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TODAY SEES THE release of a papal encyclical, Laudato Si (“Praised Be”) on behalf of Pope Francis and it may turn out to be the most radical publication yet released by the Vatican.
In the release Pope Francis outlines what he see as the steps that must be taken to arrest the “unprecedented destruction of the ecosystem”.
While the contention that the Pope is making some powerful new enemies has been made, reception to the encyclical has been very positive, with no less a luminary than former Irish president Mary Robinson calling it “a call for climate justice from one of the most influential moral voices on our planet today” this morning.
Pope Francis’ Twitter feed gave some insights into just how passionate the pontiff is on the matter:
Pope Francis / TwitterThe earth, our home, is beginning to look more and more like an immense pile of filth.
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) June 18, 2015
Pope Francis / TwitterThe climate is a common good, belonging to all and meant for all.
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) June 18, 2015
Pope Francis / TwitterTo blame population growth, and not an extreme consumerism on the part of some, is one way of refusing to face the issues.
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) June 18, 2015
“In it Pope Francis shows his profound understanding of the connection between nature, justice for people living in poverty, human dignity and the need to act in solidarity in the face of climate change,” said Mary Robinson.
Above all else, Pope Francis establishes climate change and safeguarding the earth for humanity as the moral issue of our time.
I am heartened that he places equal emphasis on our responsibility to care for people living in vulnerable situations as our responsibility to care for nature.
In Laudato Si Pope Francis denounces wholly the destruction of the earth’s natural resources by the rich and powerful (both economically and politically) as “sinful”
The encyclical has only just been officially released – however it was initially leaked three days ago.
Other voices have been no less enthusiastic than Mary Robinson’s.
Former UN secretary general Kofi Annan said that “we need more of such inspired leadership”.
I applaud the Pope for his strong moral and ethical leadership.
As he reaffirms, climate change is an all-encompassing threat: it is a threat to our security, our health, and our sources of fresh water and food.
Archbishop Eamon Martin meanwhile welcomed the encyclical, saying that it is “good news for the Universal Church, and the whole world”.
“Pope Francis urges us to reflect on our Christian responsibility of not closing our eyes to the suffering of those who are most exposed to the consequences of environmental degradation. These are invariably the poorest communities and those who contribute least to the destruction of the natural environment,” Martin said.
Speaking in a review for the Irish National Trust, An Taisce, Professor John Sweeney and Fr Sean MacDonagh called the encyclical “highly relevant to Ireland”.
“It is a stark reminder that climate change mitigation should not simply involve an economist-centred approach, but one that reflects the global as well as local interests of climate justice,” they said.
Irish charities Oxfam Ireland and Trócaire are equally impressed with the sentiments expressed in the letter.
“The call by Pope Francis reminds us that climate change is first and foremost about people. The gross and growing inequality between rich and poor has been made worse by the climate crisis,” said Jim Clarken, CEO of Oxfam Ireland.
Executive director of Trócaire Éamonn Meehan meanwhile said that the encyclical should “mark a turning point in the global response to environmental justice, and particularly climate change”.
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Thank god the mean streets of stepaside will finally be safe again
@Lurfic: You obviously don’t know Ballyogan or the area at all.
@Niall Brew: Ballyogen is in the Cabinteely area …not Stepaside
@Christopher Doyle: nah it’s not
@Art Attack Head: just goes to show what u know … nice head by the way
@Niall Brew: I never heard of Ballyogan. Is it the ghetto of South Co. Dublin?. Where you’ll get a rugby ball across the back of your head if you step out of line.
@Tom Allen: Har har all of South Dublin is rich and upper class….oh Lord
@Christopher Doyle: sorry typo..Ballyogan. which isn’t in the Cabinteely area. Its 6 mins from Stepaside, 9 from Cabinteely
@Niall Brew: there’s a station two km away.
@Niall Brew: ah i see, fair play. You countered my comment with facts. If more people on this app did that, we would all learn something.
@Tom Allen: Its not a bad area or anything, i’m just using it as an example. The stepaside Garda station is a main one for a large area. I mean a mr big has lived in Sandyford and currently resides in Churchtown. Every area in Dublin has issues. How many people have heard of Beech Hill in D4?
@Lurfic: every single business in stepaside village has been done in at least once, including the pub since the garda station shut down. Ballyogan is covered by cabinteely garda station by the way
@Tom Allen: You definitely wouldn’t be getting a rugby ball to the back of the head in Ballyogan, that’s for sure. I don’t think our friends, of their own ethnic background that live in the area, have mastered the art of it yet….
@Tom Allen: Put it this way, in the local Dunnes Stores they store all of the baby seat trolleys at the back of the shop to stop families nicking them to use as prams. – no joke! Its just so convenient when you drive up the shop with 2 babies in the rain. Parts of Bally-O are fully fledged alright.
It’s a start, now reopen the rest of them and recruit even more guards, like another 5000, the country is riddled with crime
@The Rev Ndabaningi Sithole: so true, absolutely a joke the reserve guards are, train them as real guards no more pretending guards, joke
@Mick Hannigan: the country isn’t riddled with crime. It’s riddled with criminals with 200+ convictions!
@Adam O’Sullivan: call it whatever, the country is riddled with it,
@Mick Hannigan: they could do with recruiting a few guards with a bit of manners,most of the present crew treat the public as a nuisance,worthy of a few grunts complete with a few snide remarks,depending on the mood.I am starting to think most of them are permanently hungover.
@joe oneill: There’s no grunt like a garda grunt. I was top of my class in Templemore for it.
@Tom All,you should have heard the grunt when I asked my local FF TD could he get me in to Templemore…I think it was a grunt of approval,never bothered me bollixxxx turning up for the interview.
Any more guards being sent out to Offaly?
Plenty of assaults and robberies against the elderly there the last while.
@Franklin Roosevelt: No. Sure haven’t they done a good spread? like Clare is included …. oh wait. No it’s not.
Open them all up again
@Martin Parke: half of them were sold off.
@David Dickson: Correct.
@David Dickson: __ Did they get to keep the blue light out front, to keep the burglars away?
Ballinspittle ,what a joke , it’s been thirty years since anything moved down there !
“Stepaside, Gardaí coming through”.
Probably riddled with damp from being abandoned and will cost tens of thousands to rectify and decommission IT requirements. They should never have been closed!
@Me_a_monkey: I believe they had security guards living in the stepaside station maintaining it as well as far as I know.
Very nice places….
This will make the rural burglars very happy! Bloody joke
@Frankie Shanley: 4 of the 6 are in rural areas
All stations that were closed should be reopened. They were all operational for a reason. Maybe if crime visited some of the politicians we would have a different outlook.
Ahh Shane Ross the articulate bull@¥#%er, no reason to suspect his local stepaside station “with one of the lowest crime rates in the country” was anything to do with him when it was set to reopen.
Nothing to see here, no corruption in the gardai and no complicity in the dail. smh
Shane’s been off the seen lately, probably betting “ if one is out of sight then one surely is out of mind” what what ha ha, 1 months holidays lads what, spiffing!
What a joke, it’s a never ending punchline.
#Ruralcrimescantbeignored
@Declan: Yep. As usual, the opportunity to announce something any number of times is most welcome to the likes of Ross.
Things close in a recession and reopen in a recovery, unless everyone here wants to pay more tax
@Fergus Sheahan: crime incidence increases in a recession, during austerity and during a differential recovery process.
@Fergus Sheahan: I would be happy to pay a bit more tax if it would guarantee better public services and infrastructure
@EillieEs: we wouldn’t even pay for water, we want everything for free
Good news for Dublin 18!
From the shrill critic of parish pump politics while in opposition.
Like to see more Guards on patrol ,so poor old Santa can do his job safely.
They should have announced this last week, or the week before. Oh wait.
Not like Ross to miss a camera opp
He must be out stopping a strike on the
Trains ? No
Bus ? No
Ryanair ? No
Trams ? No
Forgot that is not his way of sorting out problems
He must be in North Korea
Bring back the flower bed and Sgt Keaveny!
No point having more Garda stations and Gardai arresting criminals….If the Judges just let them all out on bail to re-offend….Even after 50 previous convictions…..
@John003: Two solutions for crime.
1. Build a massive prison away from Dublin.
2. Put electronic bracelets into practice.
@Dave Sherman:
Probably would make sense to build one in Portlaoise, theres experienced staff available for training new hires and logistics are already established plus there is ample undeveloped land and presumably a source of staff in Portlaoise itself.
We absolutely need to tag as well particularly those with long lines of offences, and those who don’t comply with it can go straight in the clink.
Why is this even a discussion, surely it makes sense to just do it?
How much are we spending on free legal aid, surely that money should be spent on running Jails..
What about my local station Mr Ross? Quin county Clare?
Shane Ross. Minister for a affairs except his own actual department. What a useless excuse for a politician.
The future crime prevention and future crime clear up rate is already established, statistically speaking, before these Stations are even re-opened.
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