Justice, Peace & Environment

The largest Catholic refugee charity in the UK, the Jesuit Refugee Service UK (JRS UK) is launching its Advent Appeal to raise funds for vital services providing shelter, safety, and stability for refugees facing homelessness this winter. There has been an alarming rise in destitution and homelessness among refugees seeking sanctuary in the UK, with almost half of people served by JRS UK spendi... Read More

In the early hours of Sunday morning, the UN's 29th annual climate change conference, COP29, came to a close. Negotiations to decide the New Collective Quantified Goal on Climate Finance (NCQG) have ended in Baku with an incredibly weak outcome. Liz Cronin, CAFOD's Climate Change Policy Lead said: "COP29, lamentably, has fallen completely flat. This was meant to be the 'Finance COP' where develope... Read More

In response to COP29's final statement, Christian Aid has said: "People of the global south came to these talks needing a lifeboat out of the climate crisis. But all they got was a plank of wood to cling to. "This summit has been hijacked by rich countries who have failed to negotiate in good faith. The cost of their actions here will be paid in the lives of vulnerable people on the front lines of... Read More

Cardinal Vincent Nichols has co-signed a multi-faith letter ahead of the assisted suicide vote in parliament on Friday As leaders of faith communities we wish to express our concern at the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) bill, which will be debated by MPs on 29th November. We are aware of how complex and weighty this topic is. There are many dimensions to the bill, all of them of great ethical... Read More

"Talking about the end of life is often not easy. Most of us can call to mind the experience of loved ones who have died or who are today nearing the end of their journey in this life. We recognise therefore that discussing this issue can touch us emotionally at a deep and passionate level. It is precisely because of this that policymakers have a responsibility to think through this issue rigorous... Read More

The president of the Catholic Medical Association, Dr Mike Delany has appealed to Members of Parliament to oppose legislation to bring in assisted suicide when the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill is given its second reading on 29 November. Dr Delany commented that assisting a person to end their own life is contrary to the Christian understanding of the sanctity of life and the role of m... Read More

Responding to the latest COP29 text, published on Friday in Baku, Azerbaijan, Mariana Paoli, Global Advocacy Lead at Christian Aid, said: "It is baffling that despite everyone knowing all year that this was the 'finance COP', rich countries are still refusing to put substantial enough funding pledges on the table. "This is irresponsible, immoral and risks condemning both people and planet. Develop... Read More

Responding to the latest text at COP29 today, Christian Aid's Global Advocacy Lead, Mariana Paoli, said: "COP29 was supposed to be the finance COP. Rich countries had one job to do: lay out how much finance they are going to provide, but there's no actual numbers in the latest text. "It's like developed countries are saying the dog ate their homework. "The text correctly talks about the seriousnes... Read More

Responding to the launch of the Global Clean Power Alliance by the UK government yesterday, Sophie Powell, Christian Aid's Chief of UK Advocacy, said: "Global decarbonisation is essential, as a species we're currently cooking ourselves with our addiction to dirty energy. Last year was the hottest year on record and 2024 is expected to beat that. It's vital that we accelerate the global energy t... Read More

Today, 71 Christian organisations have published a statement calling on the big five UK high-street banks to end their financing of new fossil fuels which are fuelling dangerous levels of global heating. In the largest action yet calling for change from UK high street banks on their fossil fuel financing, the Churches and Christian organisations involved join the many charities, churches, universi... Read More

At COP29 rich countries are under pressure to deliver trillions in grant based, public climate finance, to meet the needs of developing countries, as laid out in the terms of the Paris Agreement. These figures might seem bafflingly large to the person on the street, and rich countries may claim the figures sound hard to achieve. But a report by Christian Aid has shown how one developed country,... Read More

Care Not Killing writes: There are now less than two weeks until Kim Leadbeater's Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill is considered by the House of Commons, and you will doubtless have seen a ratcheting up of debate since the text of the Bill was finally published late Monday night. You will also have seen indications of growing unease among MPs: first and foremost, this has been informed by ... Read More

Faith groups were among thousands of climate justice campaigners who marched peacefully through central London on Saturday, accompanied by colourful banners, chanting and drumming. They lobbied the UK government and world leaders to work towards climate justice, and to do it urgently. They included representatives of Christian Climate Action, Green Christian, Laudato Si Movement, Columban Justice,... Read More

A team from a Jesuit environmental and spiritual education centre in Madagascar have been taking part in COP29, thanks to support from Jesuit Missions. Representatives from the Centre Arrupe in Madagascar have been in the Azerbaijan capital, Baku, for the past week, to raise awareness of their work and the impact of climate change on their country. Director of Programmes, Patricia Tahirindray, and... Read More