faithfulness to the See of Peter", Francis writes.
 "I thank the Lord for having given His Church this eminent priestly and
episcopal figure, and raise fervent prayers to God that He might welcome in His
eternal joy, after so much suffering, this good and faithful servant". The Pope
concludes by offering his apostolic blessing to the archbishop, the Slovakian
episcopate, the presbytery, religious communities and all the faithful of the
diocese of Nitra, whom the cardinal loved and served, as a sign of Christian
faith and hope in the Resurrected Lord.

___________________________________________________________

 Cardinals, patriarchs and bishops from all over the world launch an appeal to
the negotiators of COP 21
 Vatican City, 26 October 2015 (VIS) - This morning in the Holy See Press
Office
a press conference was held to present the Appeal by by Cardinals, Patriarchs
and Bishops from across the globe representing the continental groupings of
national episcopal conferences, to the negotiators of the COP 21 in Paris
(Conference of Parties), to be held from 30 November to 11 December this year.
The initiative was promoted by the Pontifical Council "Justice and Peace",
inspired by the Holy Father's Encyclical "Laudato si'".
 The speakers were Cardinal Oswald Gracias, archbishop of Bombay, India,
president of the FABC (Asia); Cardinal Ruben Salazar Gomez, archbishop of
Bogota, Colombia, president of the CELAM (Latin America), Archbishop John Ribat
of Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, president of the Federation of Episcopal
Conferences of Oceania (FCBCO) and Bishop Jean Kockerols of Mechelen-Brussels,
first vice-president of the Commission of the Episcopates of the European
Community (COMECE) and, as special envoy, Professor Jean-Pascal van Ypersele de
Strihou of the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium, former vice-president of
the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
 Before the beginning of the Conference, the Appeal was signed by various
representatives of the episcopate from around the world, in the presence of
Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson, president of the Pontifical Council
"Justice and Peace", and His Beatitude Cardinal Bechara Boutros Rai, O.M.M.,
Patriarch of Antioch (Maronites) and president of CCPO (the Council of Catholic
Patriarchs of the East), Archbishop Gabriel Mbilingi, C.S.Sp., of Lubango,
Angola, president of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and
Madagascar (SECAM), Archbishop Richard William Smith of Edmonton, Canada,
former
president of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of Canada, Msgr. Duarte Nuno
Queiroz de Barros de Cunha, general secretary of the Council of Episcopal
Conferences of Europe and Msgr. Ronny E. Jenkins, general secretary of the
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), and Bernd Nilles, general
secretary of CIDSE (International Alliance of Catholic Development Agencies).
 The appeal is issued by Cardinals, Patriarchs and Bishops from across the
globe
representing the continental groupings of national episcopal conferences and it
is addressed to those negotiating the COP 21 in Paris, calling on them to work
toward the approval of a fair, legally binding and truly transformational
climate agreement.
 "Representing the Catholic Church from the five continents, we Cardinals,
Patriarchs and Bishops have come together to express, on our own behalf and on
behalf of the people for whom we care, the widely-held hope that a just and
legally binding climate agreement will emerge from the negotiations of the COP
21 in Paris. We advance a ten-point policy proposal, drawing on the concrete
experience of people across the continents, and linking climate change to
social
injustice and the social exclusion of the poorest and most vulnerable of our
citizens.
 Climate Change: challenges and opportunities
 In his encyclical letter, Laudato si', addressed ‘to every person living on
this planet', Pope Francis claims that ‘climate change represents one of the
principal challenges facing humanity today'. The climate is a common good,
belonging to all and meant for all. The natural environment is a collective
good, the patrimony of all humanity and the responsibility of everyone.
 Whether believers or not, we are agreed today that the earth is essentially a
shared inheritance, whose fruits are meant to benefit everyone. For believers,
this becomes a question of fidelity to the Creator, since God created the world
for everyone. Hence every ecological approach needs to incorporate a social
perspective which takes into account the fundamental rights of the poor and the
underprivileged.
 Damage to climate and environment has enormous repercussions. The problem
arising from the dramatic acceleration of climatic change is global in its
effects. It challenges us to re- define our notions of growth and progress. It
poses a lifestyle question. It is imperative that we find a solution that is
consensual, because of the scale and global nature of the climate's impact, it
invites a solidarity that is universal, a solidarity that is ‘in
ergenerational'
and ‘intragenerational'.
 The Pope defines our world as ‘our common home' and, in the exercise of our
stewardship, we must keep in mind the human and social degradation which is a
consequence of a damaged environment. We call for an integral ecological
approach, we call for social justice to be placed centre stage ‘so as to hear
both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor'.
 Sustainable development must include the poor
 While deploring the dramatic impact of rapid climate change on sea levels,
extreme weather events, deteriorating ecosystems and the loss of biodiversity,
the Church is also witness to how climate change is affecting vulnerable
communities and peoples, greatly to their disadvantage. Pope Francis draws our
attention to the irreparable impact of unrestrained climate change in many
developing countries across the world. Moreover, in his address to the United
Nations the Pope said the misuse and destruction of the environment are also
accompanied by a relentless process of exclusion.
 Courageous leaders seeking enforceable agreements
 The building and maintenance of a sustainable common home requires courageous
and imaginative political leadership. Legal frameworks are required which
clearly establish boundaries and ensure the protection of the ecosystem.
 Reliable scientific evidence suggests that accelerated climate change is the
result of unrestrained human activity, working to a particular model of
progress
and development, and that excessive reliance on fossil fuels is primarily
responsible. The Pope and Catholic Bishops from five continents, sensitive to
the damage caused, appeal for a drastic reduction in the emission of carbon
dioxide and other toxic gases.
 We join the Holy Father in pleading for a major break-through in Paris, for a
comprehensive and transformational agreement supported by all based on
principles of solidarity, justice and participation. This agreement must put
the
common good ahead of national interests. It is essential too that the
negotiations result in an enforceable agreement that protects our common home
and all its inhabitants.
 We, Cardinals, Patriarchs and Bishops, issue a general call and make ten
specific policy proposals. We call on COP 21 to forge an international
agreement
to limit a global temperature increase to within those parameters currently
suggested from within the global scientific community to avoid catastrophic
climatic impacts, especially on the poorest and most vulnerable communities.
There is, we agree, a common but also differentiated responsibility of all
nations. Different countries have reached a different stage on the development
spectrum. The need to work together in a common endeavour is imperative.
 Our ten calls:
 1. to keep in mind not only the technical but particularly the ethical and
moral dimensions of climate change as indicated in Article 3 of the United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
 2. to accept that climate and atmosphere are global common goods that are
belonging to all and meant for all.
 3. to adopt a fair, transformational and legally binding global agreement
based
on our vision of the world that recognises the need to live in harmony with
nature, and to guarantee the fulfilment of human rights for all, including
those
of Indigenous Peoples, women, youth and workers.
 4. to strongly limit a global temperature increase and to set a goal for
complete decarbonisation by mid-century, in order to protect front-line
communities suffering from the impacts of climate change, such as those in the
Pacific Islands and in coastal regions.
 - to ensure that the temperature threshold is enshrined in a legally binding
global agreement, with ambitious mitigation commitments and actions from all
countries recognising their common but differentiated responsibilities and
respective capabilities (CBDRRC), based on equity principles, historical
responsibilities, and the right to sustainable development.
 - to secure that the emissions reductions by governments are in line with the
decarbonisation goal, governments need to undertake periodic reviews of the
pledges they make and of the ambition they show. And to be successful these
reviews need also to be based on science and equity and shall be mandatory.
 5. to develop new models of development and lifestyles that are climate
compatible, address inequality and bring people out of poverty. Central to this
is to put an end to the fossil fuel era, phasing out fossil fuel emissions,
including emissions from military, aviation and shipping, and providing
affordable, reliable and safe renewable energy access for all.
 6. to ensure people's access to water and to land for climate resilient and
sustainable food systems, which give priority to people driven solutions rather
than profits.
 7. to ensure inclusion and participation of the poorest, most vulnerable and
impacted at all levels of the decision-making process.
 8. to ensure that the 2015 agreement delivers an adaptation approach that
adequately responds to the immediate needs of the most vulnerable communities
and builds on local alternatives.
 9. to recognise that adaptation needs are contingent on the success of
mitigation measures taken. Those responsible for climate change have
responsibilities to assist the most vulnerable in adapting and managing loss
and
damage and to share the necessary technology and knowhow.
 10. to provide clear roadmaps on how countries will meet the provision of
predictable, consistent, and additional finance commitments, ensuring a
balanced
financing of mitigation actions and adaptation needs.
 All this would call for serious ecological awareness and education.
 Prayer for the Earth
 God of love, teach us to care for this world our common home. Inspire
government leaders as they gather in Paris to listen to and heed the cry of the
earth and the cry of the poor; to be united in heart and mind in responding
courageously; to seek the common good and protect the beautiful earthly garden
you have created for us, for all our brothers and sisters, for all generations
to come. Amen".
 Bishop Signatories to this Declaration:
 Cardinal Oswald Gracias, archbishop of Bombay, India, president of FABC
(Asia);
Cardinal Peter Erdo, archbishop of of Esztergom -Budapest, president of CCEE
(Europe); Cardinal Reinhard Marx, archbishop of Munich, Germany, president of
COMECE (Europe); Cardinal Ruben Salazar Gomez, archbishop of Bogota, Colombia,
president of CELAM (Latin America); Archbishop Gabriel Mbilingi of Lubango,
Angola, president of SECAM (Africa); Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of Louisville,
president of USCCB (United States of America), Archbishop John Ribat of Port
Moresby, Papua New Guinea, president of FCBCO (Oceania), and Bishop David
Douglas Crosby, O.M.I., of Hamilton, Canada, president of CCCB-CECC (Canada).
 The document was written in collaboration with the Catholic networks CIDSE and
Caritas Internationalis, and with the sponsorship of the Pontifical Council
"Justice and Peace".

___________________________________________________________

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