United Kingdom: mgr. Arnold (Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales) writes to Prime Minister Sunak to ask him to do more for the environment. And he sends him the Laudate Deum

A letter to the British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, to ask him to do more for the environment, with the Apostolic Exhortation of Pope Francis, “Laudate Deum”, attached to it. It was written by mgr. John Arnold, Lead Bishop for Environmental Issues of the Bishops’ Conference, who points out that the Catholic community of the United Kingdom is doing its part to win the challenge of climate change, but more needs to be done, especially across civil society. “I would like the British Government to take on a real global leadership role to ensure that commitments made at the different COPs, the Climate Change Conferences, and those that will be made in November at COP 28, are kept. That’s the only way to avoid what the UN Secretary General, António Guterres, defined as “a climate catastrophe” that cannot be escaped”. In his message to the British Prime Minister, mgr. John Arnold points out that, in the “Laudate Deum”, Pope Francis highlights that the care we take of each other, as brothers and sisters made in the image of God, is closely related to the care we take of Creation and that concern for the environment should go hand in hand with respect for the dignity of human life, especially that of the poorer and more vulnerable communities, whom are most seriously affected by the extremes of global warming.

Valentina Bombelli