Johannesburg, 17 October, 2021 / 7:00 pm (ACI Africa).
Catholic Bishops in Africa are among the dozens of Church leaders who have petitioned the intergovernmental forum of 19 countries and the European Union (EU) – the G20 – ahead of its meeting later this month “to keep fossil fuels in the ground”.
G20 members include Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the UK, the U.S., and EU.
In a petition signed by some 79 Catholic Church leaders from the Americas, Africa, Asia, Europe, and Australia who include Cardinals, Archbishops, Bishops, Superiors and Leaders of Religious Orders and Societies of Apostolic Life, as well as representatives of some Catholic international entities, a four-point plea “to consign fossil fuels to history” is made to the leadership of G20 ahead of the 30-31 October summit.
"The voices from the communities we work with are ringing out. Climate change is a present reality that is affecting our brothers and sisters around the world, particularly those in poor and climate vulnerable communities who have contributed to this issue the least,” the Catholic Church leaders who include Bishops from South Africa and Ghana say.
They add, "We see increasingly severe and frequent droughts and floods, loss of crops, and destruction of land. We cannot and must not be quiet in the face of such suffering and injustice."