Catholic Union Head of Public Affairs, James Somerville-Meikle, writes:
It’s been a week of high and low politics.
Despite the challenges of securing international agreement, the COP26 summit in Glasgow has produced some real results – with commitments to end deforestation and cut methane emissions by 30 per cent by 2030, along with phasing out coal power.
Cardinal Parolin led the delegation from the Holy See to the summit, where a speech from Pope Francis was delivered to delegates and a rather awkward photo opportunity with the Prime Minister took place.
While COP26 has shown what can be achieved through political action, politicians have sadly been in the news for all the wrong reasons this week.
Like all of us, politicians have their flaws and the “cruel world” of politics is too often on display. But rather than this being a reason to turn our back on politics, it should encourage us even more to get involved.
As Catholics in particular, we understand the importance of participating in public life and our calling to help bring about the common good.