'Act justly, Love tenderly, walk humbly with your God'
Micah 6.8
All posts by Stephen Cooke
Environment eBulletin – April 2025
Dear Friends,
I began this e-bulletin yesterday, and was wishing everyone a happy and blessed Easter, and prayers for the forthcoming week. Today, though, we have received the very sad news of the passing of our Pope, Francis. A true man of the people, living out the Gospel and themes of Catholic Social Teaching.
As we are coming up to the 10th Anniversary of Laudato Si’, and the fact that we are in the Jubilee Year of Hope, it seems all the more poignant that he will no longer be here to guide us. Not just us as Catholics, but the world as a whole, has lost a great shepherd.
We pray for his soul, and we also pray for the church that we may be led by someone with the humility of Pope Francis, who cares for those on the margins and listens to the cry of the Earth.
We want to share with you some upcoming actions and events themed around the Environment, especially as we are coming up to the 10th Anniversary of Laudato Si’.
The poster above is our own in-person Networking Day at CAFOD,
Romero House, 55 Westminster Bridge Road, London SE1 7JB, which takes place on Saturday 10th May, from 10.15am until 4pm.
The NJPN Environment Group have organised this, and they have a
great day planned – including experience of being in a Live Simply
parish; Tackling Debt and the Climate Crisis in the Jubilee Year;
Greening Church Investments: fossil fuel divestment and investment in climate solutions; and Honouring our Covenants for Care of Creation.
There will also be a couple of special guests, Bishop Gerardo Alimane Alminaza of San Carlos in the Philippines (who has played a key role in the implementation of Laudato Si’ in the Philippines) and Avril De Torres (Deputy Executive Director of CEED Philippines).
We are asking that you register to attend this Networking Day by
emailing me on admin@justice-and-peace.org.uk as we are limited to a certain number. Also, refreshments will be provided, but you will need to bring your own packed lunch.
NJPN has heard the news of the death of Pope Francis with great sadness. To the end, he showed his great wish to be close to his brothers and sisters around the world at this blessed season of Easter and now he passes to his eternal reward.
Over time as we reflect on his years as a devoted shepherd there will be much to say but for the moment, we remember his call for dialogue, his deep love and respect for all people and for our common home. His constant message that we work for peace and justice will stay with us and provide a clear vision for all who seek a better world.
Opening Doors to a Sustainable World for Future Generations
‘Opening Doors to a Sustainable World for Future Generations’
Saturday 10 May CAFOD, Romero House, 55 Westminster Bridge Road, London SE1 7JB, 10.15am until 4pm.
You are all warmly invited to the third in our series of events for this Jubilee Year of Hope
The day will be facilitated by the NJPN Environment Group and will include experience of being in a Live Simply parish; Tackling Debt and the Climate Crisis in the Jubilee Year; Greening Church Investments: fossil fuel divestment and investment in climate solutions; and Honouring our Covenants for Care of Creation.
There will also be a couple of special guests, Bishop Gerardo Alimane Alminaza of San Carlos in the Philippines (who has played a key role in the implementation of Laudato Si’ in the Philippines) and Avril De Torres (Deputy Executive Director of CEED Philippines).
We are asking that you register to attend this Networking Day by emailing Sharon at admin@justice-and-peace.org.uk as we are limited to a certain number.
Tea and coffee will be provided, please bring your own lunch.
Our 47th Annual Conference takes place 25th-27th July 2025,
Below is the current two page flyer for the conference with more infortamtion on the event including the keynote speakers Dr Rowan Williams and Dr Joanna Frew,
Where we bank matters. In this Jubilee Year, Laudato Si’ Movement, JustMoney Movement, Operation Noah and Just Love are inviting Christians across the UK to switch from banks funding fossil fuels to a greener, more ethical bank.
Fossil fuel expansion is the driving cause of the climate crisis. Since the Paris Agreement, the five largest high street banks in the UK – Barclays, HSBC, Santander, NatWest and Lloyds – have provided $556 billion to the fossil fuel industry.
By switching to ethical banks, we send a powerful message to financial institutions: it’s time to stop funding the destruction of our planet.
Join the Big Bank Switch today!
You can take a powerful step for a fossil free future by making a pledge to switch to an ethical bank. Visit the Big Bank Switch website to find out more and sign up: https://justmoney.org.uk/the-big-bank-switch/
The Big Bank Switch The UK’s big banks are financing companies that are fuelling the climate crisis and harming nature. Switch to a greener bank with the Big Bank Switch and you’ll join a growing movement of Christians taking action with their finances to care for God’s creation. Make your Big Bank Switch Pledge! Explore […]
justmoney.org.uk
If you have already switched to an ethical bank, you can still make a difference! Please log your switch on the Big Bank Switch pledge form retrospectively to ensure you are counted as part of our collective call for change!
Bishop Paul at Dover memorial to refugees drowned in Channel. Photo: Mazur/CBCEW.org.uk
The National Justice and Peace Network (NJPN) has joined Bishop Paul McAleenan, the lead bishop for migrants and refugees in England and Wales, and the Jesuit Refugee Service UK in calling for “a fair and humane asylum system” in the UK.
Speaking on Monday evening at an NJPN meeting, Bishop McAleenan said he hoped Labour government would have had a different attitude to refugees than the former government, but lamented that, “Labour has done nothing to address our demand for safe routes.” Speaking from his experience of visiting refugees sleeping rough in Calais while trying to travel to England, and others detained at the much-criticised Napier Barracks asylum accommodation in Kent, he called for more distinction between victims and the smuggling gangs who exploit them.
He recommended Justice and Peace activists to challenge the proposed Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill, which, according to the Jesuit Refugee Service, “misses a vital opportunity to create a fair and humane asylum system.” The UK Parliament’s Joint Committee on Human Rights is currently conducting legislative scrutiny of the Bill to assess its compatibility with international and domestic human rights standards. Evidence can be submitted up to 11 April. Bishop McAleenan said the new Bill “even talks about confiscating devices, such as mobile phones, which will deny refugees access to family, friends and solicitors.” He urged NJPN to continue supporting refugees and advocate on their behalf, and to be aware of misinformation and rhetoric which criminalises people seeking asylum.
The National Justice and Peace Network (NJPN) hosted its second event to mark Jubilee Year 2025 on 7 April. The online meeting, entitled ‘Opening Doors to Refugees and Asylum Seekers,’ attracted more than 100 participants from around England and Wales… and further afield. Sr Imelda Poole of Renate, which tackles human trafficking and modern slavery, joined from Albania. The NJPN Chair Anne Peacey welcomed participants and gave the context of the NJPN Jubilee Year programme. Brian O’Toole, of the Presentation Sisters Interprovincial Justice Desk, led working through the agenda.
During the meeting, Sophie Cartwright and Victoria Firth of Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS UK) called for “a person-centred asylum system,” one which sees refugees “as human beings with a story.” Action points mentioned were the Monthly Prayer Vigil for Migrants at the Home Office in London, volunteering and offering friendship to JRS friends, offering to host refugees as an individual or a parish. Fundraising is important and Education, particularly finding out why people leave their countries or are internally displaced. Championing the refugee voice is very important, they said. Earlier this week, more than 100 refugee charities – among them the Jesuit Refugee Service – signed an open letter to the Prime Minister calling for an end to “hostile politics, racist rhetoric and demonising language.”
Azah Hasan, Coordinator of the Justice and Peace Refugee Project in Newcastle, and Liz Archibald of NJPN told moving stories of refugee friends who suffered terrible hardships trying to seek asylum in Britain. One man had slept in bushes in Calais for two months, a woman from an African country spent seven years “in limbo” in Britain. All spoke of the importance of kindness and help from Church groups. Every month, Justice and Peace people in Newcastle hold a monthly interfaith vigil at the gates of a new detention centre near Newcastle.
The next NJPN Jubilee event: ‘Opening Doors to a Sustainable World for Future Generations’ on Saturday 10 May. This will be an in-person event and places are limited.
Invitation to sign up for the NJPN National Annual conference in Swanwick – ‘Opening Doors to a Just Peace’ 25 – 27 July
I’m reaching out to you following a police raid on a Quaker place of worship last week. As you may have seen (it made national news) – 20 uniformed police, some equipped with tasers, forced their way into Westminster Meeting House and arrested 6 young women who were taking part in a Youth Demand meeting (the youth wing of Just Stop Oil) that was taking place in the building. The meeting was an opportunity for those assembled to share concerns about the climate crisis and the situation in the Middle East. You can read the (short) news story on our website here: https://www.quaker.org.uk/news-and-events/news/quakers-condemn-police-raid-on-westminster-meeting-house
The raid was not during worship, nor aimed at Quakers, but it was still at a place used for worship, traditionally a place of sanctuary.
Quakers have been campaigning to protect the right to protest, as well as campaigning for climate justice and an end to Israel’s occupation of Palestine for a number of years. This aggressive violation of our place of worship and the forceful removal of young people holding a protest group meeting clearly shows what happens when a society criminalises protest. Freedom of speech, assembly, and fair trials are an essential part of free public debate which underpins democracy.
We are now in the process of organising and helping to co-ordinate various actions that are being planned by British Quakers in response to this raid. We believe this goes beyond the Quaker community—it’s a challenge to the safety of all places of worship. It’s important and encouraging that we come together in response. We also hold in the Light communities who regularly experience the sharp end of the criminal justice system.
In the short-term, we’d like to extend a warm invite for you, and anyone in your networks, to join us at a Quaker Meeting for Worship (based on silence) outside New Scotland Yard on Thursday 3 April from 12-1pm. This meeting is being organised by a Quaker grassroots group – Quaker Support for Climate Action – and will have a member of the House of Lords, Jenny Jones, attending. We hope to have a real breadth of people of all faiths and none at the meeting and your support joining and sharing the meeting would be very welcome. You can find out more details and register here: Quaker Meeting for Worship at New Scotland Yard
For the longer-term, we have developed template email that people can use and adapt to contact their local MP:
quaker.org.uk/documents/westminster-meeting-house-raid-email-your-mp-template. Please share it with anyone who you think would be interested in taking action to defend our right to protest, and to protect places where people worship. In addition, if you know of any police raids on places where groups worship, please could you tell me? We are trying to build a picture.
Thank you for spreading the word, much appreciated. We have had expressions of solidarity from Muslims & from Jews as well as from Christians.
All good wishes and with thanks for all that you do,
Judith
Judith Baker
Ecumenical & Interfaith Officer and Conciliation & Peacebuilding Coordinator
A bumper bulletin for April leads with an analysis of ‘The common good in a time of global crisis’ by Professor Ian Linden who writes: “Prayers for a seriously ill Pope seem to have been answered. But will we hear his voice again, speaking from the heart, truth to power, at this critical time? It is so badly needed. For his words have often broken through the political gaslighting to illuminate truths that give hope, and could do so again. It says something when a Guardian editorial (17 March) describes Francis’ pontificate as making the Catholic Church “one of the west’s most combative defenders of the liberal democratic values”.
We have transcripts of two talks commemorating St Oscar Romero who was assassinated on 24 March 1980, one from Dr Gemma Simmonds CJ celebrating him as ‘a true pilgrim of hope’ and another from Cardinal Michael Fitzgerald who makes the link between Ramadan and our Lenten fast, the dates of which coincide this year, as he focuses on the theme of hope.
Regular contributor Jon Kuhrt asks: ‘Who are the positive male role models for teenage boys and young men?’ drawing on Sir Gareth Southgate’s recent BBC Dimbleby lecture (available on BBC iplayer) and the highly acclaimed Netflix drama Adolescence which can still be viewed on catch-up.
There is a comprehensive account by Chester World Development Forum member Ann McCarthy on a talk given by Dr Rebecca Collins, Senior Lecturer in Human Geography, University of Chester, – on ‘Current Trends and Challenges in the Global Fashion Industry’. I’ve linked this to a report I compiled on ‘Ethical shopping and the fast-growing rise of China’s online brands’ which featured in the August 2024 issue of the NW NJPN E Bulletin. I sent this my new MP in October last year and received his response earlier this month – included in the bulletin.
UK faith leaders have sent an open letter to the co-chairs of the Ministerial Child Poverty Taskforce, Bridget Philipson, Secretary of State for Education, and Liz Kendall, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with an urgent call for the government to go further and be ‘bold and ambitious’ in its forthcoming Child Poverty Strategy.
Formed 8 years ago, the Balfour Project which focuses on advocacy for the Palestinian people has changed its name to the ‘Britain Palestine Project’ – details on p.13.
We have exciting schools’ news: after a long campaign the government has announced the launch of a new GCSE in Natural History and North West-based Loreto Grammar has enjoyed success in the Columban Schools’ Competition for the second year running (see p.14).
Wishing you all the blessings of the Easter season.
We have a number of resources for Lent this year produced by Anne O’Connor who regularly produces a wonderful series of resources each Lent and Advent,
The resources are as follows:
A Journey from Lent to Easter 2025: “On Ash Wednesday the prophet Joel invites us to turn to God, ‘for he is all tenderness and compassion.’ For a few minutes each day we can set aside time to sit quietly and listen to God, as we ‘journey into love.’” Daily readings from the office of the day with short reflections as an aid to prayer.
Prayers around the Cross on Good Friday evening: for the past three years in my parish a group of us have gathered around the Cross to watch and wait together for an hour. This intimate service contains readings, reflections and recommended music to download. GOOD FRIDAY EVENING 2025 (2)
