“Bishop welcomes G7 leaders”.
In an address to an Interfaith gathering at Truro Cathedral, Bishop Mark O’Toole,
the Bishop of Plymouth, welcomed the G7 leaders, to the South West of England, “to
our beautiful part of the world”. He expressed the hope that having enjoyed their
stay, they would go on “to work more diligently for the care of our common home,
and for the dignity of the poorest”.
In a gathering of people of many faiths, the bishop expressed the heartfelt desire of
all, “to protect God’s beautiful creation, and care more fully for our poorer brothers
and sisters”. He said, “We join with people of no faith, people of good will, who
hold with us, that the earth is our common home. It is entrusted to the whole
human family, to be protected and passed on to future generations. We stand
together to listen more attentively to the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor.”
The Bishop highlighted the teaching of Pope Francis who has called for the
development of a global community of fraternity1
, and urged that “a world where
dignity is valued and respected through concrete actions is not just a dream but a
path to a better future”.2
Bishop Mark highlighted that “Religious leaders are particularly called to be at the
service of fraternity in our world. It is good for us to stand and speak together this
evening. We must find other occasions, too, to speak with one another and to act
together for the common good and the promotion of the poor.3
1 Fratelli Tutti #154
2 Let us dream p 132
3 Fratelli Tutti #282
The event was organised by CAFOD, the Catholic Fund for Overseas Development
and took place in Truro Cathedral on Thursday 10th June. Other speakers included:
• Rt Rev Nicholas Holtam – Bishop of Salisbury
• Rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg – Senior Rabbi, Masorti Judaism
• Imam Qari Asim, MBE – Chair of the Mosques and Imams National Advisory
Board
• Priya Koria – Hindu Climate Action Team
• Fr Augusto Zampini Davies – Vatican Covid-19 Commission
• Fatima Alarakah – Student and climate activist
• Mikey – Eco Dharma Network
• Davina Bacon – Young Christian Climate Network
The full text of Bishop Mark’s text is attached.
G7 Reflection
There is an audio-visual recording of all the different addresses at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WWm33L_p_M
Bishop Mark’s address is at 55.10
Further enquiries for Bishop Mark to Bishop’s House on (01752) 224414 or to the Bishop’s
PA at bishoppa@prcdtr.org.uk
