In the Catholic Peace Weekly, we have a report of the meeting in the Gangwon Province on Sept 26th of the Special Governing Province Religious Peace Council which held its 33rd regular meeting at the Buddhist Temple and announced its declaration to respond to the climate crisis.
They decided the role each religious denomination would play in preserving the province's ecological environment. In addition, Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province, newly launched in June, urged the province to respond to the climate crisis.
The Gangwon Religious Peace Council, which consists of the six major religious denominations in Gangwon-do, Catholicism, Protestantism, and Buddhism made public their declaration issued by leaders of each religious
denomination at the 33rd regular meeting on this day.
"Each religious denomination is committed to ecological education and practice, and to create a community without marginalized neighbors." "We declare that we will work together in overcoming the era of crisis
caused by climate change by striving for cooperation and peace and in practical efforts." At the same time, they emphasized the role of the province, saying: "In this era of crisis due to climate change, Gangwon
Special Self-Governing Province, which has been granted the capacity for autonomous decentralization and regional-led development must protect
life and the environment in line with the trends of the times."
Religious leaders said: "Our thoughts and actions have a huge impact not only on the human community but also on the Earth’s ecosystem." "The crisis we face is not just a fragmented environmental or social problem, but a very serious crisis in which the threads are so tangled that we cannot find the knot." "We are facing a complex crisis." "It is no longer a matter of choice to overcome the era of the crisis caused by climate change and implement policies for the marginalized and poor."
Religious leaders requested the protection of ecological assets, policies for local communities and residents, and the role of the province in protecting peace. The different religious leaders said: "Gangwon-do is aiming for reasonable system improvement due to regulations imposed for national security reasons and sluggish investment in social infrastructure, but if the elimination of regulations and the realization of balanced development are prioritized for the sake of the economy, convenience, tourism, etc., serious problems will arise." "It will lead to imbalance," they warned.
"The fundamentals of deregulation and balanced development must focus on protecting and specializing the province’s ecological assets", they said. "Having a rich nature and environment means that there is much to protect, so responsible choices and decisions are needed."
Bishop Kim (Director of the Diocese of Chuncheon), the representative chairman of the council, said: "Today’s declaration is not just words, it must be followed by action," and suggested: "It would be good if each
religious denomination devises and announces specific measures to be implemented at the next meeting."
Bishop Kim also said: "I think we can find the direction from the teaching of each religious denomination. The Catholic aims for a poor church and frugality. Each religious tradition also emphasizes frugality and hopes
everyone will keep this in mind and make efforts in each of their respective positions to make this clear.
