The four Catholic bishops of Massachusetts co-signed a letter calling for immediate and wide-ranging action against climate change.
The leaders are urging parishioners, businesses, and schools to take what they call "meaningful steps to protect the environment” and “take better care of our common home” by curbing the impact of toxic pollution and climate change.
Fall River bishop Edgar da Cunha says he signed the letter because the Church has an opportunity to reach people, and the stakes are too high not to try.
“If we don’t leave a safe environment for the next generation we have committed a moral sin,” he said. “It’s something that I’m convinced the Church is going to continue speaking about.”
The letter explicitly lays out increasing dangers of climate change, including its potential to reduce the global food supply, increase global temperatures, and contribute to deadly hurricanes, heat waves, and wild fires.
"[This] environmental crisis keeps growing,” da Cunha said.
Pope Francis recently called for “changes to lifestyle, production and consumption” to, at least, combat the human impacts on climate change.
The lettercomes just days before more than 800 climate action protests will break out around the country.
“The more we convince people that we're in a crisis, the more people will get on board and do their part.”