Catholics in Africa celebrate Congo Basin as Earth’s second lung
By Frederick Nzwili, Catholic News Service
EarthBeat
September 23, 2021
NAIROBI, KENYA — As they marked the Season of Creation, Catholics in Africa celebrated the Congo Basin as the second “lung” of the Earth and called for its protection to fight climate change.
The celebrations in an online conference focused on the work of the Ecclesial Network for the Congo River Basin (REBAC), a Catholic network that includes Cameroon, Congo, Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and Central African Republic.
“The Congo Basin — a major geographic region rich biodiversity — is very important not only for Africa, but the entire world,” Prince Papa, coordinator of the Laudato Si' Movement in Africa, told Catholic News Service. “We must ensure that it is protected because many creatures and creation depend on it.”