“In Secours Catholique, the link between poverty and climate has become an engine of collective engagement”
How did Secours Catholique hosted this text ten years ago? Was ecology a natural theme of SC?
Ten years ago, Laudato encyclical if it was received as a stimulating text, which came to strengthen an awareness already in germ. Ecology was not then a central theme of the network, but it echoed many field practices: beware of the most fragile, local solidarity, community life, chosen sobriety.
Our international partners already alerted us to the concrete consequences of climate change on the most precarious (floods in Bangladesh, drought, displacement of populations, etc.). Laudato if it came to put words and consistency on these observations. Our board of directors thus acted our commitment on the subject in 2015, in particular by the participation of Secours Catholique each year in COP to bring the most vulnerable voice in international negotiations.
And since then, what is the path traveled?
The dynamics have been progressive, but real. Secours Catholique has taken the time to make a path of discernment, in connection with the realities of accompanied people. The Rever approach – Ecological Revolution for a just and fraternal world – which we have implemented since 2023 embodies this transition: it aims to articulate our commitments to combat poverty with a deep ecological transformation of our practices and our lifestyles.
It is not only a “new generation” that has worn this dynamic. We have seen new players emerge in our network with volunteers who are specifically joining us for these challenges, but also long -standing volunteers who wanted to register actively. In terms of management, it is indeed officials already very marked by the subjects “ecology” who “carried” the subject to bring this dynamic to advent.
What are the most calling points for you in the full ecology of Pope Francis?
Three points are particularly inspiring:
- The inseparability between clamor of the earth and clamor of the poor, who joins the heart of our mission. We cannot defend the rights of people without also fighting against the environmental injustices they undergo. People in precariousness are those who most need the ecological transition to happen but they are today paradoxically the most distant.
- The appeal to joyful sobriety, which echoes forms of simple life, sharing, fraternity experienced in many teams.
- The central role of territories and communities, where concrete alternatives, resistance, and solidarities are born. It is in the field that this integral ecology is lived, in connection with local actors, associations, citizen collectives.
What projects do you have for the years to come?
The DRE approach aims for a deep change at three levels: individual, collective and political. It continues to deploy with the aim of infusing a culture of integral ecology throughout our network. At the national level, we carry out a project of report which will document the impacts of climate change on the most precarious, in France and abroad, based on life stories and testimonies. This report will result in recommendations in terms of adaptation. It will be released in early 2026.
We also work on mobilization tools, such as an educational tool of the fresco type around the links between ecology and poverty, to strengthen consciousness and action on these issues. It is in the test phase for operationalization at the same period. Locally, the teams continue or initiate many projects: shared gardens, solidarity grocery stores, solidarity shops and promotion of the second hand, support for the renovation of thermal colanders, bicycle workshops, etc. We also organize each year since 2024 the weeks Laudato if ‘, which have become a highlight of communication and mobilization in our network.
We are at heart that the ecological transition reduces already existing inequalities and allows everyone to access their essential needs (social floor) while respecting the limits of the planet (ecological ceiling).
