As world leaders gather for the 30th annual United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30), the bishop chairmen who lead committees of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) that address climate policy were joined by the president and CEO of Catholic Relief Services (CRS) to call for urgent, courageous action to protect God’s creation and people.
Archbishop Borys Gudziak, Bishop A. Elias Zaidan, and Mr. Sean Callahan released the following statement:
“This year’s COP30 convenes while the Catholic Church celebrates the Jubilee Year of Hope. Pope Leo XIV called for the participants of COP30 to ‘listen to the cry of the Earth and the cry of the poor, families, indigenous peoples, involuntary migrants and believers throughout the world.’ This jubilee year is a sacred opportunity to restore relationships and renew creation at a time when the gift of life is under grave threat. Climate change, biodiversity loss, and environmental degradation are devastating communities already burdened by poverty and exclusion. Farming and fishing families confront threats to their livelihoods; Indigenous Peoples face destruction of their ancestral lands; children’s health, safety, and futures are at risk. Failing to steward God’s creation, ignores our responsibility as one human family.
“A decade ago, in Laudato si’, Pope Francis reminded us that the climate is a common good, belonging to all and meant for all, and that intergenerational solidarity is not optional. We call on world leaders to act urgently and courageously for an ambitious Paris Agreement implementation that protects God’s creation and people. As all of us are impacted, so must we all be responsible for addressing this global challenge.”
Click here to read the full statement.