Vatican City: In a powerful intercontinental appeal, Catholic bishops from Asia, Africa, and Latin America, together with the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, have issued a fervent call for climate justice and a global ecological transformation. The appeal comes ahead of the United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP30, slated for November in Belém, Brazil.
The joint document, titled “A Call for Climate Justice and the Common Home: Ecological Conversion, Transformation and Resistance to False Solutions”, was unveiled today at a Vatican press conference and presented earlier to Pope Leo XIV. Rooted in the Church’s vision of integral ecology championed in Laudato Si’, the document challenges world leaders to abandon exploitative environmental policies and to heed the cries of both the Earth and the poor.
Cardinal Filipe Neri Ferrão, Archbishop of Goa and Daman and President of the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences (FABC), described the document as “a pastoral plea, not a diplomatic gesture.” Warning against a global system that treats nature as mere capital, he condemned environmental degradation as a moral crisis. “The Earth is not a product to be consumed, but a sacred inheritance to be protected,” he said.
Standing with him were Cardinal Jaime Spengler of Brazil (CELAM), Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo of Congo (SECAM), and Emlice Cuda of the Pontifical Commission, who all echoed similar sentiments. Cuda, drawing on Pope Leo XIV’s words, declared, “We are missionary apostles of a synodal Church that goes forth to COP30 to bring peace amid this fragmented war against creation.”
Cardinal Spengler, speaking on behalf of Latin America, raised the concerns of indigenous, riverside, and marginalized communities suffering under extractive economic models. “The Amazon is not for sale. We reject greenwashed narratives like ‘green capitalism’ or ‘transition economy’ used to justify exploitation,” he stressed. He decried financial schemes that commodify nature and warned against policies that trade biodiversity for profit.
Similarly, Cardinal Ambongo spotlighted Africa’s centuries-long exploitation, linking today’s mineral extraction to conflict and displacement. “Africa is not a sacrifice zone. We demand justice and a new economy that values life over profit,” he insisted. He called on world powers to halt the imposition of one-sided solutions and instead listen to those living at the epicenter of climate disasters.
From Asia, Cardinal Ferrão painted a sobering picture of climate-induced suffering rising seas swallowing islands, typhoons uprooting communities, rivers poisoned by pollution. He denounced so-called clean energy projects that trample on human rights and cultural heritage. “Let the rich nations acknowledge and repay their ecological debt to the Global South,” he urged. He emphasized the Church’s commitment to education, gender equity, and sustainable economies that prioritize people over profit.
Cardinal Michael Czerny, stepping up to speak impromptu, connected this landmark moment to Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si’, now marking its 10th anniversary. “Ten years ago, few could have imagined this scene a global Church united for the climate. Today, we witness the fruit of that prophetic vision,” he said, praising Pope Leo XIV for carrying the torch forward.
As COP30 approaches, the Church’s global voice is loud and clear: authentic solutions must arise from justice, inclusion, and care for our common home not from empty promises or destructive systems. This is a clarion call not only for ecological action but for a radical spiritual conversion.