Jose Aguto, executive director of Catholic Climate Covenant, said scientific consensus and politicians from both sides of the aisle acknowledge that human activity is the principal cause of climate change. The question is not whether people’s energy use is a major source of climate change, he said, but rather, “what do we do to address it?”
Regarding what Catholics can do, while assisting with “the divisions across our country,” Aguto said “it starts with our charism to be loving neighbors to one another.”
“This is the greatest commandment and it always will be the foundation by which we, humanity, will merit success in this world,” he said.
Aguto recently joined “Practicing Catholic” host Patrick Conley to give his Catholic perspective on climate change.
Aguto said the Catholic Climate Covenant was established at the recommendation of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops “to lift up care for creation.”
“We work with the bishops’ conference and also many Catholic organizations across the country to lift up this charism from a programmatic perspective, as it is a requirement of our faith,” he said. “We’ve been doing so for 16 years and are absolutely delighted to lift up these actions across the U.S. Catholic community and, in particular, following the Vatican’s lead and their initiation of the ‘Laudato Si’’ action platform (last November).”
Pope Francis issued his encyclical “Laudato Si’, on Care for our Common Home” in 2015. While many associate Pope Francis with being “sort of the lightning rod, if you will” of efforts to be more in harmony with nature, the subject has been part of the Catholic charism for decades, Aguto said.
Many gifted people and organizations have come up with solutions and are working tirelessly to get them implemented, Aguto said. But the issue is “the moral and political will” to engage in those solutions and to do so in a compassionate way that recognizes the contributions of those industries “which have brought us to the great material wealth that we have right now, but also to recognize that we do need to pivot away from fossil fuel production.”
Aguto said “we absolutely can and must lift up our Catholic strengths and our moral call into this space, because this, in many ways, is the essence of our problem: We need to be loving and strong and brave and courageous towards one another in addressing the climate crisis.”
To hear the full interview, listen to this episode of “Practicing Catholic,” which debuts at 9 p.m. March 18 on Relevant Radio 1330 AM and also airs at 1 p.m. March 19 and 2 p.m. March 20.
The Catholic Community Foundation of Minnesota is hosting a forum at Annunciation Church in Minneapolis Tuesday, March 29, focused on Laudato Si’. A moderated panel will discuss the question, “How are we as Catholics called to care for our common home?” Panelists include Aguto as well as retired Bishop Richard Pates, bishop emeritus of Des Moines, Iowa, and Kat Doyle, director of justice and peace ministries for the Archdiocese of Atlanta. For more information, visit ccf-mn.org/forums.
Produced by Relevant Radio and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the latest “Practicing Catholic” show also includes interviews with Archbishop Bernard Hebda of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, who describes some of his efforts to stay connected with others; and Father Daniel Griffith, pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes in Minneapolis, who discusses Catholic social teaching.
Listen to all of the interviews after they have aired at
soundcloud.com/PracticingCatholic
tinyurl.com/PracticingCatholic (Spotify)
