After the Catholic Church gave way to her daughter, she now appears officially on the political stage herself. An appeal by Catholic institutions calls for political measures for active climate protection.
Inhalt / Content
The Church sees the time has come
Apparently, the go-ahead has been given for the open expression of the required political participation of the churches in politics. Only in the past few days did the Evangelische Akademie Tutzing hold a conference on “Political Christianity and Christian Politics”. The representatives of the Evangelical Church are loudly demanding political participation in order to be able to successfully counteract the climate crisis on the basis of moral and ethic guidelines. The Bavarian state bishop Bedford-Strohm even considers the participation of the church in day-to-day political business to be “essential for survival”.
The Catholic Church is now taking the stage
Now the Catholic Church is stepping onto the “pre-political” stage to also emphatically speak out in favor of active climate protection. 80 representatives from the ranks of dioceses, religious orders, associations and Caritas made a public appeal to politicians. The “climate protection brakes” must now finally be relaxed, according to the demand, as Vatican News reported. One’s own CO2 footprint must be reduced and, according to the ideas of the Catholic institutions, this can only be achieved on the basis of reliable framework conditions and long-term timetables.
“We are ready”
The headline of this appeal published by Caritas on Monday is “We are ready”. Accordingly, the Catholic institutions are now ready “to implement climate protection in concrete terms, to tackle the necessary changes and to pull together”. At the moment, however, there are still too many inhibiting framework conditions and unresolved issues.
The specific measures required include, in particular, the rapid introduction of a binding energy efficiency transition and a heating transition. Climate-friendly mobility must be promoted more and less car traffic. The limitation of the maximum speed on the German Autobahn is not only quick to implement, but also cheap and has a strong significance. However, social justice must not be neglected in the measures for the transition to climate neutrality, according to a note in the appeal.
“Stop” – That’s the official exclamation of the representatives of the Catholic associations and institutions. Climate science is making worrying predictions, and in the face of extreme weather, heated social climates and populism, humanity is now at a crossroads. “Here we, as church institutions, associations and leaders, are loudly and audibly shouting ‘stop'”.
Catholic celebrities represented
Vatican News lists some prominent representatives of the signers of this appeal. Among them are the Cologne Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki, Auxiliary Bishop Rolf Lohman of Münster and the so-called environmental bishop of the German Bishops’ Conference. Other signatories are the Limburg Bishop and Chairman of the German Bishops’ Conference Georg Bätzing, the President of the Central Committee of German Catholics Irme Stetter-Karp, representatives of the German Caritas Associations and Father Bernhard Bürgler as representative for the Central European Province of the Jesuit Order.
Everything lined up
The demands are all based on the narrative of the trace gas CO2, which has been declared “harmful to the climate” and has a share of around 0.04 percent in the air. This thesis seems to be so firmly established in the minds of the general public, politicians and also the management floors of the institutions that the next step can now be taken. At the conference in Tutzing, Bedford-Strohm and Florian Herrmann (CSU), the chairman of the Bavarian State Chancellery, diagnosed society’s dependence on the moral and ethical guidelines of the churches.
Like the general consumer protection associations, welfare organizations and other support organizations, Caritas also enjoys a high reputation within society. If this catholic organization, which incidentally is only financed with a share of 4 to 5 percent from church funds, makes such theatrical appeals, then it must be true.
The script is being processed – next act
With this appeal, the Catholic Church is only moving much more openly in public than before in this matter. The screenplay of this multi-act play is divided into two parts. The first part is to find in “Laudato si’“. An encyclical published by Pope Francis in 2015, also called the “Environmental Encyclical”. This deals with the measures that Francis considers necessary to save the climate, earth and people. The second part of the screenplay can be found in “Fratelli Tutti”. This is also an encyclical published by the pontiff in 2020. The Catholic social teaching is packaged in this script section and this expresses fraternity, social justice and peaceful coexistence within a human family.
One step closer to the conservation religion
The aim is to introduce a substitute religion based on nature conservation. A religion in which all religions of today can or should find a common place. The “preservation of creation” with “Gaia” as the “earth-born” goddess (derived from Isis or the Catholic Mary) and daughter of the sun god, who under the different names Ra, Osiris, Baal, Mitra, Helios or also Sol, Om, On is found.
