News Items

The Forum regularly posts news articles of interest here from a variety of sources and news outlets. You can check back here or view the most recent ones from the homepage. We also archive these articles here, for those doing research, with news going back to 2006. Use the menu on the right to explore the archived articles.

News

In Bolivia, Pope Francis Apologizes for Church's 'Grave Sins'

July 9, 2015
By Jim Yardley and William Neuman
New York Times

SANTA CRUZ, Bolivia — Pope Francis offered a direct apology on Thursday for the complicity of the Roman Catholic Church in the oppression of Latin America during the colonial era, even as he called...

Encyclical Climate Action Kit

July 7, 2015
Catholic Climate Covenant and Interfaith Power & Light

Putting the encyclical into action can be simple. Catholic Climate Covenant and Interfaith Power & Light have teamed up to bring you Pope Francis’ encyclical Climate Action Kit.  You’ll receive a step-by-step guide to understand and apply the encyclical, shrink your carbon footprint, and advocate for policy...

Pope Francis, in Ecuador, Calls for More Protection of Rain Forest and Its People

July 7, 2015
By Jim Yardley
New York Times

QUITO, Ecuador — Pope Francis on Tuesday called for increased protection of the Amazon rain forest and the indigenous people who live there, declaring that Ecuador must resist exploiting natural riches for “short-term benefits,” an implicit rebuke of the policies of President Rafael Correa.

A Revolutionary Pope Calls for Rethinking the Outdated Criteria That Rule the World

Pope Francis’ revolutionary encyclical addresses not just climate change but the banking crisis

By Ellen Brown
Common Dreams
July 6, 2015

Episcopal Church Votes To Withdraw Investments In Fossil Fuels

July 6, 2015
By Emily Atkin
Think Progress

Leaders of the Episcopal Church voted to divest its holdings from fossil fuels on Friday, citing the fact that fossil fuel burning causes catastrophic climate change.

8 Ways Pope Francis Is Changing the Direction of the Catholic Church

July 6, 2015
New York Times

The first Jesuit pope and the first non-European pope in more than 1,200 years, Francis has differed significantly from his predecessors with his outspoken style and his approach to leading the church. His comments on poverty, church reform, climate change and divorce have made headlines around the world. Here is a look at some of them.

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Laudato Si' - A story of right relationships

July 7, 2015
By Patricia Siemen
Global Sisters Report – Capital E: Earth

“It’s all a question of story,” wrote Thomas Berry. “We are in trouble now because we do not have a good story .… and the old story, the account of how we fit into it, is no longer effective. We have not yet learned the new story.”

An Eastern Orthodox Perspective on Laudato Si

A Personal Response, An Ecumenical Reflection

By John Chryssavgis
First Things
July 6, 2015

Papal encyclical calls for renewed cooperation of science and ethics

July 6, 2015
By Mary Evelyn Tucker
Ecological Society of America

Shifting the Climate Debate Onto Sacred Ground

July 2, 2015
By Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee, Sufi teacher and author
Huffington Post

“The ecological crisis is essentially a spiritual problem.” These words spoken by an Eastern Orthodox theologian, Metropolitan John Zizioulas, at the Vatican news conference on the papal encyclical are profoundly important. The release of the encyclical was soon followed by a new study that...

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