Speech by Salvatore Coppola-Finegan
Sunday 22nd June, A.D. 2025
Church of St Pius X, Belair, Luxembourg
Listen to the speech here:
Read the speech here:
My name is Salvatore Coppola-Finegan.
I have dedicated the best part of the last 15 years of my life to humanity’s social, ecological, and climate crises.
As an academic, as a scientist, as a community organiser, as a technician writing policies and laws, as a Catholic, as a husband, and as a FATHER.
From the dirt roads, contaminated water, human rights abuses, and conflicts of rural Central America, to the parliament of Costa Rica, the coastal communities of South East Asia, to advising the Church in the Global South, all the way to the negotiation halls of the United Nations COPs.
10 years ago, the world signed the Paris Agreement.
We all agreed that we needed to stop global warming.
10 years ago, Pope Francis published his historic letter: LAUDATO SI’.
He appealed not just to Catholics, nor just to Christians, it was a universal call to all… to look after our Common Home.
A letter grounded not just in Church teachings, but also drafted with leading scientists from around the world.
That letter reminds us, in strong terms, that we must listen and act on the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor.
The climate emergency, biodiversity collapse, desertification: they all hit the vulnerable hardest.
The Global South, but not only! And statistically, amongst those who are affected, especially women, children, the elderly, and those with disabilities.
These are our mothers, grandmothers, our brothers and sisters, our children.
How will we forgive ourselves if we do not act while we still have some little time?
In recent years, we have registered too much global warming.
These are not numbers on a thermometer, these are more hurricanes, stronger floods, mudslides: this is famine, conflict, and migration.
Our democracies are also at peril from these crises.
In Luxembourg we are immensely privileged.
On the 17th February, just 48 days into the 365 of the year, we had already used up our quota of earth’s resources. Every day since, we are living on the backs of others.
We, here, collectively, as guardians of creation, are not doing enough.
I am acutely aware that many of you simply do not have the time to spare for this work.
However, I also believe that many of you are sensitive to these issues.
I believe that you do care about maintaining the conditions for life to thrive on this planet, for our children, grandchildren, and for the rest of creation.
So now I ask you to put one hand on your heart, and with the other one, help us.
Those who can, please donate generously.
Your donations go further in the Global South, lets leverage this.
We need to fund projects we want to start now in these months.
We have projects in Latin America, Africa, and Asia.
Projects led by communities, stewards of creation and by the indigenous.
Projects that are always accompanied and supported by Catholic missionaries and communities.
Those of you who cannot donate? Ask your institutions to fund our efforts. Give us platforms to speak from.
Open up spaces in which we can meet and explain these issues.
I’m always happy to offer my time. Give us a chance to spread hope, and to inspire!
Amplify and multiply our message of alarm, truth, but also of hope!
Listen to your moral conscience in your decisions at work and in your own financial decisions.
Vote, and do the right thing, in board meetings.
Organise politically and vote accordingly.
We’ll soon have lots of examples of everyday actions on our website, things like:
- Use your car one day less a week
- Eat meat one day less a week
- Buy less new clothes this year
- Consume less plastic
- Stop wasting food
- Buy, and consume, less!
Please share our message with others.
Let others know… spread this consciousness.
Tell people the truth.
Find people to help us.
My pockets are empty, and always have been when doing this work.
To those that can, please give us the means we need to work on your behalf.
We can still do this.
We still have time to hear those cries and act decisively.
May God bless us all in our Common Mission.
Watch the speech here:
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