Bishops’ Conference
Bätzing: Protecting the world’s oceans is “a task for mankind”
The chairman of the German Bishops’ Conference, Georg Bätzing, calls for environmental protection at Easter. photo
© Robert Michael/dpa
The climate catastrophe brings with it droughts – and with them water shortages in many places. The chairman of the German Bishops’ Conference addresses this in his Easter Vigil sermon.
The chairman of the German Bishops’ Conference, Georg Bätzing, called for the protection of the world’s oceans in his Easter Vigil sermon. Concern for sufficient clean drinking water and the protection of the seas is a “human task,” said Bätzing after a speech that had previously been distributed in Limburg on Sunday night. “I take it as a hopeful sign that the United Nations community was able to agree on a protection agreement with very specific measures for the world’s oceans on March 5,” said Bätzing.
Across much of the world, people suffered from a lack of clean water within reachable distances, Bätzing said. “Drought zones are increasing at an alarming rate due to climate change. And such zones are not just thousands of kilometers away from us.” The Catholic bishop recalled that in February there were more dry days in a row in France than at any time since records began. “Lakes are drying up, springs and rivers are drying up.” Last summer, the water level in the Rhine dropped to a dramatic low. “Islands the size of soccer fields jutted out of the river.” This shows that water reserves are declining rapidly.
The starting point for Bätzing’s sermon about water was the baptism of three children on Easter night. The person being baptized is doused with water. The ritual goes back to the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist described in the Bible.