The World Council of Churches proclaimed a “right to hope” in a world threatened by climate change on April 28 by World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Dr. Olav Rykse Tveit at the Vatican. “Climate change makes crystal clear what kind of change is needed for a sustainable future,” he said. “Humanity has a right to hope, the right to a future, a right to life itself. No power on earth can destroy the thirst for human dignity and for life in just and sustainable communities.”
Tveit was part of the high-level invitees at the Vatican event, along with other religious leaders, academics, scholars and policy makers. The meeting emphasized the role of religious leaders in promoting “climate justice.” Ban Ki-moon, Secretary General of the United Nations, who also participated in the conference, said, “Religious leaders, we the peoples need your moral leadership to address climate change.”
Echoing the pope, Tveit said, “[Churches in the past] did not question the unsustainable development path of industrialized societies with the reckless consumption of natural resources and the ever growing use of fossil fuels. We have to acknowledge these sins of the past in order to be credible today,” Tveit said. “We have called for actions, for a just and binding treaty among the nations to commit the nations of the world to change,” Tveit added.
The churches connected to the ecumenical movement are being quickly drawn into supporting the papal push for protection of the climate. They are being encouraged to fight for a global government to defend the climate.
“All the world wondered after the beast,” Revelation 13:3
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