EarthBeat Weekly: Catholic climate groups urge reversal of Trump's environmental rollbacks

Catholic climate groups urge reversal of Trump's environmental rollbacks Your weekly newsletter about faith and climate change January 31, 2025 Then-candidate President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign town hall at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center & Fairgrounds, Oct. 14, 2024, in Oaks, Pa. (AP/Alex Brandon, File) In a Jan. 22 statement, Archbishop Timothy Broglio, president of the U.S. bishops' conference, said that President Donald Trump's executive orders around the environment, immigration, the death penalty and foreign aid were "deeply troubling and will have negative consequences."  Days later, Catholic Climate Covenant and the North American chapter of the Laudato Si' Movement issued their own joint statement, blasting Trump's environmental rollbacks not just for worsening climate change and polluting ecosystems, but for threatening the lives of all people. "Rather than embrace and advance this country's essential role in domestic and global responsibilities to confront this existential [climate] crisis, this new administration has chosen to relinquish scientific and economic potential, freeze U.S. commitments, and abdicate leadership on climate policies," the leading U.S. Catholic climate organizations said, as detailed this week in a report by NCR environment correspondent Brian Roewe. "The executive orders … not only call into question the administration's claims of caring for our country and its economic well-being — they threaten the rights to life and dignity of all people, which are key to Catholic Social Teaching. We call on the Trump administration to reverse these decisions. We call on Congress to hold firm on commitments to domestic and international climate programs and financing," they said. Read more: Trump environmental rollbacks pose a threat to life, Catholic groups say The North American chapter of the Laudato Si' Movement is one of more than 70 chapters worldwide in the Catholic climate and ecology network, which also counts more than 900 member organizations in 192 countries.  On Jan. 29, Laudato Si' Movement announced Lorna Gold, a longtime Catholic climate activist, as its new executive director, effective in late February. Gold is a founding member of the movement, and has served as board president since 2020 and a board member since 2017. Speaking by phone from Rome Jan. 30 after a meeting with Pope Francis, Gold told Roewe that her passion for ecological justice and desire to see Laudato Si' "become a lived reality in the church and wider world" drew her to the position. "I believe that given the crises we face today we have a responsibility to play our part and lead where we can. … I feel this is my time to lead," she said. "My vision for LSM is that the movement continues to grow and flourish both at the grassroots and as a global presence — giving witness to an ecological conversion and advocating courageously for ecological justice," she told EarthBeat. Read more: Climate activist Lorna Gold named new leader of Laudato Si' Movement     What else is new on EarthBeat:   US social ministry gathering summons Catholics to work for Christ's 'greater justice' by Kimberley Heatherington, OSV News At the opening general session of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' 2025 Catholic Social Ministry Gathering, Cardinal Christophe Pierre, the apostolic nuncio to the United States, had a message to share from Pope Francis, saying that "It is important that our pro-life focus encompass the whole spectrum of life."    US bishop pleads for human solidarity with 'discarded' migrants,' sharing their stories by Kimberley Heatherington, OSV News Bishop Joseph J. Tyson of Yakima, Washington, knows the gritty realities of the people he shepherds. The bishop's own diocese is located in central Washington, one of the world's leading sources of apples and other produce, largely harvested through migrant labor. On Jan. 27, Tyson offered a plenary policy session titled "Pope Francis' Vision for Ecology, Dialogue, and the Common Good" to hundreds of attendees at the 2025 Catholic Social Ministry Gathering in Washington.    US leaders claim to protect human life, but neglect to care for creation that sustains it by Michael Wright The moral imperative to care for creation seems lost on conservative leaders and lawmakers, who support protecting human life and yet oppose protecting the environment that sustains it.    A New Zealand mountain is granted personhood, recognizing it as sacred for Māori by Charlotte Graham-McLay, Associated Press Mount Taranaki — now known as Taranaki Maunga, its Māori name — is the latest natural feature to be granted personhood in New Zealand, which has ruled that a river and a stretch of sacred land are people before.   What's happening in other climate news: How US states are leading the climate fight – despite Trump's rollbacks —Dharna Noor for the Guardian In policy reversal, Trump eliminates help for Black and Latino communities hit harder by pollution —Michael Phillis and Alexa St. John for the Associated Press EPA cuts off IRA solar money already under contract —Jean Chemnick for E&E News As Trump targets Biden's environmental justice initiatives, activists gear up for legal fights —Kristoffer Tigue, Keerti Gopal and Marianne Lavelle for Inside Climate News Haaland to run for New Mexico governor —Rachel Frazin for The Hill  New York says 1 million fewer vehicles have entered Manhattan since congestion pricing start —David Shepardson for Reuters In 'Wicked,' a Catholic case for animal rights —Jeannine M. Pitas for U.S. Catholic     Final Beat: Just one month into 2025, NCR has reported how climate change-fueled wildfires are impacting communities across southern California and how Catholics are responding with relief aid and prayers. And already this year we've reported how energy and climate policy moves by the new Trump administration are out of line with Catholic teaching, and who in the U.S. Catholic Church is speaking out in protest. At EarthBeat, we not only tell important stories about how Catholics are joining in solidarity to care for the most vulnerable in the wake of extreme weather disasters, but also report on how these perilous situations could be prevented by adherence to another part of Catholic teaching — care for creation — and how environment issues intersect with many other issues of justice that Catholics care about. To support informed Catholic climate reporting throughout this already very newsworthy year, become an NCR Forward member today! If you're already a member, consider increasing your monthly donation as an added show of support for the independent Catholic journalism you know and trust. Ten years after the release of Pope Francis' eco-encyclical Laudato Si', NCR's EarthBeat remains the definitive outlet for news on faith and climate. Thanks for reading EarthBeat. Stephanie Clary Environment Editor National Catholic Reporter sclary@ncronline.org Instagram: @stephaniecherpakclary     Featured Advertisers   Looking to Hire? Offering Retreats? Selling Books? Place an Ad in NCR's Online Classified Section for Only $75 per Month!   Advertisement