Archbishop's appeal on climate change

Archbishop Makgoba welcomes Pope Francis's letter on 'Our Sister, Mother Earth'

People of faith need to focus on the moral and spiritual elements of the crisis brought about by rapid climate change, Archbishop Thabo Makgoba of Cape Town said today in response to Pope Francis's encyclical on the issue.

In a statement issued from Cape Town, the Archbishop said:

“I would like to thank Pope Francis for this historic, ground-breaking letter. I look forward to studying it in more detail.

“Across Africa and in other developing countries, we are already suffering the impacts of climate change, and the people hit hardest by severe droughts or storms are in our most vulnerable communities.

Archbishop Thabo fasts for the climate

Archbishop Thabo Makgoba travelled to Bonn, Germany early in June for United Nations talks held to prepare for the next major international climate conference in Paris in December.

The Archbishop, who chairs the Anglican Communion Environmental Network, attended the talks in his role as a Global Climate Ambassador for the ACT Alliance, an international coalition of more than 140 churches and affiliated organisations working to create positive and sustainable change in the lives of poor and marginalised people.

During the meeting, he fasted for a day. He explains why:

Reflection on Corpus Christi

From the chapel at Bishopscourt, Archbishop Thabo Makgoba reflects on Corpus Christi against the backdrop of a major conference on Ecclesiology and Ethics: The state of ecumenical theology in Africa, and of the 2015 World Economic Forum on Africa.

Readings referred to:
Psalm 116: 11-18
Hebrews 9: 11-15
Mark 14: 12-16, 22-26