Statement on COP28 and Laudate Deum

The Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia urge the U.S. Legislator to COP28, Mr. Lilburn Trigg Talley, to strongly support clear, concrete policies to achieve the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement. As a Franciscan congregation, we undertook work to protect our sister Mother Earth a quarter of a century ago, with increasing efforts by the community and by individual members. A directive of our 2008 General Chapter led to the initiation of our Care for Creation Committee. In 2014 some sisters participated in the massive Climate March in New York City and in 2017 the congregation adopted a Corporate Stand on Care for Creation. A commitment to promote the Vatican’s Laudato Si’ Action Platform in 2020 was a natural progression, as we called ourselves and others to act on the platform’s seven goals.

During these past 25 years, damage to planet Earth has dramatically increased, and we agree with Pope Francis that humanity is in a global climate crisis, as he states passionately in his recent Apostolic Exhortation, Laudate Deum. We welcome the Pope’s commitment to participate in COP28 and to address the expected 77,000 participants. For our part, we urge Legislator Talley to strongly support specific policies to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement, and we commit ourselves to prayer and action for concrete outcomes of COP28 in this time of climate crisis.