The world needs new economic models that respect human dignity and protect creation, Pope Francis told an interfaith delegation from Manchester.
Responding to the needs of people and the environment “also requires a determination to overcome the ‘throwaway’ culture of waste generated by present-day consumerism and by a globalised indifference that inhibits efforts to address these human and social problems in the light of the common good,” he said on 20th April.
“We need, in a word, to acknowledge that the environmental and social crisis of our time are not two separate crises but one,” which, therefore, requires “the creation of new and farsighted economic models.”
The pope’s remarks came during an audience at the Vatican with a delegation of religious and civic leaders from Manchester.
“You play an important role in contributing to a much-needed ‘ecological conversion’ grounded in the values of respect for nature, sobriety, human solidarity and concern for the future of our societies,” he said.
The interfaith delegation was led by Bishop John Arnold of Salford and the Rev. Rogers Govender, the Anglican dean of Manchester, and included Andy Burnham, mayor of Greater Manchester, as well as Jewish, Sikh and Hindu representatives.
In his address to the Pope, Bishop John reflected on the example Pope Francis has given to all faiths and none in shining a light on the climate emergency.
“Holy Father, we thank you for your leadership in alerting the world’s attention to the urgent dangers of climate change and the need for ecological conversion. Following statements of your predecessors, particular Pope St John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI, your encyclical Laudato Si’ spoke not only to members of the Catholic Church but to all Christians and to all people of goodwill,” Bishop John said.
“It has been received and welcomed by countless millions of people, of different faiths and none. Through your appeal, we have recognised not only the damage we have done and which we continue to afflict on our common home but also the urgent need to repair and protect the wonders of our world, with its biodiversity and the complexity of creation of which we are guardians.”
During the visit, Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham presented football fan Pope Francis with a shirt signed by Manchester United’s Argentine star Lisandro Martínez.
Rev. Govender founded the interfaith group, Our Faith, Our Planet, to see how the city’s faith communities could address issues of climate change.
Pope Francis expressed his appreciation for the delegation’s efforts “as religious and political leaders to raise awareness of the urgent need to protect the environment and to work concretely to address the effects of climate change.”
Picture: Andy Burnham, mayor of Greater Manchester, presents Pope Francis with a jersey signed by Argentine Lisandro Martínez, who plays for Manchester United. Burnham was part of an interfaith delegation from Manchester meeting the pope to pledge their commitment to tackling climate change. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)