Statement of Living Laudato Si Philippines on CBCP’s Pastoral Letter on Ecology
(Living Laudato Sí Philippines is a Catholic lay-led movement focused on ethical investments.)
We join the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines in urgently calling for the ‘ecological conversion’ of all people, regardless of religion, as a response to the climate crisis. As expressed in previous pastoral letters and the Laudato Si, we human beings have the moral responsibility of taking care of the Earth, our common home, and all life on it. With the threat of environmental degradation already affecting us, now is the time for mankind to become active agents of ecological health.
There is no bigger threat to our world than human-induced climate change, brought about by the excessive burning of fossil fuels such as coal. In accordance with one of the calls of the CBCP for a “push for an immediate transition to safe, clean, and affordable energy”, we reiterate the need for divestments from fossil fuels. We demand that governments and businesses stop the construction of any more coal-fired power plants, halt all coal mining operations, and develop the Philippines’s renewable energy sources as soon as possible.
We also join the CBCP in urging everyone to actively take care of our environment, in aid of mitigating and adapting to climate change. Taking care of our forests, oceans, and other ecosystems do not only allow us to fulfill our duty to care for creation, but also ensure sustainable economic growth and social development. It also makes us more resilient to climate-induced disasters and other extreme impacts that are becoming a part of the ‘new normal’.
Taking care of our environment is not only limited to ecosystems conservation, but also protecting the welfare of the marginalized sectors of our society and reducing the inequality that prevails in our world. The survival of all life on Earth is essential to solving the climate crisis and improving living conditions for current and future generations.
