The Catholic Leader Keeping Faith with You

AUSTRALIA’S Prime Minister has signalled a government shift to take stronger action on climate change, amidst a Church leader’s call for an “ecological conversion”, and the country’s scientific and business communities demanding a solid response to the bushfire crisis. The chairman of the Australian Catholic Bishops’ Commission for Social Justice Bishop Vincent Long said the bushfire crisis wais “a wake-up ... Read More »

ON a day of global climate strikes by students, two of Oceania’s most influential Church leaders delivered an urgent environmental call to action. Brisbane Archbishop Mark Coleridge and Suva Archbishop Peter Loy Chong described Oceania as being “on the frontline of climate change”. “Elsewhere it may seem a matter of scientific debate or a distant prospect but, for the peoples ... Read More »

STUDENTS mingled with grandparents, mothers with strollers, and workers in Hi-Vis vests. In 115 cities and towns across Australia, and across the globe to United Nations headquarters in New York, millions rallied under the broad banner of “School Strike for Climate” on September 20 to confront the climate crisis and press for change. They represented all ages and all walks ... Read More »

A LEADER of the bishops of Oceania has given Brisbane Catholics a personal account of the climate threat engulfing Pacific island nations. Oceania Federation of Catholic Bishops’ Conferences president Archbishop Peter Loy Chong spoke of the crisis in a homily at midday Mass in St Stephen’s Cathedral last Sunday. He was a guest of the archdiocese for the launch of the ... Read More »

A CHURCH leader who has witnessed Pacific villagers forced from their coastal homes because of rising sea levels is to celebrate Mass in Brisbane next month, and will speak about the poor, the vulnerable and the challenges of climate change. Suva Archbishop Peter Loy Chong, who is president of the Oceania Federation of Catholic Bishops Conferences, will concelebrate the World ... Read More »

CATHOLICS across south-east Queensland are being urged to take up the call of Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si’, understand its teachings and support an urgent environmental action plan aimed at protecting the planet. Central to the plan is a commitment to “ecological conversion” in parishes, Church agencies and schools throughout Brisbane archdiocese. Ahead of World Environment Day on June 5, ... Read More »

A MAJOR new United Nations scientific report has warned that one million species were under threat of extinction and that land, seas and skies were exposed to the destructive impact of humans. The report was released on May 6, just a few days after Pope Francis offered a critique of capitalism’s “disastrous” impact on the environment, calling for a response ... Read More »

IN the wake of Townsville’s “once in a century” monsoonal deluge, a leading ecologist warns extreme weather linked to climate change has the potential to dramatically shift the way Australians live and work, and force governments to ramp up resources to combat emergencies. “We’re seeing things we haven’t experienced before,” Macquarie University distinguished professor of biology Lesley Hughes said. Prof ... Read More »

AUSTRALIAN bishops joined more than 170 faith leaders from across the Commonwealth calling on governments to turn “words into action” on climate change. Brisbane Archbishop Mark Coleridge, vice-president Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, on behalf of the Australian bishops was one of dozens of signatories of a letter that states “not even the remotest corner of the Commonwealth remains unaffected” by ... Read More »