The archbishop of Dublin has urged Catholics to help tackle the “climate catastrophe” in a 64-page pastoral letter.
In his first pastoral letter since he was installed in Dublin in February, Archbishop Dermot Farrell encouraged his flock to undergo an “ecological conversion.”
“The purpose of this pastoral letter is to initiate a diocesan conversation about how all can contribute to the care of our common home and recognize the many dimensions attached to this challenge,” he wrote.
“We are at a critical moment as a global community and so I wish to encourage all people of faith to embark on this journey to live our call to protect and care for the garden of the world.”
The 66-year-old archbishop released the letter, subtitled “The climate catastrophe — Creation’s urgent call for change,” on the eve of the Season of Creation, an “annual celebration of prayer and action for our common home” from Sept. 1 to Oct. 4. He invited parishes in Dublin archdiocese to observe the event.
“This pastoral letter, which I have titled, ‘The Cry of the Earth, the Cry of the Poor,’ approaches the climate catastrophe from the perspective of faith,” Farrell explained in an Aug. 30 statement.
“That is not to say, it excludes the insights and contribution of the natural sciences. On the contrary, healthy faith takes on board what God says through creation. Faith and science are not opponents; in a truly Christian view, faith and reason — fides et ratio — go hand in hand. God reveals himself through the world. That is the heart of our Catholic faith.”
He continued: “Scientists have issued a ‘code red’ not just for the environment, but for humanity itself. God now calls us, individually and collectively, to work for the good of the planet and the good of all. Let us not fool ourselves: there can be no enduring response to the cry of the earth without responding to the need for justice and dignity.”
The pastoral letter includes an appendix with poetry by the English Jesuit Gerard Manley Hopkins, who spent his final years in Dublin, and T.S. Eliot.
Pope Francis named Farrell as archbishop of Dublin on Dec. 29, 2020, succeeding Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, who had led the archdiocese since 2004.
Farrell has a doctoral degree in theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University. After his studies in Rome, he taught moral theology at St. Patrick’s College, Maynooth, where he served as president from 1996 to 2007.
He was named the bishop of Ossory, in eastern Ireland, in 2018.
Farrell now presides over an archdiocese with more than 1.1 million Catholics in an area of Ireland with Catholic roots dating back to the 5th century.
In his pastoral letter, the archbishop urged parishes in the Dublin archdiocese to sign the “Healthy Planet-Healthy People” petition, endorsed by the Holy See.
The petition, directed at the U.N. Climate Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland, in November, calls for an agreement limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit).
Farrell also invited Catholics to become involved with the Laudato Sì Prize, an archdiocesan initiative inspired by Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical.
“This prize of €5,000 [around $5,900] will be awarded for the new initiative that makes the greatest practical difference to our response to the climate crisis and to our embrace of the way of justice,” the archbishop explained.
The pastoral letter will be distributed by the Dublin-based publisher Veritas online and via its bookshops in Ireland. It is also available on the Dublin archdiocese’s website.
In his Aug. 30 statement, Farrell acknowledged that his pastoral letter was a “long document.” But he argued that the climate crisis was so grave that it demanded “extensive” reflection.
“All too often ‘religion’ appears as if it is no more than an intellectual failure of nerve. However, true religion is not a flight from the world: faith that is alive provides a framework for people to make decisions and take action,” he said.
“As a Church, and as a society, we need to reflect with greater depth, urgency, and seriousness about what we must do. This extensive pastoral is in the service of that deeper reflection.”
“If not for your own sake, then for the sake of your children, and for the world’s children, consider dedicating some time to the issues raised in its pages.”
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A young woman is baptized at the 2024 Easter Vigil at St. Mary’s Catholic Center at Texas A&M. / Credit: Courtesy of St. Mary’s Catholic Center, Texas A&M
Boston, Mass., Apr 24, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).
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A tent camp in Haiti. / arindambanarjee/Shutterstock.
Washington D.C., May 24, 2021 / 19:01 pm (CNA).
The chairs of the US bishops’ committees on migration and international justice and peace on Monday commended the Biden administration’s redesi… […]
Seminarians at Good Shepherd Major Seminary in Nigeria’s Kaduna state where four students were kidnapped and one, Michael Nnadi, was killed in 2020. / Credit: Good Shepherd Major Seminary Kaduna/ Facebook
ACI Africa, Jan 26, 2024 / 11:40 am (CNA).
Last year, 2023, was a difficult year for Brother Peter Olarewaju, a postulant at the Benedictine monastery in Nigeria’s Ilorin Diocese who was kidnapped alongside two others at the monastery. Olarewaju underwent different kinds of torture and witnessed the murder of his companion, Brother Godwin Eze.
After his release, Olarewaju said his kidnapping was a blessing, as it had strengthened his faith. He even said that he is now prepared to die for his faith.
“I am prepared to die a martyr in this dangerous country. I am ready any moment to die for Jesus. I feel this very strongly,” Olarewaju said in an interview with ACI Africa, CNA’s news partner in Africa, on Nov. 26, 2023, days after he was set free by suspected Fulani kidnappers.
The monk’s testimony is not an isolated case in Nigeria, where kidnapping from seminaries, monasteries, and other places of religious formation has been on the rise. While some victims of the kidnappings have been killed, those who survived the ordeal have shared that they have come back stronger — and ready to die for their faith.
Seminarian Melchior Maharini, a Tanzanian who was kidnapped alongside a priest from the Missionaries of Africa community in the Diocese of Minna in August 2023, said the suffering he endured during the three weeks he was held captive strengthened his faith. “I felt my faith grow stronger. I accepted my situation and surrendered everything to God,” he told ACI Africa on Sept. 1, 2023.
Many other seminarians in Nigeria have been kidnapped by Boko Haram militants, Fulani herdsmen, and other bandit groups operating in Africa’s most populous nation.
In August 2023, seminarian David Igba told ACI Africa that he stared death in the face when a car in which he was traveling on his way to the market in Makurdi was sprayed with bullets by Fulani herdsmen.
In September 2023, seminarian Na’aman Danlami was burned alive in a botched kidnapping incident in the Diocese of Kafanchan. A few days earlier, another seminarian, Ezekiel Nuhu, from the Archdiocese of Abuja, who had gone to spend his holidays in Southern Kaduna, was kidnapped.
Two years prior, in October 2021, Christ the King Major Seminary of Kafanchan Diocese was attacked and three seminarians were kidnapped.
In one attack that attracted global condemnation in 2020, seminarian Michael Nnadi was brutally murdered after he was kidnapped alongside three others from Good Shepherd Major Seminary in the Diocese of Kaduna. Those behind the kidnapping confessed that they killed Nnadi because he would not stop preaching to them, fearlessly calling them to conversion.
After Nnadi’s murder, his companions who survived the kidnapping proceeded to St. Augustine Major Seminary in Jos in Nigeria’s Plateau state, where they courageously continued with their formation.
As Christian persecution rages in Nigeria, seminary instructors in the country have shared with ACI Africa that there is an emerging spirituality in Nigerian seminaries that many may find difficult to grasp: the spirituality of martyrdom.
They say that in Nigeria, those who embark on priestly formation are continuously being made to understand that their calling now entails being ready to defend the faith to the point of death. More than ever before, the seminarians are being reminded that they should be ready to face persecution, including the possibility of being kidnapped and even killed.
Father Peter Hassan, rector of St. Augustine Major Seminary in the Archdiocese of Jos, Plateau state, said that seminaries, just like the wider Nigerian society, have come to terms with “the imminence of death” for being Christian.
“Nigerian Christians have been victims of violence of apocalyptic proportions for nearly half a century. I can say that we have learned to accept the reality of imminent death,” Hassan said in a Jan. 12 interview with ACI Africa.
He added: “Nevertheless, it is quite inspiring and comforting to see the many young men who are still ready to embrace a life that will certainly turn them into critically endangered species. Yet these same young men are willing to preach the gospel of peace and embrace the culture of dialogue for peaceful coexistence.”
Shortly after Nnadi’s kidnapping and killing, St. Augustine Major Seminary opened its doors to the three seminarians who survived the kidnapping.
Hassan told ACI Africa that the presence of the three former students of Good Shepherd Major Seminary was “a blessing” to the community of St. Augustine Major Seminary.
“Their presence in our seminary was a blessing to our seminarians, a wake-up call to the grim reality that not even the very young are spared by those mindless murderers,” Hassan said.
Back at Good Shepherd, seminarians have remained resilient, enrolling in large numbers even after the 2020 kidnapping and Nnadi’s murder.
In an interview with ACI Africa, Father Samuel Kanta Sakaba, the rector of Good Shepherd Major Seminary, said that instructors at the Catholic institution, which has a current enrollment of 265 seminarians, make it clear that being a priest in Nigeria presents the seminarians with the danger of being kidnapped or killed.
ACI Africa asked Sakaba whether or not the instructors discuss with the seminarians the risks they face, including that of being kidnapped, or even killed, to which the priest responded: “Yes, as formators, we have the duty to take our seminarians through practical experiences — both academic, spiritual, and physical experiences. We share this reality of persecution with them, but for them to understand, we connect the reality of Christian persecution in Nigeria to the experiences of Jesus. This way, we feel that it would be easier for them to not only have the strength to face what they are facing but to also see meaning in their suffering.”
“Suffering is only meaningful if it is linked with the pain of Jesus,” the priest said. “The prophet Isaiah reminds us that ‘by his wounds, we are healed.’ Jesus also teaches us that unless the grain of wheat falls on the ground and dies, it will remain a single grain, but that it is only when it falls and dies that it yields a rich harvest. Teachings such as these are the ones that deepen our resilience in the face of persecution.”
Sakaba spoke of the joy of those who look forward to “going back to God in a holy way.”
“Whatever happens, we will all go back to God. How joyful it is to go back to God in a holy way, in a way of sacrifice.” he said. “This holiness is accepting this cross, this pain. Jesus accepted the pain of Calvary, and that led him to his resurrection. Persecution purifies the individual for them to become the finished product for God. I believe that these attacks are God’s project, and no human being can stop God’s work.”
However, the rector clarified that those who enroll at the seminary do not go out seeking danger.
“People here don’t go out putting themselves in situations of risk,” he said. “But when situations such as these happen, the teachings of Jesus and his persecution give us courage to face whatever may come our way.”
Sakaba said that although priestly formation in Nigeria is embracing the “spirituality of martyrdom,” persecution in the West African country presents “a difficult reality.”
“It is difficult to get used to pain. It is difficult to get used to the issues of death … to get familiar with death,” he said. “No one chooses to go into danger just because other people are suffering; it is not part of our nature. But in a situation where you seem not to have an alternative, the grace of God kicks in to strengthen you to face the particular situation.”
Sakaba said that since the 2020 attack at Good Shepherd Major Seminary, the institution has had an air of uncertainty. He said that some of the kidnappers who were arrested in the incident have been released, a situation he said has plunged the major seminary into “fear of the unknown.”
“It hasn’t been easy for us since the release,” Sabaka told ACI Africa. “The community was thrown into confusion because of the unknown. We don’t know what will happen next. We don’t know when they will come next or what they will do to us. We don’t know who will be taken next.”
In the face of that, however, Sabaka said the resilience of the seminary community has been admirable. “God has been supporting, encouraging, and leading us. His grace assisted us to continue to practice our faith,” he said.
The jihadist attacks, which continue unabated in communities surrounding the seminary, do not make the situation easier.
“Every attack that happens outside our community reminds us of our own 2020 experience. We are shocked, and although we remain deeply wounded, we believe that God has been leading us,” he said.
This story was first published by ACI Africa, CNA’s news partner in Africa, and has been adapted by CNA.
Pray for this poor man to repent. He is responsible for his flock and not for evil globalists – their aim is to depopulate Earth – it is contrary to Catholic teaching. Why this bishop does not mention anything about Christ?
Yes, and while we’re at it, why don’t we also tackle the issues of the earth being flat, the moon landings being faked, and a famous New York suspension bridge just listed on the real estate market. I also heard that unicorns are almost extinct and leprechauns are constantly being height-shamed. Let’s get on all this right away!
It’s human nature to do each other over in one way or another. Taking into account the spiritual path in following Jesus is the the making of choices to act against our human nature in not doing each other over.
And that includes the sort of ongoing choices of greed and selfishness that have the consequence of severely degrading and damaging the planet and it’s systems, all the result of a culmination of various acts of selfishness and greed.
The consequences of small and big choices to do each other over by following selfishness and greed will end in death. The consequences in choosing to act against our human nature in not doing each other over will result in life.
In following a broad trajectory that can end in one of two ways Jesus enunciated a way that he said was The Way.
What others have done over millennia in claiming to follow ‘The Way’ is a great insight into the ways human nature plays out in the lives of ordinary people.
Human nature is a powerful force of nature. And also The Way of Jesus is a powerful antidote to the negative potential of human nature as are other expressions of spirituality of a similar trajectory. Without this positive input of Jesus and His Way of looking at things it is undoubtable with this antidote absent the world would be very different.
In the Name of God the Father, Jesus the Redeemer, author and giver of Life, and The Holy Spirit who comforts and leads, save us from ourselves, our greed and our selfishness, both individually and corporately.
Yes, and save us from the tendency to falsely and maliciously accuse others of wrongdoing when they are innocent, like you did to Cardinal Pell for most of last year. Don’t worry about the planet, it will be fine. Address the sinfulness residing in your own heart.
Chris Griffin, you misrepresent and lie about me. The subject addresses “The Climate Catastrophe. I do not support abortion in Ireland or anywhere. Since you raised the subject of the Irish and the murder of innocent life, in your attempt at distraction and slander, let us for a moment contemplate the actions of the USA with respect to the death of innocent civilians. The USA kills civilians and many US Catholics advocated and supported these wars that resulted in the death of between 244,124 and 266,427 civilians of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan between 2001 and 2018. This in response to the death of 2977 from the 9/11 attacks. Now also include the as yet untold suffering and death of men women and children in Yemen. Do Catholics of the USA care or is this not on your agenda? That is over two hundred thousand civilians! The USA is morally bankrupt in this respect. My question is this. Is it the hight of hypocrisy to be pointing your finger at the Irish and calling out murder when your own nation is directly responsible for the death of over two hundred thousand innocent men women and children in the past twenty years? To say I’m angry at the choices your Government made on behalf of you, the people of the USA is an understatement.
The photo is priceless: The very up-to-date bishop tackling the “climate disaster,” while the real disaster is the empty church engulfing him.
64 pages.
There is an agenda.
If only the bishop was as steadfast in his concern for souls and wrote a sixty-four page letter reflecting that.
Pray for this poor man to repent. He is responsible for his flock and not for evil globalists – their aim is to depopulate Earth – it is contrary to Catholic teaching. Why this bishop does not mention anything about Christ?
Yes, and while we’re at it, why don’t we also tackle the issues of the earth being flat, the moon landings being faked, and a famous New York suspension bridge just listed on the real estate market. I also heard that unicorns are almost extinct and leprechauns are constantly being height-shamed. Let’s get on all this right away!
The church behind him is empty because it’s in lockdown, right?
It’s human nature to do each other over in one way or another. Taking into account the spiritual path in following Jesus is the the making of choices to act against our human nature in not doing each other over.
And that includes the sort of ongoing choices of greed and selfishness that have the consequence of severely degrading and damaging the planet and it’s systems, all the result of a culmination of various acts of selfishness and greed.
The consequences of small and big choices to do each other over by following selfishness and greed will end in death. The consequences in choosing to act against our human nature in not doing each other over will result in life.
In following a broad trajectory that can end in one of two ways Jesus enunciated a way that he said was The Way.
What others have done over millennia in claiming to follow ‘The Way’ is a great insight into the ways human nature plays out in the lives of ordinary people.
Human nature is a powerful force of nature. And also The Way of Jesus is a powerful antidote to the negative potential of human nature as are other expressions of spirituality of a similar trajectory. Without this positive input of Jesus and His Way of looking at things it is undoubtable with this antidote absent the world would be very different.
In the Name of God the Father, Jesus the Redeemer, author and giver of Life, and The Holy Spirit who comforts and leads, save us from ourselves, our greed and our selfishness, both individually and corporately.
Yes, and save us from the tendency to falsely and maliciously accuse others of wrongdoing when they are innocent, like you did to Cardinal Pell for most of last year. Don’t worry about the planet, it will be fine. Address the sinfulness residing in your own heart.
The Irish murder the unborn and he does not care.
Chris Griffin, you misrepresent and lie about me. The subject addresses “The Climate Catastrophe. I do not support abortion in Ireland or anywhere. Since you raised the subject of the Irish and the murder of innocent life, in your attempt at distraction and slander, let us for a moment contemplate the actions of the USA with respect to the death of innocent civilians. The USA kills civilians and many US Catholics advocated and supported these wars that resulted in the death of between 244,124 and 266,427 civilians of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan between 2001 and 2018. This in response to the death of 2977 from the 9/11 attacks. Now also include the as yet untold suffering and death of men women and children in Yemen. Do Catholics of the USA care or is this not on your agenda? That is over two hundred thousand civilians! The USA is morally bankrupt in this respect. My question is this. Is it the hight of hypocrisy to be pointing your finger at the Irish and calling out murder when your own nation is directly responsible for the death of over two hundred thousand innocent men women and children in the past twenty years? To say I’m angry at the choices your Government made on behalf of you, the people of the USA is an understatement.
I’m not going to subscribe to Climate Change Hysteria simply because a mentally handicapped Swedish teenager screams at me to do so.