Skip to content
The Catholic Leader
  • Home
  • News
    • QLD
    • Australia
    • Regional
    • Education
    • World
    • Vatican
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Life
    • Family
    • Relationships
    • Faith
  • Culture
  • People
  • Subscribe
  • Jobs
  • Contribute
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • QLD
    • Australia
    • Regional
    • Education
    • World
    • Vatican
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Life
    • Family
    • Relationships
    • Faith
  • Culture
  • People
  • Subscribe
  • Jobs
  • Contribute
No Result
View All Result
The Catholic Leader
No Result
View All Result
Home News

Brisbane Catholics among hundreds of thousands raising voices on climate change

byPeter Bugden
2 December 2015 - Updated on 1 April 2021
Reading Time: 2 mins read
AA
Climate march

Catholic crowd: Catholics set off from St Stephen’s Cathedral to join the People’s Climate March in Brisbane last Saturday. Photo: Tony Robertson

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
Climate march
Catholic crowd: Catholics set off from St Stephen’s Cathedral to join the People’s Climate March in Brisbane last Saturday. Photo: Tony
Robertson

ARCHBISHOP Mark Coleridge has encouraged Catholics not to abandon the debate on climate change to the politicians, economists, scientists and ideologues.

He offered the encouragement to a group of Catholics before he prayed and blessed them as they prepared to join about 10,000 people on the People’s Climate March in Brisbane last weekend.

They were uniting with hundreds of thousands of people in at least 150 countries demanding action on climate change on the eve of the United Nations conference in Paris where world leaders were to seek agreement on greenhouse gas emissions.

Catholics gathered at St Stephen’s Cathedral in Brisbane to pray before the march.

Archbishop Coleridge told them there were “all kinds of people concerned about the health of the planet – the planet that is our ‘common home’, as Pope Francis has said, but not everyone’s concerned in the same way”.

“There are politicians who are concerned for political purposes, economists concerned for economic reasons, and ideologues for ideological reasons, and so on it goes,” he said.

“But we gather here today and will walk on this little journey as Christians.

“And one of the things that Pope Francis I think has done decisively is introduce a distinctively Christian voice into this crucial debate, because unless we speak from the depths of the biblical tradition, we’re kind of abandoning the field to the politicians and the economists and the scientists and, God help us, the ideologues.”

Archbishop Coleridge said people had questioned the Pope’s right to speak about matters to do with science, economics or politics.

“Well of course he doesn’t speak about those matters as a scientist or a politician or an economist,” he said.

Related Stories

Gwen has given 15,000 hours of cuddles to sick and premature babies

Church workers have helped more than 1.2 million Ukrainians during the war, Caritas says

Parishes unite for Logan deanery family festival this Sunday

“He speaks as a Christian believer first and foremost, as a Christian teacher then.

“So that’s what you’re doing. You are all Christians and you’re here for that reason.

“This is not a political rally or a political march of any kind, and that’s what our banners are all about.”

Archbishop Coleridge drew a parallel between the restoration work being done on the roof of St Stephen’s Chapel and climate change.

“That’s a bit what we’re talking about with the planet,” he said.

“If we didn’t replace the roof then I’m afraid the old chapel, the first cathedral, was cactus.

“So think of climate change as simply that we’re replacing the roof on planet Earth, because, if we don’t do something, there is a real risk that the planet will be cactus and, with that, human beings.

“And those who cop it first, as you well know, are the poorest, and some of them very close to our home here in Australia.”

Kimri, Joachim and Jes-Wah Thetadig, young parishioners from St Flannan’s, Zillmere, had personal reasons for joining the march – they were originally from Samoa and they have friends and relatives there who are particularly concerned about the threats of climate change.

Catholic marchers came from as far as Toowoomba and the Sunshine Coast.

By Peter Bugden

ShareTweet
Previous Post

Melkite leader tells Brisbane Lebanese and Syrian Catholics to “never give up hope” despite war

Next Post

Fair wage patron from Cairns named papal knight

Peter Bugden

Related Posts

Gwen has given 15,000 hours of cuddles to sick and premature babies
QLD

Gwen has given 15,000 hours of cuddles to sick and premature babies

20 May 2022
Church workers have helped more than 1.2 million Ukrainians during the war, Caritas says
World

Church workers have helped more than 1.2 million Ukrainians during the war, Caritas says

18 May 2022
Parishes unite for Logan deanery family festival this Sunday
QLD

Parishes unite for Logan deanery family festival this Sunday

17 May 2022
Next Post
Papal knight

Fair wage patron from Cairns named papal knight

QCEC leaders

What Pope Francis told Queensland Catholic educators

Orange for homeless

Turning orange to help homeless Queenslanders

Popular News

  • Pregnant woman

    Queensland election: The pro-life political parties committed to abortion law reforms

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Here are the stories of 10 new saints being canonised this Sunday

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Br Alan Moss remembered for a life of faith and learning

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Nationwide rosary event happening for Australia’s patroness this Saturday

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Angel’s Kitchen serves hot meals to the hungry in Southport

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
Search our job finder
No Result
View All Result

Latest News

Gwen has given 15,000 hours of cuddles to sick and premature babies
QLD

Gwen has given 15,000 hours of cuddles to sick and premature babies

by Joe Higgins
20 May 2022
0

BRISBANE grandmother Gwendoline Grant has clocked up 15,000 hours cuddling and caring for sick and premature babies...

Helping stroke survivors earns Ozcare volunteer national recognition

Helping stroke survivors earns Ozcare volunteer national recognition

20 May 2022
Br Alan Moss remembered for a life of faith and learning

Br Alan Moss remembered for a life of faith and learning

19 May 2022
Catholic relationship advisers offer five tips to look after your mental health

Nationwide rosary event happening for Australia’s patroness this Saturday

19 May 2022
Francis offers advice on politics: Seek unity, don’t get lost in conflict

Francis offers advice on politics: Seek unity, don’t get lost in conflict

19 May 2022

Never miss a story. Sign up to the Weekly Round-Up
eNewsletter now to receive headlines directly in your email.

Sign up to eNews
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Jobs
  • Subscribe

The Catholic Leader is an Australian award-winning Catholic newspaper that has been published by the Archdiocese of Brisbane since 1929. Our journalism seeks to provide a full, accurate and balanced Catholic perspective of local, national and international news while upholding the dignity of the human person.

Copyright © All Rights Reserved The Catholic Leader
Accessibility Information | Privacy Policy | Archdiocese of Brisbane

The Catholic Leader acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the First Peoples of this country and especially acknowledge the traditional owners on whose lands we live and work throughout the Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • QLD
    • Australia
    • Regional
    • Education
    • World
    • Vatican
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Life
    • Family
    • Relationships
    • Faith
  • Culture
  • People
  • Subscribe
  • Jobs
  • Contribute

Copyright © All Rights Reserved The Catholic Leader

0
    0
    Your Cart
    Your cart is emptyChoose another Subscription
    Continue Shopping