National and World-wide Issues
This page provides information and links to national and international issues and events related to faith, outreach and social responsibility. Please check back as articles are added or updated. In addition, you may wish to check out the following on-line news and opinion sources:
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The Vatican - Official site
News.va - Official Vatican news network EWTN - Global Catholic television |
Catholic Register - Canada's Catholic news source
Catholic News Service - US Catholic Bishops CRUX News Service - Boston Globe Media |
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COP21 Update - December 4, 2015
Week 1 of the Paris Climate Summit has officially ended without meaningful progress, as there still are huge divisions between countries on most of the key points. So, in this critical week ahead, the Global Catholic Climate Movement invites you to do continue doing what they've been doing the past few months: Visit this link for full article... Pope Francis Declares September 1st
Annual World Day of Prayer for Creation Christians are asked to implore God's help in protecting creation and to ask for forgiveness "for sins committed against the world in which we live." "The life of the spirit is not dissociated from the body of nature, but lived in communion with all worldly realities. The Orthodox Church has set aside a similar day of prayer since 1989. 
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Pope Francis Blames Unfettered Greed for Increased Pollution, Inequality, and Global Warming
The following excerpt is from the CRUX, June 2015: VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis has published a sweeping condemnation of humanity’s treatment of the environment, blaming “unfettered greed” for increased pollution, inequality, and global warming, “mainly as a result of human activity,” and urging everyone to act quickly, as the Earth begins “to look more and more like an immense pile of filth.” He ties environmental degradation directly to poverty — saying the continued abuse of the natural world has the greatest effect on residents of the developing world and serves to keep them at a disadvantage — and abortion, writing that a “throwaway culture” leads to a diminished respect for all human life. The encyclical is particularly critical of unregulated markets and wealthy nations in the global north unwilling to sign on to global environmental accords. Ending months of anticipation on Thursday, the Vatican released Laudato Si, or Praise be to You, a sprawling, 184-page document touching on a variety of ways that human beings interact with their surroundings, from deforestation and unclean water to architecture and urban planning. Further Reading:
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