On the eve of the Season of Creation, Pope Francis issued a profound prayer intention that the planet’s resources will not be plundered but shared in a just and respectful manner. He prays that today, not tomorrow, we will take care of Creation. Pope Francis’ leadership on the climate emergency and on the coronavirus has been unmatched. But he can’t do it alone. It’s time for the global community of people of faith to rally behind his message. For that reason, we are inviting all people of faith to sign the Petition for just action on COVID and the Climate Emergency, showing the Pope and the world that we care about creation.
The campaign was launched on September 19 and it will be open to signatures until 18th November. You are invited to join the campaign by sharing the petition with your members and networks.
On 19-20th November this vision will be discussed at an online event celebrating the ‘Economy of Francesco’. At the invitation of Pope Francis, young Catholic entrepreneurs have been invited by the Pope from all across the world to gather. The petition outcome will be shared symbolically during the online conference to show Pope Francis and young Catholics – and people of faith that they are not alone, and that the global i community is with them and ready to raise its voice.
Petition:
The coronavirus has left hundreds of millions of people sicker, poorer, and hungrier. It’s also shown how far we stand from truly caring for “the least of these.”
In this extraordinary moment, big business is seizing the opportunity to win enormous government subsidies. Fossil fuel corporations, mining consortiums, and huge agribusinesses are using this moment of crisis to entrench their position in the economy for years to come. If they succeed, they will continue to sow destruction, suffering, and climate chaos far beyond the gates of their home offices.
Pope Francis just denounced those corporations who are “plundering” and “squeezing the goods of the planet.” We stand with Pope Francis and call on governments to rein in the big corporations that exploit poor communities and the common home we share. Pope Francis has said, “What a scandal it would be if all the economic assistance . . . were to focus on rescuing those industries that don’t contribute to the inclusion of the excluded, the promotion of the least, the common good or the care of creation. [These] are criteria for choosing which industries should be helped. Four criteria.”
Rather than propping up a sick and destructive economy, now is the moment to make a just transition to a healthy renewable energy economy. Now more than ever, we need economies that give new opportunities to all of us, economies that protect the common home we share.
With Pope Francis, we pray that big businesses, particularly in the global North, will repent of their destruction, and that they will begin to repay the ecological debt that is owed to the poorest of our sisters and brothers, particularly in the global South.
As governments make investments in a coronavirus recovery, we earnestly pray that they will stand with David, and not with Goliath. As the Pope said in his message, “No to plundering, yes to sharing.”
