#COP21: Thousands of Catholics Join Pope Francis for Global Climate March

The past weekend, tens of thousands of members of the Global Catholic Climate Movement participated in the Global Climate March around the world. Carrying banners and signs that read ‘Hear the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor,’ they endeavoured to put Laudato Si into action and showcase the moral imperative of taking action on climate change.

Cardinal Hummes acknowledged these efforts in an Op-Ed that was published on Sunday, “Here [Paris] and around the globe, in interfaith and secular events including today’s massive Global Climate Marches, Catholic climate activists are holding hands with their brothers and sisters from many faith communities – including other Christian denominations, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, and so many others. From Sao Paulo to Berlin, from London to Manila, together they cry out for the planet, for the poor and the indigenous, and for future generations so that the world may know peace.”

Here are some highlights:

– Cardinal Hummes delivered the Pope’s shoes in the “Shoes March” in Paris. See pictures and story of Cardinal Hummes with the Pope’s shoes.

– Beautiful, colorful, festive marches took place in more than a dozen cities in the Philippines with thousands of Catholics, most often preceded in the wee hours of the morning by a mass.

– In the small Amazonian town of Tena, Ecuador, 200 people came out in the streets to speak with one voice on the importance of preserving their beautiful homeland – the Amazonian rainforest basin – for all generations and all people.

– The British Catholic community joined a massive march of over 50,000 people inLondon, led by the Catholic charitable organization CAFOD.

– In Lahore, Pakistan, a GCCM partner of Islamic faith lead an Interfaith prayer vigil by candlelight leading people of multiple faiths to pray for peace and solidarity.

– In the tiniest state in the United States, marchers in Westerly, Rhode Island led by Madeline Labriola, a retired religious, marched to six churches of different denominations, stopping and praying for peace and the COP21 at each one.

– In Jakarta, Indonesia, Father Paulus Rahmat led 3,000 marchers wearing face masks to emphasize the need to care for the air we breath, water we drink and atmosphere that surrounds us.

Tomás Insua, Global Coordinator, Global Catholic Climate Movement, said: “As Pope Francis well reminds us, climate change is a profound moral crisis and a matter of justice towards the poor and future generations. That is why the Catholic community is mobilizing at a massive scale demanding climate justice, by collecting more than 600,000 Catholic Climate Petition signatures for world leaders in Paris and by joining the Global Climate March in all major cities around the world.”