Climate Change Statement by Alaskan Bishops
On November 17, 2009 the Alaska Conference of Catholic Bishops, comprised of Archbishops Roger L. Schwietz, OMI and Francis T. Hurley of Anchorage, Bishop Donald Kettler of Fairbanks and Bishop Edward J. Burns of Juneau jointly issued a letter to the Alaskan Congressional Delegation on the topic of climate change. An excerpt follows, or read the entire letter here: Alaskan Bishops' Letter on Climate Change."Dear Senators Murkowski, Begich and Congressman Young:
"We, the Catholic Bishops of Alaska, write to respectfully encourage you to take action on climate change by supporting meaningful legislation such as the Clean Energy Jobs & American Power Act.
"At its core, addressing global climate change is about our responsibility to care for God's creation and to care for one another, especially the weak and the vulnerable. Pope Benedict XVI is calling upon the Church to take responsibility for creation and to assert this "responsibility in the public sphere."1 This letter is an answer to his call.
"In his encyclical Deus Caritas Est, Pope Benedict XVI stated "in order to protect nature, it is not enough to intervene with economic incentives or deterrents; not even an apposite education is sufficient. These are important steps, but the decisive issue is the overall moral tenor of society."2
"We recognize the innate complexity of climate change and the subsequent challenge before you (and all of Congress) in crafting a sufficient political, economic and moral response. As people of faith, we can recommend a moral equation to serve as a guide in shaping each facet of this response; an equation not only giving rise to meaningful climate and energy legislation, but also elevating America's moral tenor by including legislative provisions reflecting the principles of prudence, poverty and the common good..." [end excerpt]
Catholic Bishop of Northern Alaska
Robert Hannon
Special Assistant to the Bishop
1316 Peger Rd
Fairbanks, AK 99709-5199
907-374-9510 907-374-9580 (Fax)
robert@cbna.org
Files