The Catholic, Orthodox and Anglican Churches have launched an unprecedented call for the climate crisis

The three main Christian leaders of the world launched an unprecedented joint appeal to members of their churches to “Hear the cry of the earth” and support actions aimed at halting the effects of climate change.

In “A common message for the protection of creation”, Pope Francis, Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, and Ecumenical Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew called on Christians to pray for world leaders to make bold decisions at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow in November.

“We call on everyone, whatever their belief or worldview, to may they strive to hear the cry of the earth and of the poor, examining their behavior and promising meaningful sacrifices for the sake of the land God has given us. “, indicated the message.

Francis is the head of the Catholic Church, with 1.3 billion members, Bartholomew is the spiritual leader of the 220 million Orthodox Christians around the world, and Welby is the chief bishop of the Anglican World Communion, which has some 85 million members.

All three have been very active on environmental issues and agree that climate change and global warming are caused, at least in part, by human activities such as the use of fossil fuels.

“We must choose the nature of the world that we will leave to future generations. If world leaders meet in Glasgow in November to discuss the future of the planet, let us pray for them and reflect on the decisions we need to make together ”said the three religious leaders in the joint statement issued by the Holy See. “This is the first time that we feel compelled to reiterate the urgency of protecting the environment, its impact on persistent poverty and the importance of global cooperation., they recognized.

And they added: “We are facing harsh justice: loss of biodiversity, environmental degradation and climate change are the inevitable consequences of our actions, because we have greedily consumed more earth’s resources than the planet can support”.

Recent extreme weather events, natural disasters, floods, fires, droughts and sea level rise have, they said, shown that “Climate change is not just a future challenge, but an urgent and immediate survival problem.”

Europe had its hottest summer on record this year– but only by a small margin compared to the previous two hottest temperatures of June-August, European Union scientists said Tuesday, and environmental groups have called for the postponement of COP26.

Pope Francis plans to participate in the COP26, to be held from October 31 to November 12 in the Scottish city of Glasgow, UK.

(With information from AFP and Reuters)

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