04/06/2003

Catholic Earthcare Australia will be launched by Archbishop John Bathersby at Marymount College, Burleigh Connection Road, Burleigh Heads, this Thursday 5 June at 10.30 a.m.

The national launch of Catholic Earthcare Australia took place in Sydney last year. The body was formed by Australia’s Catholic Bishops in response to the Pope’s call for “ecological conversion”. It advises the Bishops on environmental issues and assists Catholics to develop a greater awareness of environmental issues, a greater commitment to action to develop a sustainable environment and a deeper understanding of its place in the life of Christians.

Prior to the launch, the Archbishop will be meeting the staff of Burleigh Heads Parish at 10.00 a.m. to acknowledge their participation in environmental action including its commitment to designing a new, environmentally-friendly Church in the Parish.

The Archbishop will be escorted by students on bikes and other vehicles which do not use fossil fuels to the Doyle Centre at Marymount College to launch Catholic Earthcare Australia before a crowd of over 1 000 including Catholic school students from across the Archdiocese.

During the launch, the Catholic Justice and Peace Commission will announce:

Its continuing commitment to the Cool Communities project which is engaging Catholic households in efforts to reduce enegy usage to address the problem of increasing greenhouse gases and global warming;

The production of a resource booklet for Catholic households to take action to reduce greehouse gases in their homes;

The provision of resources and support to Catholic parishes, schools and agencies to undertake environmental audits of their facilities;

The publication of a series of pamphlets on a range of environmental issues so that Catholics are better informed about issues and can take appropriate action.

Young people will be actively involved in the launch and among those who will deliver addresses to the launch are Mr Col Brown, Director of Catholic Earthcare Australia, Mr Rick Sheehan, Chairperson of the Catholic Justice and Peace Commission of Brisbane, Sr Annette Arnold, Director of the Social Action Office of the Conference of Leaders of Religious Institutes Queensland and Ms Felicity Wishart, Coordinator of the Queensland Conservation Council.

Marymount College was chosen as the venue for this launch because it has been the focus of the Catholic Justice and Peace Commission’s Cool Communities project over the last year.


Released by Catholic Justice and Peace Commission of the Archdiocese of Brisbane