Background

Ecumenical Consensus of the new role of the Churches

Thousands of actions and projects, hundreds of workshops and conferences and important studies have been realized especially in Europe after European Ecumenical Assembly held in Basel in May 1989, long before the launch of Laudato Si 2015.  For an effective Laudato Si Impact we can build on over 25 years of rich practical experience and almost 50 years of intensive ecumenical and catholic environmental and sustainability discourse.

Already 1985 the German Bishop Conference (Cardinal Höffner) and the EKD Bishop Lohse) published a common declaration "Verantwortung wahrnehmen für die Schöpfung".

The German Federal Foundation for the Environment, for example, has supported over 713 church energy projects with over 59 million € until 2005.The first important milestone after Basel in 1989 was the CCEE-KEK Crete Conference on Environment and Development, 1995 where a deepened and broad consensus on the implementation of the Rio Earth Summit, the Framework Convention on Climate Change and also the new role of the churches - towards practice and co-responsibility was developed. Crete was a fundamental experience for all representatives, because we felt that we as Christians and churches can only overcome the great challenge together - in reflection, action and prayer. Many later initiatives, including the Time of Creation, go back to the Spirit of Crete which had a stron impact on Graz 2007 and Sibiu 2008.