Two important milestones mark the Church's path towards COP 30 this Tuesday, July 1. The first of them is about the presentation of the document “A call for climate justice and the Common Home: ecological conversion, transformation and resistance to false solutions” to Pope Leo XIV. Present at the audience held in the Apostolic Palace were Cardinals Jaime Spengler, president of the Latin American and Caribbean Episcopal Council (Celam); Felipe Neri Ferrao, president of the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences (FABC); and Fridolin Ambongo Besungu, president of the Symposium of the Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (Secam).

The second is the press conference in which the three cardinals accompanied by Dr. Emilce Cuda, secretary of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America (PCAL), presented the content of the document to the media and the entire world. Prepared by the three confederations with the support of experts since 2024, the document seeks to address the climate crisis from a pastoral and prophetic perspective. Cáritas Latin America and the Caribbean actively participated in this entire process, through its advocacy coordination.

Click to download the document in Spanish, Portuguese and English.

A pastoral cry

During the press conference, the cardinals emphasized their role. "We are not here as experts or politicians, but as pastors; we ask for a conversion of heart," they declared.

Dr. Emilce Cuda thanked the cardinals for their efforts, highlighting that they, like the Three Wise Men, offer three gifts:

a renewed faith in God and a firm trust in humanity; the cry for a new environmental justice as the highest form of charity; and the certainty that hope does not disappoint.

Cuda pointed out that the PCAL took on this initiative in response to a call from Pope Francis in June 2024 to "build bridges of reconciliation, of inclusion, of fraternity." The presentation of this document joins previous actions, such as the "Life hangs by a thread" campaign, launched in December 2024 to defend environmental leaders.

Advertise with courage and dismantle false solutions

Consulted about the possible participation of Pope Leo XIV in COP 30 in Belém do Pará (Brazil), Cardinal Jaime Spengler confirmed that they have requested his presence and that the Brazilian government has extended an official invitation.

Cardinal Spengler stressed the importance of making courageous decisions and "prophetically announcing what we must do without fear." He highlighted that the document is the result of a "synodal process, a spiritual and community discernment between sister Churches in Africa, Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean," and was used in the bilateral dialogues of the Bonn Conference as an instrument of advocacy.

The message is clear: "there is no climate justice without ecological conversion, and there is no ecological conversion without resistance to false solutions." He urged "dismantling interests under names such as 'green capitalism' and 'transitional economy'", which perpetuate extractivist logics.

In his speech (in full at the end, click download file), Spengler mentioned the Catholic organizations, including CEAMA, Cáritas Internationalis, Cáritas Latin America and the Caribbean, Cáritas Brasil, REPAM, among others, that participated in the process. He also highlighted the important ecumenical path carried out and a call to action with Christian Aid, ACT Alianza, the Lutheran World Federation and the World Council of Churches, among others.

We want to make public our gratitude to the many people who, in different ways, have collaborated with this proactive initiative ahead of COP30.

A pastoral message that demands a change of heart

Cardinal Felipe Neri expressed the hope of including other episcopal conferences in this call for climate justice, although for the moment, "the southern continents of the world have undertaken this journey." He stressed that "our message today is not diplomatic: it is pastoral," a call of conscience in the face of a system that threatens creation. He regretted that "soulless" mining persists in the name of "green batteries" and urged the operationalization of the Loss and Damage Fund. He insisted on the need to recognize the ancestral wisdom of communities and stop the expansion of fossil fuels.

For his part, Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu celebrated Pope Leo XIV's openness to socio-environmental issues, ensuring that the Pontiff follows the "same ecological line as Francis." "Africa is not a poor continent. It is a plundered continent," he stated, carrying the voice of a people victim of the "lithium, cobalt and nickel fever."

Cardinal Ambongo proposed a transformation that places the care of life, the sovereignty of indigenous and rural peoples, and the defense of the rights of women, climate migrants and new generations at the center. He ended with a forceful statement: "the time of indifference is over."

We invite you to watch the press conference in its entirety and learn about the content presented.