As global leaders gather in Belém, Brazil for the UN Climate Change Conference (COP30), Catholic representatives also spread the message of Pope Leo to the masses.
Dr Lorna Gold, Executive Director of Laudato Si’ Movement (LSM), is participating in the event and told The Irish Catholic they are bringing the “Holy Water that was the melted iceberg blessed by the Pope” to events “inside the official negotiations and outside on the streets and in many cultural spaces to bring the message of Pope Leo to the masses”.
“Two things have stood out for me so far,” Dr Gold said; first was the ‘Leaders’ Summit last week. In the media, it was presented as a failure because the numbers of world leaders who attended is down dramatically from around 90 last year to 50 this year.”
The second thing that stood out to her was the speech of Antonio Gutierrez, the Secretary-General of the UN. “It really struck me,” she said. Mr Gutierrez “was very blunt in his remarks.” In his speech, the Secretary General “was pretty scathing of governments who are failing to make the shift away from fossil fuels.”
However, even with the drop in political leaders’ interest and the failure in governments shifting from fossil fuels, Dr Gold is hopeful. “Despite the terrible geopolitical context in which we’re in right now in terms of the world, of the global politics, I remain profoundly hopeful.”
Part of her hope is a result of the Raising Hope Conference last month. “The continued commitment of the Catholic Church in this space is absolutely fundamental. It is a game changer because the Catholic Church… represents a very significant part of the global population,” Dr Gold said.
On Tuesday morning, Dr Gold was in Casa Tabor, Belém, with representatives from the Church from around the world. “I’ve never seen such a huge delegation of Church senior cardinals at any COP, and I’ve been going to COPs for the last fifteen years,” she said. They were working together “to bring the perspectives of Laudato Si’ into the COP.”
COP 30, the first COP in the Amazon, is taking place since November 6 and will continue until November 21.
