COP26: Glasgow, Mass for climate conference delegates. "Faith urges us to be stewards of creation"

“We have heard the cry of the Earth and the cry of the poor. That is why COP26 is taking place in Glasgow”. With these words, Bishop William Nolan of Galloway recalled in his sermon during the Mass for the climate conference delegates that, for people of faith, it is the Christian vocation to care for the environment. Also attending yesterday’s service in the Jesuit Church of St. Aloysius in Glasgow, in addition to the faithful, were the Scottish Deputy Prime Minister John Swinney and the Lord Provost of Glasgow Philip Braat. The Mass, celebrated by Bishop Hugh Gilbert of Aberdeen, was also attended by the Apostolic Nuncio to Great Britain Monsignor Claudio Gugerotti, the Scottish and English Bishops, and the leader of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland, Lord Jim Wallace. “In the Bible, God’s word effects what He sets out to do”, Bishop Nolan continued, “and this is what we, Christians, are called to do when it comes to the environment. We are called to convert, to a complete change of life. Our Western lifestyle”, based on consumption, “is the cause of the problem”. Ours is a flawed model for the resources of all are shared only “by the powerful and the rich. Faith urges us to do something” for the environment. “We have been commissioned by God to be stewards of creation”.
Valentina Bombelli