SOUTH LOOP — Archbishop Blase Cupich has called upon Catholics to recognize that climate change and its impact is a moral issue that the Archdiocese of Chicago — and the church as a whole — must address.
Cupich was joined on Friday at the South Loop's Old St. Mary's by Gina McCarthy, head of the United States Environmental Protection Agency, who praised the archdiocese for being the first in the United States to agree to benchmark energy use in parochial schools and other church buildings.
Cupich said the survival of humans is now in question and the church is "eager" to be part of the solution by being environmentally conscious.
"We have this Earth on loan," Cupich said, emphasizing that the church wants to preserve the environment for future generations.
Cupich and McCarthy called upon other dioceses to follow Chicago's lead in working to become more aware of climate change and its effects, "especially on the poorest of the poor," Cupich said. He said responding to climate change is a "moral" issue for the church, echoing recent, sometimes controversial, statements from Pope Francis.
They used the new school building at Old St. Mary's, 1474 S. Michigan Ave., as an example of the archdiocese's efforts.
The building, which serves students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade, was built for low-environmental impact, Cupich said. It uses solar panels and low-use fixtures and its energy use is monitored, among other things. The school also created a weather station where students can learn about climate change, Cupich said.
The school's changes are part of a larger effort from the archdiocese to commit to environmental "stewardship," as it has committed to monitoring energy use in more than 2,700 buildings.
The archbishop's statements follow an encyclical, or a letter from the pope sent to the church's bishops, released in mid-June. In the letter, the pope said there is "a very solid scientific consensus indicates that we are presently witnessing a disturbing warming of the climatic system." The pope called for people to make changes "to combat this warming or at least the human causes which produce or aggravate it," a message that caused controversy among those who dispute climate change or don't think it can be attributed to human activity.
It's not necessarily a popular move for the Roman Catholic Church: Among Americans, the pope's favorable rating dropped from 76 percent in February 2014 to 59 percent July 8-12, and his unfavorable rating rose from 9 to 16 percent during the same time, according to a Gallup poll. The decline may be attributed to how the pope has linked climate change to humans, among other factors, according to Gallup.
Cupich said he would emphasize to parishioners that the encyclical was not a scientific document but a document that focused on the church's moral need to help those impacted by climate change. He said it is those with "the least who suffer the most" through environmental change.
The archdiocese's efforts were started by Cardinal Francis George — "he got the ball rolling," Cupich said — through a partnership between the church in Chicago and Energy Star, which sells products to reduce and monitor energy use. George's focus on the environment was "one of his last gifts to the church of Chicago," Cupich said.
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