antitrust ruling setback
SAO PAULO, Aug 19 (Reuters) - A website containing information about Brazil's "soy moratorium," a private agreement enforced by global grain traders to protect the Amazon rainforest from soy-driven deforestation, was taken offline on Tuesday after Brazil's antitrust authority ordered suspension of the pact. The soy moratorium has long been hailed as one of the most successful initiatives to protect the Amazon rainforest because it bars soybean traders from buying from farmers who cleared land there after July 2008. But the General Superintendent of antitrust regulator CADE on Monday ruled that it represents a potential breach of Brazilian competition law. Superintendent Alexandre Barreto de Souza ordered firms to suspend the pact or pay fines after he concluded a preliminary investigation, prompted by a request in August 2024 from the agriculture committee of Brazil's lower house of Congress. A majority of lawmakers in the committee is backed by farmers opposed to the moratorium. On Monday, Barreto de Souza also initiated a full investigation involving some 30 grain exporters and two industry groups on whether the moratorium, which has been in place for 19 years, "constitutes an anti-competitive agreement" involving rival companies. Brazilian soy farmers celebrated the moratorium's suspension as a historic victory. Farmers, however, are not expected to clear big areas of forest to grow soy as that crop has been advancing over pastureland, according to Mauricio Buffon, president of farm lobby Aprosoja. 'We do not believe there will be a drop in soy trade,' he said. Even so, soy traders are now in a bind. People familiar with the thinking of trade groups Anec and Abiove told Reuters they will appeal the suspension of the pact at CADE's tribunal, which is composed of six commissioners, including its president. While CADE may take years to conclude the investigation and issue a final opinion on the moratorium's legality, companies may settle with the agency during the course of the probe. If traders are found guilty of breaching competition law, their trade groups face fines of up to 2 billion reais ($365.60 million). For traders themselves, fines can reach up to 20% of the company's gross revenue in the last fiscal year before the investigation started. ($1 = 5.4704 reais)
Reuters
4 hours ago
- Reuters
Banco do Brasil ready to handle 'complex' issues amid debate over US sanctions
BRASILIA, Aug 19 (Reuters) - Banco do Brasil ( opens new tab said on Tuesday it is prepared to deal with "complex, sensitive" issues involving global regulations after a top court justice ruled foreign laws cannot be automatically applied in Brazil. The statement followed a Reuters query about the U.S. Magnitsky Act, which President Donald Trump used last month to sanction Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, accusing him of authorizing arbitrary arrests and curbing freedom of speech. Moraes oversees the case of far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro, a Trump ally, who is charged with plotting a coup after losing the 2022 election to leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Justice Flavio Dino, ruling in a separate case on Monday without mentioning the sanctions on Moraes, suspended local enforcement of foreign judicial decisions, laws, and executive orders that lack approval from Brazil's sovereign bodies. The ruling sparked intense debate among Brazilian banks already grappling with how to comply with the Magnitsky Act, which freezes assets under its jurisdiction and bars American firms from dealing with sanctioned individuals. Given the global reach of the U.S. financial system, foreign banks often restrict a wider range of transactions to avoid secondary sanctions. The dilemma between following a Brazilian Supreme Court order or U.S. sanctions weighed on shares of top Brazilian lenders, all of which fell on Tuesday. State-controlled Banco do Brasil led the losses, trading down 4% by midday, while private lenders Bradesco ( opens new tab, Itau , Santander Brasil and BTG Pactual all dropped more than 3%. Banco do Brasil said in its statement it operates "in full compliance with Brazilian law, the regulations of more than 20 countries where it is present, and international standards governing the financial system." "The bank always closely monitors such matters and relies on specialized legal advice to ensure its practices align with the highest standards of governance, integrity and financial security," it added.
