Saturday 5 September 2015

Pope Francis on Environmental Refugees

The following is an excerpt from paragraph #25 of the recent encyclical letter, Laudato Si, of Pope Francis (emphasis mine):

...changes in climate, to which animals and plants cannot adapt, lead them to migrate; this in turn affects the livelihood of the poor, who are then forced to leave their homes, with great uncertainty for their future and that of their children. There has been a tragic rise in the number of migrants seeking to flee from the growing poverty caused by environmental degradation. They are not recognized by international conventions as refugees; they bear the loss of the lives they have left behind, without enjoying any legal protection whatsoever. Sadly, there is widespread indifference to such suffering, which is even now taking place throughout our world. Our lack of response to these tragedies involving our brothers and sisters points to the loss of that sense of responsibility for our fellow men and women upon which all civil society is founded.

Dadaab Refugee Camp

This is food for thought when choosing the next government and prime minister of Canada this coming October.
Picture credit: The Telegraph