The Jesuits and Climate Change
In the 5th December 2009 edition of the Tablet, the British Jesuit Provincial, Fr. Michael Holman, wrote that the impact of climate change is the most urgent moral issue of our time. On that same day, 50,000 people including a number of Jesuits marched in London to call on world leaders to seal a deal at the Climate Change summit in Copenhagen, a deal which will safeguard the lives and livelihoods of the poorest peoples on our earth.
If you are reading this considering a Jesuit vocation you might wonder what if anything these events say about our Jesuit way of life and our mission in the world.
Firstly, one is struck by the extraordinary responsibility that we Jesuits have to speak out for the poorest of our world. As an international organisation we are present in so many different places and are close to those who are vulnerable to the drastic effects of climate change. To make the plight of these people known is to change the hearts of others. As Fr. Michael Holman himself explained, it was receiving urgent news from the Jesuit Provincial of the Amazon region of Brazil that finally awakened him to the absolute necessity of our acting: ‘It is the experience of my brother Jesuits working with indigenous people in the ecologically sensitive regions of South America that has persuaded me that, for their sake, change must happen.’
Secondly, we are very aware that for us this issue is not just ecological. It is a matter of faith and whilst we would seek to support those who act from the prospective of conservation and economic development, we also want to witness to the fact that what is at stake is our relationship with God. We need to find ways to speak of and live the Good news to all creation.
Finally, we are facing up to fact that we ourselves need to look hard at our lives and the way we live and be prepared to make changes, perhaps drastic changes so that we can make our own contribution to a sustainable world. Announcing the launch of a seven year plan, Fr. Michael Holman explains, ‘The Society’s project embraces retreat centres, schools and universities, social centres and academic research, as well as personal and communal lifestyles. We are being encouraged to live and work in an ecologically sensitive way….’
The faith dimension of this project he expresses as follows: ‘Ours is a project of hope for a better future; that God’s Creation will be treated with reverence, that the poor will be better off and the we will be living more true to ourselves and tow hat God has created us to be’.