EarthBeat Weekly: A pastor's Earth Day message

A pastor's Earth Day message Your weekly newsletter about faith and climate change April 19, 2024   Fifty years after the celebration of the first Earth Day on April 22, 1970, Denis Hayes — who served as the first Earth Day national organizer — shared with NCR environment correspondent Brian Roewe his confidence that "lots of priests gave Earth Day talks" on that day. Nowadays, many Catholics say that their priests aren't ever talking about care for creation. "Climate change remains unspoken in many faith communities," wrote guest writer Michael Wright in an op-ed for EarthBeat earlier this year. But that's not the case for parishioners of Assumption Church in Chicago, where Servite Fr. Joseph Chamblain issued a pastor's message titled "A world of plastic" in the bulletin last weekend. EarthBeat has republished it with his permission. "As our relationship with our creator has been neglected, human relationships have faltered, and our world has grown hotter, less stable and more lifeless," wrote Chamblain. "As a result, we all suffer, and the poorest and most vulnerable suffer most of all." Noting that Pope Francis has "called upon all Catholic institutions to undertake some practical action on behalf of our common home," he then goes on to explain some of what his parish and archdiocese plan to do this year, including regional meetings to pray about and discuss an archdiocesan climate action plan and an upcoming ecumenical service at the cathedral to celebrate the installation of the Chicagoland Christians United for the Care of Creation Declaration.   Read more: A world of plastic: A Chicago pastor's Earth Day message     What else is new on EarthBeat: Seek contact with nature to change polluting lifestyles, pope says by Justin McLellan, Catholic News Service Humanity must have more direct contact with nature to counter the modern lifestyles that are destroying the planet, Pope Francis told members of the Italian Catholic Movement of Adult Scouts during a meeting at the Vatican April 13.     Panel at St. Mary's College in Indiana considers how to fight food waste by Catherine M. Odell Though campus conversations about food are often students griping about dining hall meals, an April 9 panel discussion at St. Mary's College in Indiana explored the issues of food waste and the future of food.   Climate-impacted farmers in Zimbabwe get boost from Catholic agencies by Marko Phiri As an El Niño-induced drought hits Zimbabwe's rural areas, Catholic agencies such as Caritas and Catholic Relief Services are exploring long term climate resilience solutions to address food security concerns.   Pope sides with Peruvian villagers who accused Catholic group of trying to steal their land by Gabriela Molina, The Associated Press Pope Francis on April 13 sided with a group of Peruvian villagers who have complained that companies linked to a powerful South American church group have tried to evict them from their land using lawsuits and obscure land titling schemes.     Sinsinawa Dominicans spread mission through collaborative farm programs by Margaret Plevak "We, like most congregations, believe the life force that flows through creation, through our land, through the animals, through humanity, is sacred," says Sinsinawa Dominican Sr. Julie Schwab.     For Earth Day, Bruno Latour points to our role in environmental crisis by Daniel P. Horan With Earth Day right around the corner, Daniel P. Horan discusses the final book by the late Catholic French philosopher and social scientist Bruno Latour.   What's happening in other climate news: The U.S. just changed how it manages a tenth of its land —Maxine Joselow for The Washington Post Everything you need to know for the fourth round of global plastic pollution treaty talks —Brian Bienkowski for Environmental Health News Scientists say coral reefs around the world are experiencing mass bleaching in warming oceans —Alexa St. John for The Associated Press  US bets on climate friendly farming; experts doubt it is climate friendly enough —Leah Douglas for Reuters The Flooding Will Come "No Matter What": The complex, contradictory and heartbreaking process of American climate migration —Abrahm Lustgarten for ProPublica Climate inflation: Global warming is coming for your shopping cart —Sarah DeWeerdt for Anthropocene Final Beat: The global theme for Earth Day 2024 is "Planet vs. Plastic." Below are some articles from the EarthBeat archive that relate to that theme. Revisit them for your Earth Day reading: Why Catholics should divest from plastic in their closets Pope Francis: Throwing plastic in the sea is 'criminal' and 'kills the Earth' 'Throwaway culture' in spotlight as Earth Day targets plastics Catholic parishes, hospitals see results from efforts to reduce and recycle Parish change begins with awareness, bins and reminders Thanks for reading EarthBeat! Stephanie Clary Environment Editor National Catholic Reporter sclary@ncronline.org Instagram: @stephanieclaryncr   Featured Advertisers   Bergoglio Lecture Series Featuring Cardinal Blase Cupich - April 24 at 2 p.m. ET sacredheart.edu/bergoglio Earn your Master’s in Theology & Leadership online at Gonzaga.  Apply by April 20, classes start May 20. This June, Catholic Theological Union invites you to choose from a variety of courses and workshops presented by our renowned faculty and visiting professors.   Advertisement