This afternoon while attending an oil and gas conference in Pittsburgh, PA, President Trump announced that the United States will officially begin the process of withdrawing from the Paris climate agreement. On June 1, 2017, the President first announced his intent to withdrawal from the agreement. At the time, the Columban Center released a statement which strongly opposed the President's intentions. Unfortunately, today we must re-release that statement.
Columban missionaries around the world will be praying for the success of the Pan Amazonian Synod. Our baptismal commitment to care for planet earth - our common home, and dialogue with people of other faith traditions and spiritual practices, also draws us into solidarity with the synodal process.
In honor of the 2019 World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation on September 1st, which opens the Season of Creation, the Columban Center for Advocacy and Outreach (CCAO) urges Congress to support a rapid shift to a 100% clean energy economy in order to ensure a sustainable future.
The US Region of the Missionary Society of St. Columban stands with the families and victims of the violence that left 31 persons dead and many more injured in El Paso and Dayton over the weekend, and decries the culture of racial hatred promoted by our nation’s leaders who engage in the politics of division and intolerance toward immigrants and people of color.
Unfortunately, four years after both the publication of Laudato Si’ and the adoption of the Paris agreement, the global community still has not done enough to avoid climate catastrophe. In particular, the United States’ contribution to the agreement is “critically insufficient,” along with countries like Russia and Saudi Arabia. In 2017, the President began the process of removing the United States from the agreement.
The United States has a moral responsibility to significantly reduce its carbon emissions - the administration’s recently announced replacement for the Clean Power Plan ignores this responsibility.
As Catholics, we proclaim that human life is sacred, and human dignity is the foundation of a moral vision for society. As Columbans, we stand committed to welcoming people of all religious backgrounds and oppose any policies that seek to discriminate against anyone.
Family unity is sacred. Every person has the right to seek safety. These are some of the most basic tenets of Catholic Social Teaching. Separating families at the border and restricting access to asylum stands in direct contradiction to these core values.
After more than seven years of war, millions of Syrians displaced from their homes or in exile, and nearly a half a million people dead, the tragedy of the Syrian people cries out for an inclusive diplomatic, negotiated solution to the conflict. We need to break the vicious cycle of violence with transforming initiatives that will lead to a just and lasting peace.
Copyright © 2019 Columban Center for Advocacy and Outreach, Washington, D.C.