Letter
Letter in Support of the Bipartisan Senate Climate Solutions Caucus, February 18, 2020
February 18, 2020
The Honorable Christopher A. Coons
218 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
The Honorable C. Jeanne Shaheen
506 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
The Honorable Angus S. King Jr.
133 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
The Honorable Michael F. Bennet
261 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
The Honorable Deborah A. G. Stabenow
731 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
The Honorable Tammy S. G. Baldwin
709 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
The Honorable Jacklyn S. Rosen
144 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
The Honorable Michael K. Braun
374 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
The Honorable W. Mitt Romney
125 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
The Honorable Lisa A. Murkowski
522 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
The Honorable Lindsey O. Graham
290 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
The Honorable Marco A. Rubio
284 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
The Honorable Susan M. Collins
413 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
The Honorable Robert J. Portman
448 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
Dear Senators:
As the respective chairmen of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development and the Committee on International Justice and Peace, we write in support of the Senate Climate Solutions Caucus. This initiative has the opportunity to create enduring policy solutions to address the harmful social and environmental impacts of a changing climate. Establishing common ground is essential, and we commend your dedication to preserving equal bipartisan representation within the caucus.
Economically viable solutions that attend to the complexities of the ecological crisis are urgently needed. The Catholic Church has consistently upheld an integral ecology that considers together the care of the environment, the necessity of sustainable economic development, and the promotion of human dignity, especially of the most vulnerable. Pope Francis has called for an innovative dialogue that is “far-sighted and capable of a new, integral and interdisciplinary approach to handling the different aspects of the crisis” (Laudato Si’, no. 197). We urge you to remember these principles as you construct pragmatic legislative proposals.
Addressing the challenges of global climate change represents one of the greatest leadership opportunities of our time. As people of faith, we pray that you will be guided by honesty, responsibility, and courage as you develop concrete solutions to protect our common home.
Thank you for your leadership in building a better future for our nation and the world.
Sincerely yours,
Most Reverend Paul S. Coakley
Archbishop of Oklahoma City
Chair, Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development
Most Reverend David J. Malloy
Bishop of Rockford
Chair, Committee on International Justice and Peace