The Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference has announced their decision to divest from fossil fuels. The Bishops’ Conference has signed the global Catholic fossil free pledge and are beginning the process of divesting its resources from all fossil fuels. In doing so, they are responding directly to Pope Francis’ call in his 2015 encyclical letter Laudato Sí (On Care for Our Common Home) by moving away from fossil fuels “without delay” (paragraph 165).
This decision was taken at the Summer 2018 General Meeting of the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference Meeting in Maynooth. It relates to investments held by the Bishops’ Conference at a national level and involves divestment from the top 200 oil and gas companies by reserves within five years. This will require a major shift in energy and investment policies away from highly polluting fossil fuels towards cleaner renewable energy.
To read their statement go to: