At a symposium in Belém, Brazil—the site of COP30, the 2025 United Nations Climate Change Conference—leading prelates from Africa and Latin America expressed their anguish.
“I come from Africa, and Africa is known for being the continent that pollutes the least but suffers the most from the consequences of climate change,” said Congolese Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu, president of the Symposium of the Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar. “We see the increase in deserts that continues to cause damage, the floods affecting many nations, the voracious exploitation of minerals. We are heading towards catastrophe.”
“Instead of an economy focused on profit and the interests of small groups, we must put the human person, life, at the center,” he added.
“We must put the care of life at the center of our decisions,” added Cardinal Jaime Spengler, of Porto Alegre, Brazil, president of CELAM (the Episcopal Conference of Latin America). “We cannot compromise with what is called the culture of death. We are all called to be seeds of hope, for a new future.”