Pope Francis Calls on COP28 to Deliver
Pope Francis wrote in his recent apostolic exhortation Laudate Deum about his concerns for the climate and hopes for action at the UN Climate Change Conference COP28 in Dubai in December.
In our often divided world, one place where all of humankind is invited to come together to work for the common good is the United Nations. Despite its limitations, the UN system is our most effective tool for uniting with others in order to create and implement policies that secure a life of dignity for all of God’s children.
Article 71 of the Charter of the United Nations reads: “The Economic and Social Council [ECOSOC] may make suitable arrangements for consultation with non-governmental organizations which are concerned with matters within its competence.”
Based on this article, two of the Maryknoll branches (the Maryknoll Sisters and the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers) have Consultative Status with ECOSOC, and the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns carries out the work of implementing this status. Our work with the UN aims to influence its agenda and is done by:
Maryknoll missioners serve as NGO representatives to the United Nations in New York where they bring the Maryknoll mission experience to important conversations with policymakers and civil society members from around the world.
The UN member states adopted the 17 Sustainable Development Goals in 2015, as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development which set out a 15-year plan to achieve the goals. The SDGs focus global efforts on lifting people out of extreme poverty, while also addressing the challenges of ensuring more equitable development and environmental sustainability, especially the key goal of curbing the dangers of human-induced climate change. Today, progress is being made in many places, but, overall, action to meet the goals is not yet advancing at the speed or scale required. At the core of the 2020-2030 decade is the need for action to tackle growing poverty, empower women and girls, and address the climate emergency.
Maryknoll representatives to the UN work to promote peace, social justice and the integrity of creation by organizing their UN participation around the following topics:
Pope Francis wrote in his recent apostolic exhortation Laudate Deum about his concerns for the climate and hopes for action at the UN Climate Change Conference COP28 in Dubai in December.
In advance of the 2023 UN Conference on climate change
Click here to sign the faith letter to world leaders asking for a robust Loss and Damage Fund. One great injustice of the climate crisis is the fact that poor…
Key points from the follow-up to Laudato Si’
Today, on the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, Pope Francis released Laudate Deum (Latin for “Praise God”), an eagerly anticipated follow-up to his 2015 encyclical Laudato Si’.
Key points from the follow-up to Laudato Si’
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The following is an excerpt from a manifesto endorsed and signed by 74 Indigenous peoples and organizations represented at the March 2023 UN Water Conference.
Send a message to President Biden to support funding for the new UN Climate Loss and Damage Fund
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Statement for the Record U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary Hearing on “Living Up to America’s Promise: The Need to Bolster the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program” March 22, 2023
Members of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR) a coalition of over 300 global faith-based and values-based institutions have filed two shareholder proposals at six of the nation’s top banks calling on them to reduce their financing of fossil fuels.
People of faith, particularly in countries with nuclear weapons, can call on their leaders to pursue a robust program of negotiations and disarmament.