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Vatican Messages

Holy Father's Easter Message Highlights Climate Change. Our beloved Pope links the threat of climate change with so many other threats to life and dignity in his annual Easter message:

At a time of world food shortage, of financial turmoil, of old and new forms of poverty, of disturbing climate change, of violence and deprivation which force many to leave their homelands in search of a less precarious form of existence, of the ever-present threat of terrorism, of growing fears over the future, it is urgent to rediscover grounds for hope. Let no one draw back from this peaceful battle that has been launched by Christ's Resurrection. For as I said earlier, Christ is looking for men and women who will help him to affirm his victory using his own weapons: the weapons of justice and truth, mercy, forgiveness and love.
—Pope Benedict XVI, Urbi et Orbi, Easter 2009

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“The brutal consumption of creation begins where God is not, where matter is henceforth only material for us, where we ourselves are the ultimate demand, where the whole is merely our property and we consume it for ourselves alone … I think, therefore, that true and effective initiatives to prevent the waste and destruction of creation can be implemented and developed, understood and lived, only where creation is considered as beginning with God.”
—Pope Benedict XVI, August 2008

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“… make the responsibilities visible so that we may respond to this great challenge: to rediscover the Face of the Creatora in Creation, to rediscover in the Creator's presence our responsibilities for his Creation, which he has entrusted to us, to form the ethical capacity for a lifestyle that we must adopt if we wish to tackle the problems of this situation [of climate change] and if we really want to reach positive solutions.

“Do not be fooled by those who see you as just another consumer in a market of undifferentiated possibilities, where choice itself becomes the good, novelty usurps beauty, and subjective experience displaces truth…

“My dear friends, God’s creation is one and it is good. The concerns for non-violence, sustainable development, justice and peace, and care for our environment are of vital importance for humanity.”
—Pope Benedict XVI at World Youth Day, June 2008

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“Prudence does not mean failing to accept responsibilities and postponing decisions; it means being committed to making joint decisions after pondering responsibly the road to be taken, decisions aimed at strengthening that covenant between human beings and the environment, which should mirror the creative love of God, from whom we come and towards whom we are journeying.

"If the protection of the environment involves costs, they should be justly distributed, taking due account of the different levels of development of various countries and the need for solidarity with future generations.”
—Pope Benedict XVI, World Day of Peace Message, December 2007

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Other Statements on Science and Climate Change Justice

• Pope Benedict XVI urges international cooperation on climate protection, at United Nations, April 18, 2008
• Background on Pope Benedict XVI’s statements on the environment and climate change, April 8, 2008
• Everyone is responsible for caring for environment, says U.N. nuncio, February 18, 2008
• Vatican's UN Ambassador urges all people and nations to reduce carbon footprint, applauds "Bali Roadmap," February 12, 2008

Other statements archives