Primus signs Lambeth Declaration 2015 on Climate Change and comments on Laudato si’ – Papal Encyclical on the Environment

June 19, 2015

The Most Rev David Chillingworth, Bishop of St Andrews, Dunkeld & Dunblane and Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church says:

“The publication of this eagerly-awaited Encyclical is a major event in the shaping of the response of faith communities to environmental issues and climate change. Pope Francis calls for ‘a new dialogue about how we are shaping the future of our planet.’ He says that we need ‘a conversation which includes everyone.’

“This is a deeply thoughtful and challenging document. Referring to the increasingly ‘throw-away’ society in which many of us live, he says that we ‘have not yet managed to adopt a circular model of production capable of preserving resources for present and future generations’.

“We hope that the forthcoming conference in Paris will deliver significant commitments on climate change from the world community. But, as Pope Francis reflects, this is not just a matter of politics for the ecological crisis, it ‘is also a summons to profound interior conversion’.”

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