Sean McDonagh draws our attention to important findings of research carried out by marine scientists of the National University of Ireland Galway on the amount of plastic in fish in the northwest Atlantic.
Sean asks 'Should the Churches be involved in protecting our oceans? Has a Justice and Peace group in any parish or diocese challenged the fact that our retail stores still force us to use single-use plastics?'. 

Seán McDonagh reminds us of the ongoing problems we are creating for our environment. In the words of Pope Francis we should not "fall into four perverse attitudes regarding the future of the planet: "denial, indifference, resignation and trust in inadequate solutions."

Seán McDonagh draws our attention to the disaster that has befallen the village of Dalama, Philippines on December 22nd , 2017.
"The tragedy of what did happen in barrio  Dalama during Typhoon ‘Vinta’ in 2017 was a direct result of logging on the mountains in previous decades."

Sean McDonagh writes of an alarming rise in the number of those being murdered for defending their community’s lands, natural resources and wildlife. One of those murdered was Fr. Marcelito Paez. Fr. Paez’s murder took place during a two-day period which saw ten activists shot dead in Luzon and in the southern Philippines on the island of Mindanao.

Seán McDonagh in the wake of recent hurricanes in the Caribbean reminds us of what Pope Francis has said about climate change; "the scientific community has been “clear and precise” in linking human activities to the ongoing climate crisis…..,, Climate change is a “serious matter over which we cannot make jokes.”

Updated with comments by Sean McDonagh on the potential devastating consequences President elect Trump's policies on the environment will have if implemented.

Last Tuesday, 08 November 2016, citizens of the U.S.A. elected their new President.
The resulting democratic election of Donald Trump led to joyous celebration among his followers and despair, despondency, and even a sense of fear among those who opposed his views and values.

Brendan Hoban, in his Western People column and Tony Flannery, on his own blog site, have shared some thoughts on the election of Donald Trump and possible implications for us in Ireland.

Sean McDonagh tells us of his experience of the celebration of Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, in Fiji.
Sean also tells of the terrible air pollution the over exuberant use of fireworks during the festival caused in Delhi.
Any lessons for over enthusiastic thurible swingers?

Fr Sean McDonagh, a member of the leadership team of the ACP, recently met with Pope Francis.
Maybe the nuncio to Ireland and Irish bishops might do likewise on a regular basis.

Seán McDonagh, SSC reports on a Joint Consultation on ‘Laudato Si’ and the Path to 'COP 22’ organised by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace and the Pontifical Academy of the Sciences.
He quotes Prof. Ramanathan Veerabhadran as saying "the effect of greenhouse gases on global warming is the most important environmental issue facing the world today."
"At the end of the meeting the group released this document in preparation for the COP 22 which will take place in Marraakesh from November 7 to 18th 2016.
“ The Paris Climate Agreement is historic. For the first time since the signing of the 1992 UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), all countries have agreed to act in order to protect the planet. The core goals include: (1) keeping warming to “well below 2-degrees C” and “to pursue efforts to keep below 1.5-degree C”; (2) enabling countries to adapt to the adverse impacts already underway; and (3) ensuring the flow of fair and equitable financing to achieve the climate goals."

In response to Seán McDonagh's call for more discussion in church about issues that matter and are relevant to the lives of all people rather than silly season tabloid fodder Joe O Leary replied with a long response that includes an article by Stefano Zamagni, on “Ecology, Economics, and Ethics”.
We carry it as a stand alone post rather than a reply as it is well worth reading. Our thanks to Joe.