At Parliament, nuncio speaks of climate change

Friday, Oct. 23, 2015

SALT LAKE CITY — Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Bernardito Auza, permanent observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, spoke about climate change and the importance of sustaining a healthy world at the Parliament of the World’s Religions at the Calvin L. Rampton Salt Palace Convention Center Oct. 18.

Others who spoke were Chief Arvol Lookinghorse, Karenna Gore, Brian McLaren, His Excellency Dr. Saleh Abdullah M. Bin Himeid, and the Imam of Mecca, Dr. Abdul Rahman Al-Sudais.

“What kind of world do we want to leave to future generations?” asked Archbishop Auza in his talk, which drew from “Laudato Si’,” Pope Francis’ encyclical on the environment. 

The Holy Father invites everyone to urgently seek effective solutions, the archbishop said.

A “right of the environment” does exist because human beings are part of the environment and because every living creature has an intrinsic value, in its existence, its beauty and its interdependence with other creatures, the archbishop said.

“When we speak of integral ecology, we speak of the environment – we are a part of nature,” Archbishop Auza said. “We cannot regard ourselves as something separate from ourselves or as something separate from the environment. Any harm done to the environment, therefore, is harm done to humanity.” 

“We should all be in daily dialogue finding solutions – we have a problem, but all is not lost,” the archbishop said. “Although it may look impossible, humanity has to work; if so, we can right what is wrong.”