How to convince your bishop to take climate action

EarthBeat Weekly
Your weekly newsletter about faith and climate change

September 12, 2025

Antonio Frietze, who helped lead an effort for the Archdiocese of San Antonio to join the Laudato Si' Action Platform, shakes hands with Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller during a mass celebrating a climate action commitment. (Courtesy of Catholic Climate Covenant)

For ten years, people have told me Pope Francis' encyclical Laudato Si' provides affirmation, encouragement, momentum, language and leverage to convince their church leaders and faith communities to take more focused and forceful climate action.

And for ten years, people have told me despite Francis' prioritization of integral ecology and care for creation, they still struggle to see commensurate responses from their local church leaders. For some it seems, the moral imperative that has always existed, and that was made absolutely clear by Francis, still isn't enough to instill urgency in response to the climate crisis.

But that doesn't mean it's impossible to move these people to action. Luckily for the climate-concerned crowd, the health of planet Earth and all life it supports has connections to just about every other issue facing the world today.

Communication scholars and consultants told reporter Rebecca Randall that by listening first and learning what an audience cares about, climate advocates can then tailor their message to appeal to shared values, emphasizing concrete examples where their concerns and climate impacts overlap.

Examples shared with Randall from Catholics across the U.S. include connections with national security, a region's natural beauty, preparedness and recovery from natural disasters, agriculture, biodiversity loss, economic innovation, labor rights, public health, racial justice and concern for the poor.

"I think the more abstract our concepts are, the more room there is for people to not connect or feel directly impacted," said Joshua van Cleef, the director of peace and justice for the Diocese of Lexington in Kentucky. "I try to find ways to speak about the environmental crisis in ways that are meaningful for people, related to their values and the experience."

What else is new on EarthBeat:

As Africa prepares for COP30, its Catholic bishops urge African solutions on climate

by Frederick Nzwili, Religion News Service

Joined by interfaith leaders, the bishops said Africa cannot be subject to foreign interests but must be the architect of its own future.

Catholic networks: Push for profits, power threaten peace, climate justice

by Carol Glatz, Catholic News Service

Fossil fuel, weapons and financial industries thrive on instability and cronyism, and they obstruct efforts toward climate justice and peace, top leaders of three Catholic networks said.

Nigerian Catholic nuns fight climate change with faith, farming and trees

by John Chukwu

In southeastern Nigeria, better known for its sprawling markets than for environmental activism, sisters are quietly leading a grassroots movement.

What's happening in other climate news:

New study links 174 companies to deadly heat waves –Humberto Basilio for Atmos

RFK Jr. wants more air pollution research, but EPA shut down its lab –Ariel Wittenberg for E&E News

Earth Partner exhibit highlights urgency of care for Creation –Tommaso Chieco and Linda Bordoni for Vatican News

'There is only one player': why China is becoming a world leader in green energy –Jonathan Watts for the Guardian

Trump says America's oil industry is cleaner than other countries’. New data shows massive emissions from Texas wells. –Mark Olalde for ProPublica

How Hurricane Katrina's horrors created a generation of climate activists –Siri Chilukuri for Teen Vogue

Coca leaves remain a source of work, faith and identity in Bolivia –María Teresa Hernández for the Associated Press

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