Comparte, a network of the Jesuit Conference of the Provincials, promotes organic farming in 11 countries and members share resources and techniques to implement alternative and supportive socio-economic models in their respective countries. Photo of farmer in Guatemala: Comparte
On International Mother Earth Day, April 22, Canadian Jesuits International underscores the urgency of caring for our common home. CJI also reaffirms its solidarity with vulnerable and marginalized people, youth and Indigenous Peoples who are bearing the brunt of human-induced climate change. They are on the frontlines calling for action to address what UN experts have referred to as the “greatest threat” the world has ever faced.
Saying that the world is “reaching a breaking point,” Pope Francis has urged all nations to work together to address climate change, even as he urged rich countries to reduce their own carbon emissions and assist poor areas of the world in protecting biodiversity.
Pope Francis has noted how “the poor feel even more gravely the impact of the drought, flooding, hurricanes and heat waves that are becoming more intense and frequent.” Indigenous Peoples’ ancestral lands “are being invaded and devastated on all sides, provoking a cry that rises up to heaven.” Extractive industries must “stop destroying forests, wetlands and mountains, stop polluting rivers and seas, stop poisoning people and food, he added.
“It is necessary for all of us to act decisively,” said the Pope, as he urged everyone to hear both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor.
CJI and its partners in the Global South are doing their part. In Latin America, Comparte – a network of Jesuit Social Centres — which promotes alternative economic activities that counter prevailing models of economic development, which which have devastating social and ecological effects on local communities.
In Zambia, CJI supports the Kasisi Agricultural Training Centre (KATC), a farmer training institute of the Jesuits in Zambia that promotes organic, sustainable agriculture.
