I stand with
Pope Francis:
Sign the petition in support of Pope Francis’ September prayer message. Unite with Catholics from all continents to ask for a Coronavirus response that embraces sharing, not plundering.
Why sign the petition?
On the eve of the Season of Creation, Pope Francis issued a profound prayer intention that the planet’s resources will not be plundered, but shared in a just and respectful manner. He prays that today, not tomorrow, we will take care of Creation. Pope Francis’ leadership on the climate emergency and on the coronavirus has been unmatched. But he can’t do it alone. It’s time for the global Catholic community to rally behind his message.
Sign the Catholic Petition for just action on COVID and the Climate Emergency.
Show the Pope and the world that you care!
Why does
this matter?
In the coronavirus response, governments have invested twice as much money in fossil fuels as they have in renewables. That means the public are propping up record-breaking payments to fossil fuel CEOs and stockholders while they continue to drive dangerous climate change, rather than their tax money being invested in a just and renewable energy economy that will support everyday workers and our children for the long term.
“We are squeezing out the planet’s goods. Squeezing them out, as if the earth were an orange.” Pope Francis
In his prayer intention, Pope Francis asks us to embrace sharing, not plundering. In recent catechesis, he has urged governments to avoid rescuing industries that do not bring in the excluded, promote the least of us, care for the common good or care for creation.
Funding these companies to continue business as usual should not be part of a coronavirus response. Fossil fuels are a leading cause of climate change, increasing our risk of sickness, hunger, and economic instability. Even worse, fossil fuel companies and other extractive industries are getting away with outrageous activities in the global South, destroying communities and ecosystems with their operations in a way they could never do in their home countries. Pope Francis is standing up for what’s right.
Sign the Catholic Petition and let’s protect the planet’s resources to not be plundered, but shared in a just and respectful manner.
Today, stand with Pope Francis and call for just action on COVID and the Climate Emergency, sign the petition
I stand with Pope Francis:
a coronavirus response must embrace ‘sharing’, not plundering’
Petition:
The coronavirus has left hundreds of millions of people sicker, poorer, and hungrier. It’s also shown how far we stand from truly caring for “the least of these.”
In this extraordinary moment, big business is seizing the opportunity to win enormous government subsidies. Fossil fuel corporations, mining consortiums, and huge agribusinesses are using this moment of crisis to entrench their position in the economy for years to come. If they succeed, they will continue to sow destruction, suffering, and climate chaos far beyond the gates of their home offices.
Pope Francis just denounced those corporations who are “plundering” and “squeezing the goods of the planet.” We stand with Pope Francis and call on governments to rein in the big corporations that exploit poor communities and the common home we share. Pope Francis has said, “What a scandal it would be if all the economic assistance . . . were to focus on rescuing those industries that don’t contribute to the inclusion of the excluded, the promotion of the least, the common good or the care of creation. [These] are criteria for choosing which industries should be helped. Four criteria.”
Rather than propping up a sick and destructive economy, now is the moment to make a just transition to a healthy renewable energy economy. Now more than ever, we need economies that give new opportunities to all of us, economies that protect the common home we share.
With Pope Francis, we pray that big businesses, particularly in the global North, will repent of their destruction, and that they will begin to repay the ecological debt that is owed to the poorest of our sisters and brothers, particularly in the global South.
As governments make investments in a coronavirus recovery, we earnestly pray that they will stand with David, and not with Goliath. As the Pope said in his message, “No to plundering, yes to sharing.”
Show your support. Sign now
Support us in gathering as many signatures as possible by 18th November. Together we will show Pope Francis that we are behind his vision for a new economy. On 19-20th November, at the invitation of Pope Francis, young Catholic entrepreneurs have been invited by the Pope from all across the world to gather in a three day online conference deliberating and celebrating the ‘Economy of Francesco’. Through this petition Catholics from across the world can show their support for this vision. During the ‘Economy of Francesco’ event, the petition will be handed over to the Pope and the young participants on the occasion of the conference.
In signing up you can also learn more about how Catholics are showing leadership on climate action.
Sign the Catholic Petition and invite more Catholics to stand with Pope Francis
Signatures will be gathered over the coming months and will be used at key international moments to demonstrate global Catholic concern for Just COVID and Climate Action. Sign up to learn more about how Catholics are showing leadership and to be kept informed on the campaign and how you can get involved. Sign the petition