Bishop praises schools for inspiring response to Hear the Cry Campaign

Wednesday 30th November 2022

Bishop John has praised schools across the diocese for taking part in a powerful campaign that calls us all to take action to care for our common home.

As we head deeper into Advent, Bishop John is encouraging us to reflect more on how we can all play our part in building a future of regeneration and healing; a call that diocesan schools have responded to with real enthusiasm.

Just last month, schools joined our very own Laudato Si’ Centre to take part in the #hearthecry campaign – a creative, digital campaign that highlighted their hopes and fears for the future of our planet.

The campaign brought together schools and community groups across the diocese in creating posters to share on social media with the hashtag #hearthecry to send an important message to world leaders at COP27.

Watch the video below to see just some of the schools that took part in the campaign:

Bishop John has applauded the work of our schools and highlighted the importance of listening to the voices of our young people and their concerns for the future of our planet.

He said: “Thank you very much for all of you who took part in Hear the Cry, when we were considering what might have happened at COP27.

“The meeting was a little bit of a disappointment, as you know, but it’s the voice of young people, which is so important. And it is being heard.

“And it’s so important that we continue with all our initiatives to bring the politicians and industry to understand what we can do and what we must do to achieve that repairing of climate damage and looking after our common home.”

In addition to congratulating schools across the diocese for their efforts, Bishop John is also keen to encourage each one of us to play our part in repairing the climate damage.

In his Pastoral Letter for the First Sunday of Advent, he invites us all to return to the centuries’-old tradition of abstaining from meat on Fridays, following an eye-opening new study.

The study – from the University of Cambridge – revealed that 25% of Catholics in England and Wales currently observe the traditional Friday meat abstinence – the impact of which has been calculated to save 55,000 tonnes of carbon emissions each year. This amount is equal to 82,000 people taking a return flight from London to New York.

Bishop John says: “What if all Catholics were to observe a meat-free Friday? What if Catholics around the world were to adopt this simple, and not demanding, practice? The impact on our environment would be considerable.

“We are all asked to make changes like this to assist in healing the damage being done to the environment. We cannot leave changes to politicians and industry. As Pope Francis says, “each and every one of us has a part to play”.

“Maybe abstaining from meat on Fridays is an important way we can put our faith into practical action?”

Tagged | Around the Diocese | Bishop John | Catholic Church | Diocese | Education | Environment | Laudato Si' Centre