The blessing of meltwater from an ice floe in Greenland may seem strange. But that’s exactly what happened on October 1, in Castel Gandolfo, in the Vatican, when Pope Leo XIV blessed a portion of the liquid that symbolizes the melting of glaciers caused by a warming planet.
Water traveled to Belém, in Pará, arriving at the United Nations Climate Change Conference on Wednesday (12), as part of the Catholic Church’s agenda at the United Nations Climate Change Conference.
The pilgrimage, called “From Greenland to the Amazon,” first passed through Brazilian shrines, including Aparecida do Norte (SP) and Christ the Redeemer (RJ), before arriving at the Basilica of Our Lady of Nazareth in Belém.
The idea to bless a block of ice cut from a retreating ice sheet in Greenland came from artist Olafur Eliasson and geologist Minnik Rosing. The polar waters were brought to the Vatican by organizers of the Laudato Si movement, an organization of Catholic climate activists.
The movement’s name is a reference to the encyclical “Laudato Si” issued ten years earlier. The environmental charter, written by Pope Francis, had a lot of repercussions during COP21, the climate conference held in France in 2015.
The Paris Agreement, signed ten years ago, is precisely what negotiators are trying to salvage at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP30), because signatory countries have failed to meet their proposed national targets. In this journey, the Belém Summit established a global moral balance, providing formal interfaith spaces at the climate conference.
The Catholic Church has a strong presence at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30), officially represented by the Holy See’s Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin. The episcopal delegation includes 10 members from the Holy See, in addition to 8 cardinals, 47 bishops and 97 people associated with various church bodies.
The presidency of the CNBB includes Cardinal Jaime Spengler (President), Dom João Justino (First Vice-President), Dom Paulo Jackson (Second Vice-President), and Dom Ricardo Hubers (Secretary General). COP30 was coordinated by the CNBB, the Amazonian Ecclesiastical Network (Repam), the Brazilian Congress of Religions (CRB), Cáritas Brasileira, and the Laudato Si Movement.
One of the most prominent activities of the clergy was the symposium “On Pathways to Integrated Environment for Climate Justice and Environmental Transformation,” held on Wednesday.
At a table mediated by Dom Vicente de Paula Ferreira, Secretary of the Special Commission for Integrated Environment and Mining of the CNBB, there was the participation of Environment Minister Marina Silva, Scientist Emma Vieira (Goldi Museum / MCTI) and Cardinal Leonardo Steiner, Archbishop of Manaus, accompanied by cardinals from all continents.
Specialist on the impacts of mining in Brazil, highlights Dom Vicente Ferreira, in an interview with BoundThe Church opposes oil exploration in the Foz do Amazonas basin. In October, Petrobras received a license to explore for oil off the coast of Amapa, part of the so-called tropical ridge.
He states that for the COP that wants to “implement”, the environmental license granted by Ibama (Brazilian Institute of Environment and Natural Resources) weeks ago represents a contradiction. Dom Vicente believes that the guarantees offered by Obama constitute a “false solution.”
“We will ask the Brazilian government to take a firm stance in defense of our forests, waters and biodiversity,” he said, commenting on President Lula’s proposal to use resources from oil exploration for the energy transition, part of his speech at the opening of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30).
His message to the Brazilian president is “not to give in to the pressure of large multinational companies.” He adds: “And change your vision of development, taking into account the rights of nature.”
Dom Vicente Ferreira also highlights the proposal for external debt relief for developing countries, a campaign undertaken by the Jesuits at the COP 30. The idea is that debt cancellation is linked to more ambitious relief targets for these countries.
The CNBB Secretary for Integrated Environment and Mining assesses that “what the countries of the North are doing to countries of the Global South is colonialism.” “Debt is unfair,” he says.
The cleric believes that “our wealth is the cause of our poverty,” criticizing investments that go largely into mining and agricultural businesses. In turn, incentives for agroecology, the agricultural model advocated by environmentalists, must be expanded.
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