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  • Five Years After Speaking Out on Climate Change, Pope Francis Sounds an Urgent Alarm

    This article covers Pope Francis's reaction to the world governments responses to climate change. The Pope writes to unite people through religion in an effort to bring awareness to the movement. The article details how the church is divesting in fossil fuel companies. The article also focuses on the political divide and how it affects people's views on the climate crisis.

  • How to Green your Parish

    This article is about the importance of parishes to participate in environmentally sustainable actions based on Pope Francis’s Laudato Si’. It encourages parishes to strive to become more eco-friendly by taking work together as a community and focusing on change one issue at a time. The article focuses on three main areas: reducing the parishes greenhouse gas, sustaining food and land use, and preserving water.

  • Profile: Jerry Freewalt

    Jerry Freewalt is Director of the Office for Social Concerns of the Catholic Diocese of Columbus, Ohio. In this capacity, he serves as an educator and advocate to further the understanding of the Church’s social justice teachings. Jerry joined the office in 1995 as the respect life coordinator. Jerry also administers the respect life program, parish social ministry, rural life, jail and prison ministry, advocacy for persons with disabilities, and other education and advocacy efforts.

  • Let's Talk Faith and Climate: Communication Guidance for Faith Leaders

    Let's Talk Faith and Climate: Communication Guidance for Faith Leaders is designed to be useful to both experienced and novice climate change and faith communicators. This guide synthesizes the latest academic research and message testing on climate communications from across the social sciences into a practical guide to support meaningful discussions on climate change and faith among individuals and groups.

    This guide offers tips on how to initiate new conversations with the faithful, how to create one’s own successful, value-based messages, and how to utilize specific wording that has been tested for its ability to bring people together regarding climate issues. Additionally, this document provides guidance on how to more deeply integrate creation care concerns into one’s own organization, ministry, or denomination.

    This, along with the many resources offered by ecoAmerica’s
    Blessed Tomorrow program, will allow faith leaders to become as adept at talking about climate change as they are at inspiring others to act on behalf of our shared future.

  • Columban Center for Advocacy and Outreach

    The Columban Center for Advocacy and Outreach (CCAO) was founded in 1985 as the national advocacy office for the Missionary Society of St. Columban in the United States.

    CCAO serves as the line of communication between Columban missionaries on the ground and policy-makers in Washington, D.C.​ Their mission is to work towards a more just, peaceful, and environmentally sustainable world by engaging in the political process guided by our faith and the Gospel.​ They work for structural change for the poor and marginalized populations Columbans serve around the world. Moreover, they advocate for policies and structures that bring society and the world into the right relationships with all of God’s Creation.

    CCAO follows Catholic Social Teaching as their lens to engage in legislative advocacy and community engagement.

  • AOHD (Archdiocesan Office for Human Development)

    AOHD promotes activities concerning charity, integral human development, justice and peace within the Catholic Church's Kuala Lumpur Archdiocese. It operates under the purview of the AOHD Secretariat and Board of Management.

  • 2020 Lenten Campaign

    In the third year of the three-year (2018-2020), Lenten Campaign themed "Caring for Our Common Home." As a part of the campaign, AOHD (Archdiocesan Office for Human Development) has created resources such as posters, power-points, kit books, action sheets, graphic arts, and other materials that could help more faith organizations host Care for Creation campaigns.

  • Laudato Si’ Gardens in Schools and Institutions across Italy

    The Living Chapel is expanding outreach for Laudato Si' Gardens to spaces managed by schools, governmental and non-governmental organizations encouraging participation in caring for our common home by supplying indigenous young plant species to various regions. This project distributes young plants throughout Italy for the recovery of degraded areas.

    Outside Italy, Laudato Si’ Gardens shared a Four Element Package that symbolizes Air, Earth, Water, and Fire.

  • The Living Chapel

    The Living Chapel holds the sacrality of life at its core. It embodies a call to hope: a hope for a world in which the sacrality of life is truly recognized and felt by every being to give rise to a kinder, more compassionate, more peaceful life.

    In partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Plant for the Planet, and the Global Catholic Climate Movement, the Living Chapel will join the UN Environmental Programme's One Trillion Tree Movement, inspiring the public to reconnect with nature and providing a vehicle for intercultural and interfaith collaboration to restore our common home through the creation of Laudato Si' Gardens and Living Sacred Spaces.

  • Laudato Si' Action Platform

    The Laudato Si' Action Platform is a collaboration between the Vatican, an international coalition of Catholic organizations, and "all people of good will." Rooted in the strengths and realities of communities around the world, the platform takes a group-up approach to empower all to take "decisive action, here and now" as we journey towards a better future together.

    The platform offers:
    - Laudato Si Plans for institutions, communities, and families to use and implement their response to Laudato Si'
    - A process-oriented approach
    - Practical guidance on actions that help build a better future through the Laudato Si’ Goals
    - Recognition of progress

  • Climate Action After High School: A Community Conversation

    "Catholic Climate Covenant is hosting a community conversation for recent high school grads looking to be involved in climate action efforts on their college campus and beyond. Hear from current college students and virtually meet other recent high school graduates involved in faith-based climate justice efforts.

    Email Kayla Jacobs at kayla@catholicclimatecovenant.org or Diana Marin at diana@catholicclimatecovenant.org with any questions."

  • 2023 Catholic Youth Climate Summit

    "In February 2023 we hosted, in partnership with the Archdiocese of Chicago and youth leaders, a Catholic Youth Climate Summit. Check out this video from the summit and hear why youth care about the climate crisis and how they connect their faith with climate action. Thank you to all of our students leaders for putting together this great event for their fellow students!"

  • At Catholic climate conference, Paris Agreement architect challenges US church to commit to net-zero emissions

    National Catholic Reporter covered the Catholic Climate Conference for Earthbeat. The architect of the Paris Agreement challenged the US church to commit to net-zero emissions.

  • Encounter for our Common Home

    "'Encounter for Our Common Home' is a broad U.S. Catholic coalition-led training and advocacy campaign to encounter and urge government and Church leaders to support climate solutions from a place of faith and reason. When you join you will be the first to hear of campaign events including community-building events, trainings, young adult materials and engagement, webinars, resources, action alerts and more!"

  • Wholemakers

    "We're thrilled to introduce Wholemakers, a groundbreaking resource for young adults focused on creation care and integral ecology. Developed for young adults, by young adults, this resource weaves together the latest climate science with insights from the Catholic tradition to equip young adults to be the faithful protagonists of transformation the world needs."

  • Laudato Si' and the U.S. Catholic Church: A Conference Series on Our Common Home

    “'Laudato Si’ and the U.S. Catholic Church: A Conference Series on Our Common Home' is a biennial series to equip and inspire Catholics to more deeply integrate Laudato Si’ and its climate change teaching into the U.S. Church.

    The 2023 convening will be virtual and open on June 14 with a keynote address from Ms. Christiana Figueres, former Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) who brokered the Paris Agreement.

    Throughout June and July, the series will host virtual 90-minute sessions on the goals of the Vatican's Laudato Si' Action Platform. Each session will feature a scholar who describes the goal, a practitioner who outlines their work to achieve the goal, and a moderated Q&A.

    Catholic Climate Covenant is coordinating the Laudato Si' Action Platform in the U.S. Catholic Church through its God's Plan(et) initiative and Creighton University is a Platform signatory.

    The first 'Laudato Si' and the U.S. Catholic Church' convening was held at Creighton in June 2019 and the presentations were published in the Journal of Moral Theology. The second was held virtually in June 2021 and the presentation recordings are available here."

  • Environmental Stewardship In Columbus Catholic Schools

    This article highlights environmental actions being taken by students at a variety of grade levels in Catholic schools in the Diocese of Columbus following the release of Pope Francis’s “Laudato Si’: On Care for Our Common Home,” in 2015. These actions include the creation of a greenhouse and gardens, city cleanup days, energy audits, and natural play areas for younger children.

  • Catholics look to mindfulness practices to ground climate action, quell eco-anxiety

    Eco-anxiety is a fear revolving around the awareness of the climate crisis and the loss of hope for solving environmental issues. Many Catholics have started practicing the role of mindfulness, which is rooted in Buddhist practices. Mindfulness is the act of being present and keeping oneself grounded. The news article discusses how mindfulness leads to an appreciation for the natural world and will push people to pursue ways to help the environmental crisis.

  • Seattle University Becomes the First Catholic, Jesuit University to Fully Divest from Fossil Fuels

    "As of June 30, 2023, Seattle University (SU) has withdrawn all investments in fossil fuel companies from its endowment portfolio, becoming the first university in Washington state and the first Catholic, Jesuit university in the country to fulfill their commitment to divest from fossil fuels. SU is now charting a new course of socially conscious investing.

    SU is a leader in the divestment and sustainability movements globally and nationally. In 2018, SU became the first Jesuit university in the country to pledge 100 percent withdrawal from publicly traded fossil fuel investments. Since then, six other Jesuit universities followed SU’s lead and made some level of commitment to divest, according to the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities..."

  • The Pope is Concerned About Climate Change: How Do U.S. Catholics Feel About It?

    This recent study performed by Pew Research Center found that contrary to popular belief, Catholics in the United States are no more likely than Americans overall to view climate change as a serious issue (57%). Additionally, similar to splits observed in the wider U.S. population, views among Catholics differ based on age, race, and political views. Adults in the U.S. who are 49 or younger, Democratic, or identify as a race or ethnicity other than non-Hispanic White, are generally more likely than those who are 50 or older, Republican, or White to express concern about climate change. They are also significantly more likely to believe climate change is primarily caused by human activity. Ultimately, this study provides evidence that climate concern is more strongly tied to political partisanship rather than religion.

  • A Call for Climate Justice this Season of Creation

    "2023 Season of Creation Call to Action: Ask the Biden Administration to stop fossil fuel expansion and consider the forgiveness of debt of developing nations at COP 28. You can:

    1. Organize a prayer service in an ecologically impacted place near you

    2. Sign the forgiveness of debt letter (online) during the prayer service, or anytime during Season of Creation, and share it widely

    3. Take a picture of the place and people gathered at the prayer service

    4. Post your prayer service to social media tagging President Biden, Special Envoy Kerry, and Secretary Yellen (social media links and language here), and let them know we are #PrayingForYou to take strong action on fossil fuels and debt relief."

  • Laudato Si' 2.0: Pope announces new document ahead of 'Season of Creation'

    This article talks about the upcoming release of Pope Francis' next document about the Christian faith and honoring our planet. In his new book, Laudato Si' 2.0, Pope Francis is tackling the current climate crisis. His main goal for this piece is to expand on the climate crisis issues that have come to front since his 2015 version of Laudato Si'. This anticipated release comes with the beginning of the "Season of Creation", a time to reflect and honor our planet.

  • Earthbeat: A Project of National Catholic Reporter

    "The climate is changing, posing serious questions and consequences for the planet and people both today and in the future. The issues are complex, with significant action required of each of us and all of us.

    As more people view climate change as not just a crisis, but a matter of moral urgency, it's clear that religion plays a role.

    We at EarthBeat, a project of National Catholic Reporter, are here to tell that story: how Catholics and other faith groups speak out and take action. Where ecological concern and moral conviction meet, well, that's our beat.

    We pursue EarthBeat’s journalism with the same independence that underlines all of what National Catholic Reporter does. But it is an unusual story that rivets our attention in one direction in particular: What can be done to help save the planet. We invite your participation — in the work of EarthBeat, specifically, and more broadly in the larger challenge facing us all."

  • GoodLands

    GoodLands is a nonprofit organization that recognizes the potential for the land owned and managed by Catholic dioceses. They provide the tools for communities to understand the land they own and how to best manage them to provide the greatest ecological benefit possible.

  • God's Creation Needs You Video Series

    "'God’s Creation Needs You' is a new video series featuring six Catholic communities across the nation caring for our common home through climate action, advocacy, farming, community organizing, service to others, solar energy, education, prayer and a focus on environmental justice.

    Watch for a new video each week!"

    This page contains a compilation of the videos involved in this series, as well as a preview to the series.