Fridays for Future

"Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times, if one remembers to turn on the light" - Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

When you start delving into the realities of the climate crisis it is a bit of a rabbit hole. I finally found a name for the frustration and anguish I have been feeling since I returned from my Climate Pilgrimage - climate anxiety (thanks to Lorna Gold's book - Climate Generation for naming it). So when you are suffering from climate anxiety you may experience the following symptoms:

• You see smog everywhere - literally everywhere.
• You walk around wondering where all the trees have gone and are confused as to how you never noticed this before!
• When you are stuck on the M50 with cars backed up in either direction you feel like getting out of your car and screaming "Stop the madness!"
• Shopping in supermarkets has become a nightmare and you stare at plastic covered fruit and veg as if it were the plague.
• When a bumble bee appears (in January!) you find yourself actually apologising to it. 
• You think about how quickly nature would recover if we were not here.
• You want to shake people who think an 18 degree celcius day in February in Ireland is 'lovely'. Especially when it is followed closely by a 2 degree celcius day and snow and the general public don't think this is odd.
• You stand in the middle of a Dublin city centre street with banners that hearld the climate apocolypse.... and this turns out to be the best part of your week. 
• You wonder if your friends are secretly discussing whether or not you have gone nuts.
• You think of your Climate Pilgrimage buddies and remember that there is not really time for despair.  

As I have discovered, small actions give hope. Small actions have become the medicine for climate anxiety. Every Friday for the past 15 weeks, I've joined activists and students outside Dail Eireann (the Irish Parliament) from 1-2pm for the weekly climate strike, known globally as Fridays for Future. These strikes are inspired by the amazing legend that is Greta Thunberg, a 16 year old climate activist from Sweden. Greta has been leading a climate strike from school since August 2018. She has delivered a powerful Ted Talk and delivered kick ass speaches to the UN Climate Conference (COP24) and the World Economic Forum in Davos. What is so inspiring about Greta is her unique ability to tell it like it is. There is no bullshit, no trying to please the adults, no sucking up to politicians. Greta cuts right to the chase. At COP24 she blew me away with the line: "I am not here to ask you to change, because for 24 years you have done nothing. I am here to tell you that change is coming whether you like it or not". You can see her full speech here. It's three minutes that everyone should watch.

In Davos at the WEF Greta said to world economists: "I don't want your hope. I want you to panic. Because our house is on fire." Greta has been joined worldwde by thousands of young people. In Belgium a few weeks ago 70,000 students marched at the weekly Fridays for Future event. The Belgian climate minister was forced to resign as he criticised these young people and accused them of being part of a left wing conspiracy.

Our own strike on Fridays on Kildare St started with 8 people, led by Lorna Gold and Jim Scheer, and has swelled to 120. But the big one is this Friday, March 15th. Thousands of young people all over Ireland will join with the International Climate Strike - a world wide day of action for Climate Justice. It is the most hope-filled movement that I have ever experienced.

Each week students teach us a new chant and new people join us with their colourful banners and epic slogans. Climate Strikes have sprung up in Maynooth, Cork, Kilkenny, Tralee and Galway over the past few months. Saoi has been striking outside Cork City Hall for the past 9 weeks with a sign that has become famous: "The emperor has no clothes", a great line from the Hans Christian Anderson story, now used to criticise the majority who don't speak up for fear of looking stupid. Only the young boy in the story would shout the truth. We probably all learned the song in primary school: "The King is in the altogether...."

Saoi O'Connor outside Cork City Hall

There are marches planned in cities all over the world on March 15th and if that does not open the ears of politicians worldwide take comfort in the fact that the majority of the young people marching next Friday will be of voting age in 2/3 years time. There is no political will to solve the climate crisis because it is not an issue for the general public or if it is an issue for people, they are not expressing that concern to politicians loudly enough. There is clearly an awakening. But with that awakening comes a feeling of helplessness. How can ordinary people have an impact when the issue involves huge fossil fuel corporations and government policy? For this week at least, here's what you can do:

• Everything you need to know about March 15th can be found here: Stop Climate Chaos
• Support the Climate Strike on March 15th by attending your nearest event. 
• If you can't attend you can support it by sharing information on social media.
• If there is no event in your locality, start your own, wherever you are. Take some pictures and share it under the hashtag #fridaysforfuture You can also add your event to the Ireland strike map
  

  

  Dublin Friday for Future Strike

• Help to make banners/posters for your local schools who are involved. For example, this Wednesday evening (March 13th) in the Patagonia store in Dublin there is a banner making workshop.
• Irish students last week made their demands to the Irish government in Dail Eireann. This included a demand for the government to come clean to the public about the seriousness of this climate crisis and to "pull the emergency break". You can write to your TD expressing your serious concern on Ireland's shocking climate record and include these demands which can be found here: School Strike Demands to Government

For those who might criticse these students who are participating in Fridays For Future and not in school consider the following:

• Saoi O'Connor (16), who leads the Cork city strike, tweets to..."the people who’ve accused me of mitching off school, City hall is a two hour bus ride from my house, I get up three hours earlier than I usually would for school to get into the city for 9am. I sit outside City Hall for 7hrs, sometimes with others, sometimes alone!"
• Some of those who attend the Dublin strike weekly have long bus journeys, put huge effort into their banners and chants and could be amusing themselves in other ways if they really wanted to mitch off school.
• Before anyone criticises these amazing young people they might ask themselves when was the last time they themselves took an action against an injustice in our society. This movement is a beautiful sign of a generation of young people engaging in political action. 
• Greta questions the purpose of going to school when older generations refuse to listen to the world's scientific community.

I know where I'll be on March 15th. "Listen Leo Listen, Climate Action Now". Other hits are below. Finally a video that everyone needs to see this weekend, called Seven can be viewed here: SEVEN

What do we want? Climate justice.

When do we want it? Now

 

We're gonna go to our TDs        

We're gonna go to our TDs

We're gonna go to Dail Eireann

We're gonna go to Dail Eireann

1...2...3...4

1...2...3...4

Climate's what we're fighting for

Climate's what we're fighting for

I said Hey, I said Ho,

Fossil Fuels have got to go....

 

 No more coal and no more oil

No more coal and no more oil

Keep the carbon in the soil

Keep the carbon in the soil

"We are unstoppable another world is possible..."

“Yet all is not lost. Human beings, while capable of the worst, are also capable of rising above themselves, choosing again what is good, and making a new start, despite their mental and social conditioning. We are able to take an honest look at ourselves, to acknowledge our deep dissatisfaction, and to embark on new paths to authentic freedom. No system can completely suppress our openness to what is good, true and beautiful, or our God-given ability to respond to his grace at work deep in our hearts. I appeal to everyone throughout the world not to forget this dignity which is ours. No one has the right to take it from us. (Laudato Si, Care for Our Common Home, 205)”

The Climate Pilgrims Part 2 - Joanna Sustento

While on an epic 1,000km journey from Italy to Poland as part of The Climate Pilgrimage 2018, I was privilaged to meet so many inspiring climate activists from different parts of the world. In these posts I share about them and our journey in the hope that they inspire you as much as they inspired me to do more to avert the biggest catastrophy of our time.

Joanna Sustento getting ready for the COP24 Climate Protest, Katowich

Joanna Sustento is from the Philippines and is a survivor of Super Typhoon Haiyan, the strongest storm ever to make landfall which destroyed Tacloban city in November 2013. Joanna lost many of her loved ones in that storm including her parents, her brother, her sister-in-law and three year old nephew. Joanna is an amazing young woman who has dedicated her life to climate action. She describes herself as a climate activist and story-teller, sharing with others the events of the night Haiyan struck Tacloban city, how she managed to survive and the devastating loss of her family. It was such a privilage to walk with Joanna and get to know her. Joanna believes in the power of story and as I've mentioned before I always felt that we were carrying a very sacred narrative with us on this pilgrimage in bringing these climate stories into the homes, parishes and schools wherever we landed on this walk. 

People often feel overwhelmed with the statistics and scientific reports on climate change. Ultimately it is the human stories which will bring about a conversion of heart. Joanna often shared with us and those she met that, "You don't have to have a powerful position to have a voice...because of my story and the story of our community I will be able to contribute to something global. I will be able to put a human face on an abstract concept that is climate change... I found power in that." Joanna speaks to ordinary people encouraging them to do whatever they can: "Everyone of us, we all have our own story, we all have the potential to contribute to the change we want to see."

While on our little walk across Europe in the middle of winter, we crossed through an area of Poland called Silesia. It is a famous region known for its coal mining towns. 80% of Poland's energy is fuelled by coal at present. I have experienced smog in cities in India when I lived there, but there was no comparison to the disgusting air quality we experienced during those days in Silesia. With the extremely cold weather, the air was thick with smog. The climate pilgrims wore vests which read: "No future in coal" and we were advised on the history of the region, what to expect, how to approach the coal issue and so on. To our pleasant surprise we received a very warm welcome in those towns. In Rybnik we were greeted by the Mayor who presented us with gifts and we shared a beautiful meal together. Later that same day at a Mass in the local church, the priest's homily covered the enormity of the crisis the world now faces and he noted how it was ironic that we should arrive in his parish on the feast of St. Barbara, the patron saint of coal miners. While sitting in a cafe the following day I was shocked when smog was entering inside the cafe, making it really uncomfortable to breath. This stuff was everywhere. The thick smoke billowed out of the houses everywhere we walked. It was choking. Statistically breathing the air in these towns is the equivalent of smoking 7 cigarettes per day. I wondered how on earth people could raise families there knowing that figure. Yet, we had to remember that this was their livelihoods. Families in Rybnik and Imelin and many other coal mining towns have been mining for generations. I wondered how Joanna felt in those towns, knowing what the fossil fuel industry had cost her. When we visited schools there, I wondered if young people were aware of how dangerous their air was. 

Poster from school children in Imelin, Silesia "Clean air"

In Rybnik we were hosted by parishioners and my host had been a coal miner for 28 years. I could not even imagine what it would be like to work underground for that length of time. He was now retired, working in his local parish, and genuinely interested in our journey and our purpose. In Rybnik we also met students who were studying renewable energy. Some remarked to us that they know money will be in renewables in the future; whatever their motivation it was heartening to see the shift of focus away from coal. The town of Imelin, one day out from Katowich, is a coal mining community which is now campaigning against the industry. The people were assured that the mine would not be expanded, however that is changing and the proposed plans for this particular mine involve drilling underneath the houses in the town. The houses are neither built for such a project nor are the people willing to allow this to happen. So for them, they are campaigning against an industry that has sustained generations of their family members' livelihoods. 


Just transition is a key word in the climate debate. It simply means that those who are dependant on the fossil fuel industry for their livelihood should also be treated justly and fairly. They too, in many ways, are victims of this crisis. A just transition would mean for Polish miners to be retrained and employed in the renewable sector. Communities like these should not suffer. I tie this in with Joanna's story because as we were walking through these towns and villages I wondered what it felt like to see the amount of pollution being fired into the atmosphere, knowing what it cost some of our pilgrim family. 

Coal disaplyed in the floor at UN Climate Conference, COP24

Once we arrived at the COP in Katowich, it was no different there. The air quality was just as bad and many told us that nearby coal mines had been switched off  'for maintenance' during the COP. Convenient. Walking through the COP24 building utterly disappointed me. This COP was hijacked by the coal industry. Six coal companies were the main sponsors of the COP. Inside the building there was coal on display in the floors covered by glass and for sale as jewellery, 'a souvenir from Silesia'. For Joanna, this was a slap in the face. I was so upset for her as walked around that building, surrounded by politicians who didn't care and fossil fuel companies who were basically rubbing her nose in it. 

Coal jewellary at COP24

Joanna was interviewed by Democracy Now during COP24. Here interview is below. I invite you to take time to listen to her story and share it with whomever you can.  

On our final day of walking it was a 20km hike into Katowich from Imelin. My left foot, swollen and aching, suggested I should rest and call it a day. But there was no way I was missing our final day of walking on this pilgrimage. I strapped it up, got two walking poles and pushed on through the day. In moments when I thought I might not make it, Joanna's story kept me going and Joanna's story will keep me on this climate activist road for some time. That is the power of story. 


Finally, my favourite Joanna memory from the pilgrimage will always be the day we built a snowman in Katowich. This was Joanna's first snowman attempt; an Irish-Filippina collaborative climate action project. The first of many, I hope. You are an amazing person Joanna and I was so very lucky to meet you and share this journey with you!

"From the biggest of tragedies, hope can be found" - Joanna Sustento

"Some forms of pollution are part of people’s daily experience. Exposure to atmospheric pollutants produces a broad spectrum of health hazards, especially for the poor, and causes millions of premature deaths. […] Technology, which, linked to business interests, is presented as the only way of solving these problems, in fact proves incapable of seeing the mysterious network of relations between things and so sometimes solves one problem only to create others." (Pope Francis, Laudato Si, 20) 

In Rybnik, Silesia, the Climate Pilgrims meet students studying renewable energy

The Pilgrim Sandwich - with Joanna at its centre

Joanna presenting the pilgrim prayer ribbons and her story to Patricia Espinosa
 (UNFCC Executive Secretary) at COP24. Beside her are Yeb Sano (Greenpeace SE Asia); Tomas Insua (Global Catholic Climate Movement) & Mons Duffe (head of Vatican Delegation to COP24) 

The Climate Pilgrims Part 1

AG Saño

While the climate pilgrimage is over, in many ways it is only beginning. There were so many things I wanted to write about on the road, but there was little time. Now, I've loads of time! So here are a few more reflections in the hope that my ramblings might offer some inspiration to others and help us all to continue to stay in the climate 'hope space'. On the climate pilgrimage I was blessed to meet such inspiring people from all parts of the world. I have learned so much from them and I know that they will all continue to inspire me many years from now.  So here, in no particular order, I will share a little of their powerful stories.  

AG Saño is from the Philippines. He is a marine conservationist, photographer, street artist, climate activist and from what I can gather has many different roles and projects up his sleeve. Together with his brother Yeb Saño, they started the Climate Pilgrimage in the Philippines in 2014, walking from Manilla to Tacloban city (1,000km) to commemorate the first anniversary of Super Typhoon Haiyan. They also walked from Rome to Paris (1,500km) in 2015 for the UN Climate Summit, COP21.  AG is a survivor of  Super Typhoon Haiyan, the  strongest storm to ever make landfall in recorded human

AG painting a mural at our host parish in Trieste, Italy

history. Haiyan slammed into the Philippines in November 2013 killing 15,000 people in the space of two hours. Haiyan was so strong because it had travelled over waters in the Pacific Ocean which were 0.8 degrees warmer than usual. AG lost his best friend Agit in the storm. Agit's wife and 3 year old son also died. In the days following Haiyan, AG helped to collect the dead bodies from the streets of the devastated city of Tacloban. He went days without food. AG walked the climate pilgrimage in the hope that the world would listen to the struggles that the Philippines, and millions of people worldwide, face as a result of Climate Change; these stories need to be heard. In every school, parish, community, town and city that we stopped in on this pilgrimage, AG shared his story. He is an extremely talented street artist and painted powerful murals en route. The rest of us would help with the colouring in, leaving our climate justice footprint behind as the pilgrimage moved on.

AG's mural in our host parish, Trieste, Italy

Yeb Saño is the founder of The Climate Pilgrimage. Yeb worked for many years as the Filipino Climate Negotiator to the UN. He has attend many COPs (UN Climate Conferences) and probably his most famous moment was in Warsaw in 2013. As Typhoon Haiyan devastated Tacloban city, Yeb made an emotional speech at COP19 for all those whose voices could no longer be heard. I encourage you to take four minutes to watch this powerful speech:

On the pilgrimage, Yeb always reminded us that "our physical destination is Katowich and COP24, however our real destination is the minds and hearts of all those we meet on this road." Yeb is now the Executive Director of Greenpeace South East Asia, our pilgrimage DJ and Guru on the road. 

Yeb Saño at the Climate Protest at COP24, Katowich, Poland, December 2018

Climate Litigation:
Yeb & AG, together with other Haiyan survivors, are part of a group who are taking 47 companies, the Big Polluters, to the human rights courts to investigate their contribution to the climate crisis. You can read more about their case here: "Communities seeking climate justice through the power of law".  

A big learning for me on this pilgrimage was that 90 fossil fuel companies in the world are responsible for 70% of the carbon emissions which fuel the climate crisis. Yes, you read that correctly! 90 companies! So while your government is quite happy for you to sit at home and feel guilty about your contribution to the climate crisis, they are continuting to prop up the fossil fuel industry with huge subsidies and continue exploration for fossil fuels. While one would think there is nothing we can do about this, AG and Yeb are part of a movement which aims to hold these fossil fuel companies accountable for their actions. And they are not the only ones.  Many similar cases are taking place worldwide. In the United States a group of young people are taking the Trump Administration to court for backing out of the Paris Climate Agreement. They argue that the US government are in violation of protecting children's rights to a secure future. It is an amazing story which you can follow and engage with here: Our Children's Trust. In the Netherlands recently another successful climate litigation story  emerged and you can read about it here: "Netherlands ordered to increase emissions cuts in historic ruling that puts ‘all world governments on notice".

Climate Case Ireland, led by Friends of the Irish Environment, were recently in court taking the Irish Government to task on its climate inaction. Over four days in the High Courts a litany of inaction on the part of our government was heard by the hundreds of people who crammed into Court 29 in support of the case. Ireland's climate policy is weak and we are per capita one of the biggest polluters in Europe. Our emissions are set to increase in coming years not decrease despite the Divestment Bill being passed in 2018. It was a proud moment to be present in Court 29 during these proceedings in January 2019. People of all ages attended, from toddlers to teenagers, university students to the older and wiser members of the public. You can read about the Irish Case at Climate Case Ireland and give your support to this historical legal action. The verdict is pending in the coming weeks. 

Climate Case Ireland supporters outside the Fourt Courts January 2019

Supporting such cases with our signatures or our presence are all ways we can be in solidarity with people in countries like the Philippines and the generations to come who will feel the full affects of this crisis. It is inspiring to see what small groups of people are doing even when world leaders are failing them. When one thinks about the climate crisis it seems too huge and overwhelming for one person to affect change. Yet it is possible. AG and Yeb Saño and all those involved in such campaigns show me that another world is possible despite the odds. They have certainly transformed my views on climate and have helped me to SEE more clearly the faces of those that are right now directly affected. The climate pilgrimage continues to encourage me to do whatever you can, where you are.

"There is a problem in the atmosphere, but the deeper problem lies in our own hearts"

Yeb Saño. 

"We know that technology based on the use of highly polluting fossil fuels - especially coal, but also oil and , to a lesser degree, gas - needs to be progressively replaced without delay." 

(Pope Francis, Laudato Si, 165)

A mural painted by AG in a primary school in Imelin, Poland, in the heart of the coal mining region of Silesia during The Climate Pilgrimage 2018.

Step by Step for Climate Justice

"An interdependent world not only makes us more conscious of the negative effects of certain lifestyles and models of production and consumption which affect us all; more importantly it motivates us to ensure that solutions are proposed from a global perspective, and not simply to defend the interests of a few countries. Interdependence obliges us to think of one world with a common plan." (Laudato Si, 164).

Part of this Climate Pilgrimage involves many events and actions. When we are not walking 24-30kms per day, we are speaking in schools, parish centres, meeting with climate activists, Mayors, church leaders or perhaps helping AG paint one of his amazing murals. Last week, in the port city of Trieste, Greenpeace Italy arranged for us to meet with Generali, Italy's third largest insurance company. The meeting took place in their beautiful offices in central Trieste; we walked from the Cathedral in procession with many supporters to the offices of Generali.



Gathered outside the main building Luca Iacoboni (Greenpeace Italy campaigner) handed us postcards to write on. These postcards had images of natural disasters from our home countries which have been attributed to climate change in the past year. The postcards were addressed to the Managing Directors of Generali. Each of us wrote a message pleading with them to be brave, be a climate justice leader, to turn away from fossil fuel investment and to stop insuring coal companies. We entered the  Generali building and were met by the member of staff who oversees corporate responsibility. Our Philippino pilgrims shared with them the suffering which has been inflicted on the Philippines because of the climate crisis and also their harrowing experience of Super Typhoon Haiyan, which killed 15,000 people in 2013.

While these negotiations in big companies can be complicated and drawn out, Greenpeace Italy had laid the groundwork over recent months. Last night, as we were preparing dinner in an old school house in the mountains, we got the message that Generali had reached an agreement with Greenpeace and have commited to stop insuring new coal mines. I was really amazed as we had mixed feelings about how our meeting had gone with Generali. While the stories from the Philippines are terrifying and should be a wake up call to the whole world, I was unsure if we had touched the hearts of those we spoke to.  Something shifted for this announcement to have been made yesterday and for me it shows the power of the narrative that AG, Albert and our whole group carry on this pilgrimage.

Our Philippino brothers are the real faces of the climate crisis, so for me this campaign concerns more than something that is happening to people far away from me, this is now about my friends and their loved ones. Now it's personal. When we speak in schools I now look at the students we speak to and am fearful for them. The transformative power of this pilgrimage becomes more visibile day by day, step by step.

In Ljubljana some days ago we met with a Laudato Si study group, all young women who are university students. At another event later that night we met with a representative from Slovenia's Ministry for the Environment and the person who had translated Laudato Si into Slovenian. Climate scientists gave their data on the impacts of climate change so far in Slovenia and theologians unpacked the richness of Laudato Si for those present. We are all working together for a common cause. One young person from the audience asked if she could set up her own Laudato Si working group in Ljubljana and a Jesuit priest who was present committed to work with her on this. So while the climate crisis seems huge and impossible, I am witnessing a conversion of hearts, one person, one village, one company at a time.



The Generali announcement is huge and is down to the hard work by Greenpeace Italy but we all feel that we were part of the last push over the line. Whether it is meeting with insurance companies or encouraging groups of students to start reading Laudato Si, I am convinced that by walking we are contributing something very positive to climate justice. Statistics and figures will not change people's minds about climate change, we have to speak to their hearts. Whenever I hear of the effects of
climate change from now on, I will see the faces of AG and Albert. That is key, to  really SEE the other person. Love of neighbour in this context involves action and it has no time for indifference.

You can read the Greenpeace press release concerning Generali here: Generali

Outside Velenje Coal Mining Plant, Slovenia

"We know that technology based on the use of highly polluting fossil fuels, especially coal, but also oil and, to a lesser degree, gas - needs to be progressively replaced without delay...Although the post-industrial period may well be remembered as one of the most irresponsible in history, nonetheless there is reason to hope that humanity at the dawn of the 21st century will be remembered for having generously shouldered its grave responsibilities." (Laudato Si, 165).

 You can WALK WITH US by taking action in your own country. Before COP24 begins in December it is so important that our governments are committed to immediate climate action:
http://climatepilgrimage.com/take-action/

Sail 'n Rail Anyone?

My journey to The Climate Pilgrimage began last Wednesday on October 24th. I left Dublin by ferry for Wales and from there took numerous trains to Assisi, Italy.

The climate pilgrims passed through Assisi weeks ago on their journey from Rome and I knew I wanted to visit there as part of this trip. It's the home of St. Francis, patron of the environment and creation, Saint of peace. A flight to Rome is cheap as chips but I had decided that on this occasion I would not fly. We all know the 'inconvenient truth' of the impact of flying on the environment and when you start to read into the facts it's actually quite disturbing. I'm no expert on CO2 calculators or on the aviation industry so I'll just leave a few interesting links for you here: www.dw.com/en/to-fly-or-not-to-fly-the-environmental-cost-of-air-travel/a-42090155 and here:

www.wanderlust.co.uk/content/to-fly-or-not-to-fly/

One fact which blew my mind is that in 2017 only three per cent of the global population flew yet we flew 3.6 billion times.  Three per cent!!! Only 18% of the world's population have ever been in a plane. Once again it brings home the fact that the wealthiest of the world contribute the most to climate change.

It's unlikely that any of us are about to sacrifice our travel plans in the near future, nor is this about piling guilt trips on people. But maybe we could think about how often we fly and what the alternatives are. According to the above article by Wanderlust, Eurostar claim that a flight from London to Paris emits ten times more carbon per person per flight than their service from St. Pancras to Gare du Nord. My epic adventure last week was a long one I'll admit, I arrived into Assisi on Friday morning, but it was extremely enjoyable. Now there are a number of factors involved in order to take this option. I'm in the privilaged position at present to have the time to do this. Also I'm not one to shy away from a bit of an adventure.

My journey started bright and early when my lovely house mate Sarah kindly dropped me to Dublin Port (thanks Sarah, although it wasn't so bright outside!). I was in Holyhead in Wales by 11.30am and in the

centre of London at 4.30pm. For people in Ireland travelling to the UK it's certainly worth considering this as an option. The following morning I took the Eurostar to Paris and an overnight train to Milan. From there a couple more trains to Assisi.

Here my top ten perks of sail and rail in Europe:

1. You don't have to deal with airports, which will eat up half your day anyway.

2. It takes TIME. This is a good thing. You have no option but to SLOW THINGS DOWN. Ommmm

3. You see so much more countryside, coastline, sea, scenery, nature. . . It's good for the soul.

4. You meet far more people than you would on a flight. I counted ten people that I had full conversations with between Dublin and Assisi. That just doesn't happen on a flight. I was able to share with them about The Climate Pilgrimage and not all of them thought I was mad.

5. You can work in a much more comfortable way on the ferry and on trains.

6. It is ten times less damaging to the environment. (See articles above). You might be the eco warrior of the village but as soon as you buy a flight it's very hard to catch up that carbon count.

7. It's far less hassel... no two hour prior show up; no long security queues.

8. It is way more comfortable than a plane.

9. The journey is a destination in itself (probably a quote from somewhere).

10. You get a real sense of a country and you end up being dropped off in the middle of the city, not ten miles outside the city.

Just a few thoughts on the pilgrimage before the pilgrimage. I know we are all addicted to busy, myself included, and are unlikely to stop flying and trying to get 'there' as fast as possible anytime soon. But it is worth asking "do I really have to?"

Any downsides? The only downside was the loud snorer in the cabin on the overnight train from Paris to Milan. It always happens when you can't find the earplugs that are at the bottom of your rucksack. God bless her anyway. (Not the sentiments I used at the time!) Snore on!

"It cannot be emphasised enough how everything is interconnected...When we speak of the environment what we really mean is a relationship existing between nature and the society which lives in it." (Laudato Si, 138-9) 

Www.theclimatepilgrimage.com 

Facebook: @theclimatepilgrimage

Twitter: #theclimatepilgrimage

Third Sunday of Lent 2016 ~ Luke 13:1-9 “Bear Fruit”

The people in the Gospel today are wondering if the Galileans who were killed by Pilate had died because they deserved to. We can empathise with them as we know too well of accidents and tragedies of all kinds where we might ask the same question. Jesus insists that they have not done anything wrong. Their sudden death challenges those still alive to live to the full and to bear much fruit because life can end suddenly, life is fragile, no one is indestructible. 

Climate Change affects us all. Climate injustice occurs when people who have done little or nothing to cause climate change are suffering the most from its effects. It is the greatest injustice of our time as it is the world’s poorest countries who suffer the most from the changes in our weather systems. In Ireland we recall the devastating storms of 2013 which caused so much destruction along our West Coast. We have the resources to cope, for now. In countries like Kenya and Malawi, these resources are simply not there and the effects of storms and droughts are catastrophic. Let us pray today that we hear the call of the Gospel to bear fruit, not to be inactive, not to be complacent when it comes to reducing our carbon footprint. The Galileans died because of Pilate, but the greater ‘sin’ here becomes inactivity.

“Common destiny beckons us to seek a new beginning… Let ours be a time remembered for the awakening of a new reverence for life, the firm resolve to achieve sustainability, the quickening of the struggle for justice and peace”. (Pope Francis, Laudato Si’, 207). 

Sunday November 22nd ~ Christ the King

The Feast of Christ the King is the final Sunday in the liturgical calendar. In the Gospel today, Pilate is concerned with what type of King Jesus is and what kind of Kingdom he is talking about? To understand what type of kingship Jesus is talking about we need to lay aside a lot of the cultural baggage that we have about Kings and Kingdoms. There are no palaces, no pomp and ceremony involved here. Jesus’ Kingdom is concerned with justice for the weak and the oppressed.

At our baptism we were each anointed as ‘priest, prophet and king’ and therefore we share in this kingship that Pilate is wondering about. We are called to show the world that Jesus’s followers are concerned with love and service of others; that Jesus’ Kingdom is built on a different kind of foundation. With so much brokenness in the world we are called to transformative service. There are no shortage of causes: the refugee crisis; homelessness; climate justice…

At the end of this month, world leaders gather in Paris at ‘COP21’ to try to come to a universal agreement on addressing climate change. We pray that the ‘Kings’ and ‘Presidents’ of this world take strong action to protect our planet. “We pray for the representatives of the nations meeting in Paris, and in every government everywhere—and all business leaders and consumers—that we will see nature as a magnificent book in which God speaks to us and grants us a glimpse of his infinite beauty and goodness. (LS 12)” #pray4cop21 

Sunday 27th September 2015 ~ Remove the Stumbling Blocks

Earlier in the Gospel of Mark the disciples were arguing about who amongst them was the greatest; in any group there is bound to be the occasional dispute! Today they are complaining that people, who are not part of the gang, are performing works in Jesus’s name. The disciples are eager to pass judgement, yet Jesus is asking them not to focus so much on how other people are a stumbling block to the Gospel, but to look inwards and ask themselves how are they doing? What stumbling blocks do they put in their way or in the way of others?

On 4 October we will celebrate the feast of St Francis of Assisi, bringing ‘Creation Time’ to a close. Some parishes have a blessing of animals; others have ‘Eco-Sunday’ and some have achieved the ‘Eco-Parish’ award from Eco-Congregation Ireland. (If your parish is not on the list, maybe you can gather people together to start the process: http://ecocongregationireland.com/eco-tips.)

It is easy to point the finger at major corporations and poor leadership and think that there is nothing we can do about climate injustice. As this season of ‘Creation Time’ draws to a close, let us really celebrate by committing to small actions as parish communities, being part of the solution and not a stumbling block.

‘Common destiny beckons us to seek a new beginning… Let ours be a time remembered for the awakening of a new reverence for life, the firm resolve to achieve sustainability, the quickening of the struggle for justice and peace, and the joyful celebration of life’.

Pope Francis, Laudato Si’, 207.

"Who is the greatest?" ~ Sunday 20th September 2015

In Pope Francis’s recent encyclical on the environment, Laudato Si’, he acknowledged that for so long human beings have treated the planet as if it were there solely for our use and exploitation, as if we were the greatest. He urges us to see the deep connectedness that exists with nature. ‘Nature cannot be regarded as something separate from ourselves or as a mere setting in which we live. We are part of nature, included in it and thus in constant interaction with it.’ (139). Pope Francis refreshingly speaks of an ‘integral ecology’; that dealing with climate change involves an approach to combating poverty, restoring dignity to the excluded and at the same time protecting nature. We can no longer treat any of these in isolation.

We are all an integral part of nature and are called to respect nature not simply because of its use for us, but because of the countless relationships that exist between the environment and ourselves. The earth is calling to us to act. We can make a real difference to people’s lives through the small choices we make: the promise to live more simply and more sustainably. It is up to us and we can choose to be part of the solution rather than the problem. Like the disciples in today’s Gospel, we are called to examine how we relate to one another, and that includes our relationship with nature. We must start listening to what the earth is saying to us, and like the child in today’s Gospel, respond with humility.