Regional Interfaith Dialogue, Connecting and Cooperating for Peace and Harmony In the Asia-Pacific region
Organized as part of World Water Week in Stockholm, Sweden, the World Council of Churches (WCC) invited faith-based organizations, congregations and individuals to their 30 August public event entitled “Water and Faith: Building partnerships to achieve the SDGs”. The event, an open session, was organized by the WCC in collaboration with Church of Sweden, Global Water Partnership, Stockholm International Water Institute, and Swedish Institute Alexandria.
Pope Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople have made a joint appeal on the occasion of the Day of Prayer for the Protection of Creation observed in September 1, 2017. Their appeal is to have the courage to embrace “greater simplicity and solidarity in our lives” to overcome the generalized “moral decay” of humanity, which deteriorates Creation by manipulation, domination, greed and control.
Following the 2nd Anniversary of his historic environmental encyclical, Pope Francis endorsed the Laudato Si’ Pledge campaign, which was also supported by many other Church leaders. Through the Pledge, the Global Catholic Climate Movement aims to mobilize at least 1 million Catholics to become directly engaged in turning Laudato Si into action to care for the planet.
Religious and indigenous leaders appealed on Monday for better protection of tropical forests from the Amazon to the Congo basin, with a Vatican bishop likening current losses to a collective suicide by humanity. The Interfaith Rainforest Initiative was launched in Oslo on 19 June 2017, followed by a two-day roundtable to develop the initiative’s concrete goals, action plans and milestones. This process is expected to lead to a global interfaith rainforest summit to be convened in Brazil in the second half of 2018.
Norway will host an Unprecedented Meeting of World Faith Leaders to engage Global Deforestation on Monday, June 19, at the Nobel Peace Center, Oslo, Norway. Norway will host leaders from world’s spiritual and religious traditions, engaging faith communities to protect rainforests. Leaders from Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Pagan, Daois and, Jewish leaders will join with both indigenous forest guardians and leaders from International Interfaith Organisations to express moral commitment, explore faith-based mobilization to end deforestation.
People of all faiths are unifying globally to deliver faith-based action on climate change
Religious believers are strongly committed to act to address the challenge of climate change. This commitment to act–shared across religions–is based upon a deep understanding of its scientific and–above all–moral and religious dimensions. As a result, many religious communities strongly supported the Paris Agreement that deals with greenhouse gas emissions mitigation, adaptation, and finance, signed in December 2015 by 195 countries.
The Interfaith Sustainable Food Collaborative (ISFC) is a nonprofit organization working in California’s Sonoma and Marin Counties.
It affects the whole of humanity, in particular the poorest and future generations, which represent the most vulnerable component of the worrying impact of climate change and calls for the grave ethical and moral responsibility to act without delay in the way that is most free from political and economic pressures, surmounting particularistic interests and behavior.’
Last December, representatives of 196 nations did something they’d never before been able to accomplish before. Gathered in Paris, they reached an international agreement on climate change. Together our faith communities were at the heart of making this happen. But there is still more to do. Sacred Earth is a worldwide spiritual event taking place on Jun 12, 2016. This event spans many faith traditions.