PARISHIONERS at Kedron in Brisbane have raised their voices in prayer ahead of the international conference in Glasgow on climate change.
More than 50 of them gathered on the lawn outside Little Flower Church after Mass last Sunday (October 17) to pray as world leaders prepare to meet at the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) from October 31 to November 12.
Franciscan Father Joe McKay, who is Kedron parish’s justice group facilitator, said in a Facebook post the parish was joining others in Brisbane archdiocese and internationally with other church and religious communities “to pray for the protection and care for our common home …”
“Pope Francis and the Catholic bishops in Australia, in the ‘Cry for the Earth, Cry for the Poor’ (Australian Catholic Bishops’ Social Justice Statement 2021-22), are asking us to go on a journey of ‘ecological’ conversion as part of our search for personal holiness,” he said.
“Pope Francis along with religious leaders of both Christian churches and other religious are calling for world leaders at COP26 to work towards the common good to stop global warming.”
A parish spokesman said the Kedron gathering joined with others around the world hoping leaders at the COP26 conference would heed the warnings from UN climate scientists.
“Paramount is the need for leaders to commit to real action to care for our common home – as stated in the banner – with ‘bold climate action by 2030 starting now’,” the spokesman said.
Fr McKay said the Kedron event concluded parish celebrations of the Season of Creation, and was partly inspired by reflections from Catholic Earthcare on the bishop’s Social Justice Statement that called for a “just transition to a low-carbon economy”.
Parish priest Franciscan Father Mario Debattista said the event was also inspired by the charism of St Francis of Assisi to care for “mother earth” and reach out with people of other faiths.
