EarthBeat Weekly: Catholic Church takes strong stands against fossil fuels, mining

Catholic Church stakes out strong stands against fossil fuels, mining   EarthBeat Weekly Your weekly newsletter about faith and climate change March 20, 2026   Activists participate in a demonstration to end the use of fossil fuels at the COP30 U.N. Climate Summit, Nov. 20, 2025, in Belém, Brazil. (AP photo/Andre Penner) Two significant announcements from Catholic instituitions took clear stands against the prolonged use of fossil fuels and destructive mining practices that devastate ecosystems and communities. On Monday, the continental bishops' conferences for Africa, Asia and Latin America — together representing more than 820 million Catholics — issued a joint manifesto stating their support for a proposed treaty to phase out the use of fossil fuels, the primary driver of climate change.  Specifically, the bishops of the Global South lent support to the Fossil Fuel Treaty initiative, which will be the focus for nations meeting in April in Santa Marta, Colombia. The first-ever conference on a fossil fuel phaseout is being convened by Colombia and the Netherlands and grew out of calls for a roadmap to end the use of coal, oil and gas last year at COP30, the United Nations climate summit in Belém, Brazil.  "Guided by the preferential option for the poor and the care of creation described in the Catholic Social Teaching, we declare our unwavering support for a just transition and strongly call on the governments of the world to adopt a treaty to stop proliferation and abandon fossil fuels as a moral and political imperative," the bishops stated in their manifesto.  The joint document, the second in two years from the three continental episcopal conferences, was signed by the three cardinals who head them: Cardinal Jaime Spengler of Brazil; Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu of the Democratic Republic of the Congo; and Cardinal Filipe Neri Ferrão of India. The proposed Fossil Fuel Treaty outlines three goals-- an immediate end to all new exploration and production of coal, oil and gas; an equitable phaseout of current production; and a just transition to renewable energy that would support workers, communities and countries historically reliant on fossil fuels. Supporters, including the Global South bishops, see such a treaty as a necessary complement to the Paris Agreement, under which nations committed to reducing heat-trapping greenhouse gas emissions but does not address any actions related to reducing or ending the use of the main source of such emissions, burning coal, oil and gas. So far, 18 countries — mostly island nations — have directly endorsed the Fossil Fuel Treaty. Two dozen countries committed at COP30 to accelerating a phaseout of fossil fuels. It is unclear how many nations will send representatives to Colombia next month. Numerous Catholic organizations, including the Laudato Si' Movement, have signaled they intend to be present in Santa Marta.  "We need a clear plan," the Global South bishops write. "We believe that the Fossil Fuel Treaty (FFT) can be the specific tool that complements the Paris Agreement." Read more: Global South bishops endorse treaty to phase out fossil fuels as 'moral imperative' In their manifesto, the Catholic bishops of the Global South also committed to promote a just transition to clean energy in their own practices. That included a pledge to consider cutting financial ties, or divesting, from the fossil fuel industry.  On Friday at the Vatican, the Churches and Mining Network launched a new mining divestment platform organized by CIDSE, an international association of Catholic development agencies, which aims to push church institutions to scrutinize and ultimately withdraw their investments in the mining sector. As NCR Vatican correspondent Justin McClellan reports, the initiative seeks to bring Catholic investment practices into closer alignment with church teaching, drawing on Pope Francis' 2015 encyclical "Laudato Si', on Care for Our Common Home" and Mensuram Bonam, a Vatican framework offering guidance for Catholic investors. The platform aims to shed light on the often hidden ties between the financial sector and mining operations in the Global South, and to prompt church institutions to examine their investments to ensure they are not supporting such projects. Cardinal Álvaro Ramazzini of Huehuetenango, Guatemala, spoke firsthand at a press conference about the extractive processes used to procure gold and silver in his former diocese of San Marcos by the Canadian mining company Goldcorp. "Their strategy from the beginning was to go along unnoticed" by the local community, which was largely Indigenous, he said, while operating with government support. After the company left, "that town stayed just as poor as before." "That is the challenge: to make governments and business owners understand that what is legal does not always correspond to the value of justice, and in terms of integral ecology this gains an ever greater importance," the cardinal said.   Read more: Platform launches to keep church money out of mining projects   What else is new on EarthBeat:   Apache women seek court intervention as federal land is turned over for copper mining by Susan Montoya Bryan, Associated Press The transfer of federal forest land in Arizona to a pair of international companies that plan to mine one of the largest copper deposits in North America is complete, but a group of Apache women is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene as a last-ditch effort to stop the project. Read more here »   Missionary Benedictine Sisters in Kenya minister in herbal medicine by Lourine Oluoch "Even if we step outside this room, there will be medicine right outside the door," says Sr. Lioba Kibor, director of Medicine at Your Door Step, a project of the Missionary Benedictine Sisters in Kenya. Read more here »   Nebraska bishop calls for prayer amid worst wildfires in state history by Gina Christian, OSV News A Nebraska bishop is calling for prayer as that state battles what are believed to be the worst wildfires in its recorded history, which have killed at least one person. Read more here »   Advocates work to reconcile César Chavez's labor rights legacy with sexual abuse allegations by Jacques Billeaud, Fernanda Figueroa, Hallie Golden, Associated Press Latino leaders and community groups quickly condemned the alleged abuse by Chavez but emphasized that the farmworker movement was never just about a single man.  Read more here »   In a heroic act, two priests drown while saving an altar boy in a coastal city in Ecuador by Marietha Góngora V., OSV News A tragic incident involving the rescue of an altar boy occurred March 13 during a Lenten retreat in the coastal town of General Villamil Playas, in Ecuador's Guayas province. Read more here » What's happening in other climate news: Arizona community hits 110 degrees F, the highest March temperature recorded in the US —Gregory Bull and Christopher Weber for the Associated Press Iran war shows that doubling down on fossil fuels Is 'delusional,' UN climate chief says —Keerti Gopal for Inside Climate News 24 states sue the E.P.A. for renouncing its power to fight climate change —Lisa Friedman for The New York Times NRC considers eliminating half-century-old radiation standard —Francisco "A.J." Camacho for E&E News Endangered species 'God Squad' convening accused of breaking law —Taylor Mills for Bloomberg Law Butterflies crossing oceans, moths navigating by the stars: unravelling the mysteries of insect migrations —Phoebe Weston, Ana Lucía González Paz, Prina Shah and Garry Blight for the Guardian A new wine label promotes workers' rights —Liza Gross for Inside Climate News Final Beat: Up here in the Northern Hemisphere, Friday is the Vernal Equinox, marking the first day of spring.  But in some parts of the United States, it will feel more like summer.  As the Associated Press article above notes, the country's hottest March temperature on record — 110 degrees Fahrenheit — was reached Thursday (the last day of winter) in a desert community in southwestern Arizona.  Cities like Phoenix, San Diego, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, San Francisco and dozens others all set record highs for March temperatures, the AP reported. The winter heat wave across the Southwest is more than a blip, scientists said in a separate AP story, it's symptomatic of an increasingly warming world. "This is what climate change looks like in real time: extremes pushing beyond the bounds we once thought possible," University of Victoria climate scientist Andrew Weaver told the AP. "What used to be unprecedented events are now recurring features of a warming world." Here in Kansas City, temperatures on Saturday could breach 90 F, which would be our hottest March temperature since 1907.  As always, thanks for reading EarthBeat.   Brian Roewe Environment Correspondent National Catholic Reporter broewe@ncronline.org     Featured Advertisers   Explore spirituality and social justice at Xavier University. Graduate theology degrees and certificates. Online options. Tuition discounts available.   Advertisement