Climate Change

"In Global Climate Change: A Plea for Dialogue, Prudence and the Common Good, the Catholic bishops of the United States insisted: At its core, global climate change is not about economic theory or political platforms, nor about partisan advantage or interest group pressures. It is about the future of God's creation and the one human family. It is about protecting both "the human environment" and the natural environment. It is about our human stewardship of God's creation and our responsibility to those who come after us.

...We participate not as climate experts or as scientists, but rather as pastors and teachers who fear that the moral and human dimensions of these decisions will be overwhelmed by political, economic or ideological pressures. We ask you to take steps to address three major themes drawn from Catholic Social Teaching and our pastoral experience:

A Priority for the Poor: ...Poor families and children, vulnerable workers, and farmers will likely be most impacted by climate change and bear the greatest burdens as we address its causes and consequences. The poor have the fewest resources and capacity to escape the costs of climate change.

The Pursuit of the Common Good: ...The challenge of global climate change is a pre-eminent example of how our debate and decisions should reflect the pursuit of the common good, rather than the search for economic, political or other narrow advantage.

The Practice of Prudence: The traditional virtue of prudence suggests that we do not have to know with absolute certainty everything that is happening with climate change to know that something seriously harmful is occurring. Therefore, it is better to act now than wait until the problem gets worse and the remedies more costly... Prudence sometimes keeps us from acting precipitously. In this case, it requires us to act with urgency and seriousness." Bishop Thomas G. Wenski, chairman of the U.S. bishops’ international policy committee, letter to congressional leaders, 2/07.