Faith-based programs help connect the many people who care about climate action

EarthBeat Weekly
Your weekly newsletter about faith and climate change

June 27, 2025

Sr. Anna Bakutara waters her brassica in the greenhouse on the farm at St. Mary's Abbey, an enclosed order of Cistercians, in Glencairn, Ireland, Aug. 30, 2022. The monastery uses green energy and sustainable farming to try to make itself self-sufficient for heating and food. (CNS/Reuters/Clodagh Kilcoyne)

For as long as I've been participating in Catholic spaces focused on care for creation (more than a decade), the majority of those I've worked with have expressed the feeling that not enough people in their faith communities care deeply enough about the climate crisis.

Even after the release of Pope Franci's encyclical Laudato Si' in 2015, which offered an emphatic boost to the environment movement both within and outside of the church, many Catholics still routinely express the feeling that their fellow parishioners, pastors, bishops and the church at-large just don't consider the plight of the planet and the poor with the urgency required.

While there's been many stories (often in EarthBeat's pages) about challenges faced in convincing religious leaders to prioritize environmental justice and climate action, is it really true that only a few people care? Several studies suggest that's actually a major misconception, and the vast majority of the global population — between 80% and 89% — wants to see more action taken in response to climate-related issues.

Covering Climate Now, a news collaborative that supports journalists in better reporting on climate change, set out to break that news this year with The 89 Percent Project. As a CCN partner, EarthBeat contributed to the initiative with a report Tuesday from Rebecca Randall detailing how some young Catholics are empowered by connecting with values-aligned communities who are working toward climate justice.

One of those supportive communities of people focused on faith-based climate action includes the thousands of individuals and institutions partaking in the Laudato Si' Action Platform, an initiative launched by the Vatican's Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, with Pope Francis' endorsement.

Since its launch in November 2021, the Laudato Si' Action Platform has garnered more than 10,600 enrollments, directly impacting an estimated 20 million people in 150 countries, according to its organizers, reported NCR environment correspondent Brian Roewe in Part Two of his series on the future of Laudato Si' efforts this week. Approximately 2,300 of those enrollments come from the United States, which along with Italy tops all countries.

There's plenty of room for growth in the years to come, but as more people realize they're not alone in their hopes for a greater emphasis on Laudato Si'-related efforts across the church, the promise of perseverance and continued ecological conversion grows too.

What else is new on EarthBeat:

Environmental cuts in 'Big Beautiful Bill' alarm Catholic advocates

by Kimberley Heatherington, OSV News

Laudato Si's auspicious June 18, 2015 publication date 10 years later coincides with proposals by Congress to defund America's clean energy investments and pollution reduction programs, sell public lands to industry, establish legal permitting detours for potential polluters, and eliminate federal subsidies for energy-efficient technologies, among other not-so-green actions.

Kenyan Christians adapt as churches are destroyed by climate-impacted flooding

by Tony Onyulo, Stella Gitau

Sisters wield power as shareholders to force corporate reforms

by Dan Stockman

"When a sister is in the dialogue, they listen differently," said Sr. Susan Francois,

What's happening in other climate news:

Inside a last-ditch battle to save (or kill) clean-energy tax credits —Lisa Friedman, Maxine Joselow and Brad Plumer for The New York Times

'Throwing us off a cliff': Megabill could derail hundreds of planned clean energy projects —Kelsey Tamborrino and Jessie Blaeser for Politico

Huge public land sale stripped from senate bill — for now — but assault on federal land protections continues —Wyatt Myskow for Inside Climate News

Trump to strip protections from millions of acres of national forests —Anna Phillips and Jake Spring for the Washington Post

In Alabama, a social media influencer really gets wild: Kyle Lybarger built a loyal following online by talking about native plants and why biodiversity matters. —Catrin Einhorn, photographs and video by Charity Rachelle for The New York Times

Turning plastic into fuel: Photos of Gaza's youth surviving with makeshift burners —Abdel Kareem Hana for the Associated Press

In rural Alaska, a village turns to solar and biomass energies to cut diesel and save money —Dorany Pineda, John Locher and Mark Thiessen for the Associated Press

Final Beat:

I will not be sending out this EarthBeat Weekly newsletter next Friday, July 4, Independence Day in the United States. Any stories published on EarthBeat during the next two weeks will be included in the July 11 newsletter.

To receive faith and climate stories in your inbox more often, sign up for EarthBeat Daily. This newsletter includes links to any stories published on EarthBeat in the previous 24 hours.

Thanks for reading EarthBeat.

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