Viewpoints

The path of a pilgrim points to a future hope and reconciliation between God, man and creation. We must also take up the opportunity to partner with God in bringing "heaven to earth" through positive actions that restore creation and defend the most vulnerable from extreme climate harms.

If we approach the climate crisis from the place of love, a spiritual perspective, a woman's perspective — a perspective that honors the Earth's body, its biodiversity and its own healing capacity — many more possibilities open up.

Humans wouldn't be here without the freely offered gifts of all the beings that precede and surround us. And we cannot flourish without living in harmony with the beings that give us life.

As other sectors, such as transportation and energy, discuss winding down their dependence on oil, the fossil fuel industry is banking on plastics in clothing as a growing revenue stream over the next 20 years. The moral call to divest includes our closets.

As the Parliament of the World's Religions convenes in Chicago this week, Ugandan youth climate activist Vanessa Nakate says: "What message do I expect from the delegates at the Parliament? One word: justice."

Fr. Thomas Reese: We are like frogs in a pot of water being slowly cooked as the temperature rises. We don’t have the sense to get out of the pot, let alone turn off the heat.

That morning in Salzburg, lulled by the subtle chants of anonymous nuns, I felt a presence I'd never felt before. Peace and beauty spilled forth from a closed room at Nonnberg Abbey, meeting each of us in tenderness.