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Your weekly newsletter about faith and climate change

March 15, 2024

(Dreamstime/Yuri Arcurs/Scalinger)

I'm spending today at Loyola University Chicago's 2024 Climate Change Conference, where this year's theme is "Feeding a Changing World: Climate Change and Global Food Systems."

After a Thursday night keynote by Vanderbilt University journalism professor Amanda Little, author of The Fate of Food: What We'll Eat in a Bigger, Hotter, Smarter World, Friday's schedule includes panel presentations and discussions on how climate change impacts global food security, food production in the U.S. Midwest and food justice in and around Chicago.

The focus of the conference is an important one, and I hope I'm able to peek in on a few of the sessions to hear what the panelists have to share. But I'll be spending the majority of my time in the exhibit hall, at a table promoting EarthBeat. (If you're attending, be sure to stop by.)

Being physically present at gatherings like this one, and the Chicago Youth Climate Summit I reported on two weeks ago, is part of how I'm pursuing one of my goals for EarthBeat this year to better connect with our young readers and encounter new ones.

NCR senior correspondent Heidi Schlumpf's recent story at EarthBeat about how young people are experiencing climate anxiety reported that one of the coping strategies they find most helpful is community. They find it beneficial to know they are not alone in what they're feeling and they are not the only ones doing something about it.

I hope EarthBeat's reporting can offer stories that do just that — provide examples of people of faith who feel the same way they do and are taking action. As NCR environment correspondent Brian Roewe explained on "The Vatican Briefing" podcast earlier this week, Catholics all around the country care about climate change and are addressing it in their churches and communities in many different ways (despite inaction by many of their bishops). And we're here at EarthBeat to share those stories with you.

Listen here: Cardinal McElroy: Pope's climate vision not getting enough attention from US bishops

What else is new on EarthBeat:

This ancient tradition could be a key climate action for US Catholics

by Kimberley Heatherington

In 1966, the U.S. bishops released the faithful from the traditional law of Friday abstinence. But if American Catholics returned to meatless Fridays outside of Lent, what would be the resulting climate impact?

Indiana parish digs into local food waste, hunger issues through composting workshop

by Catherine M. Odell

About 40 people from around South Bend, Indiana, gathered at St. Thérèse, Little Flower Catholic Church for a March 9 workshop on composting, which was discussed as an environmentally smart way to deal with discarded food.

St. Patrick shows us salvation is found at the heart of the world

by Damian Costello

Too often, contemporary Christians envision faith as an escape from the world. St. Patrick shows us through his life and his prayer-song "The Deer's Cry" that salvation is actually found at the heart of the world.

A religious procession in Barcelona celebrates rain during a severe drought in northeast Spain

by Emilio Morenatti, The Associated Press

A religious procession in downtown Barcelona celebrated the appearance of long-awaited rain, after nine days of praying for relief from a severe drought.

Vatican appeals court upholds climate activists' conviction

by Cindy Wooden, Catholic News Service

The Vatican City appeals court upheld the conviction of two Italian climate activists who glued their hands to an ancient sculpture in the Vatican Museums.

As minerals fuel deadly conflicts in Africa, cardinal calls for pastoral approach

by Frederick Nzwili, OSV News

As minerals fuel deadly conflicts in Africa, a leading cardinal urged local churches to ensure that Africa's abundant resources contribute to the benefit of its populations instead of hurting them.

Indigenous wisdom and science can work together to solve crises, pope says

by Carol Glatz, Catholic News Service

The world's cultures, traditions, spiritualities and languages must be acknowledged, respected and protected, especially those of Indigenous peoples, Pope Francis said.

I prayed with Quakers to urge Vanguard to invest more responsibly

by Eleanor Harty

Protest and prayer for Vanguard to invest more responsibly led Eleanor Harty to examine the environmental impact of her own investments.

What's happening in other climate news:

How Trump could exit the Paris climate deal — and thwart reentry —Robin Bravender and Sara Schonhardt for E&E News

As heat becomes a national threat, who will be protected? —Nate Rosenfield for Grist

Louisiana's toxic air is linked to low-weight and pre-term births —Jessica Kutz for The 19th*

Jordan-Saifi: Francis and Charles III have 'shared vision' on ecology —Joseph Tulloch for Vatican News

Spring is getting earlier. Find out how it's changed in your town. —Harry Stevens for The Washington Post

Final Beat:

This Sunday, March 17, is the Feast of St. Patrick. It's no secret that the way we tend to celebrate St. Patrick today in the United States isn't exactly reflective of who he was and what he did during his life. But did you know this "green" saint actually has a lot to teach us about how we live on and relate to the land we call home?

In a 2022 essay, Damian Costello explains what St. Patrick's prayer song teaches us about connecting with the land.

This year, Costello explores how St. Patrick shows us salvation is found at the heart of the world.

Thanks for reading EarthBeat!

Stephanie Clary
Environment Editor
National Catholic Reporter
sclary@ncronline.org
Instagram: @stephanieclaryncr