ROME, Italy — The Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE) has called on the European Union to ensure “fair access to affordable energy for all, especially the most vulnerable,” in a statement Monday on the energy crisis.
COMECE is led by Jesuit Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, who has distinguished himself as a crusader for green energy, a warrior against climate change, and a declared enemy of fossil fuels.
In late 2018, Hollerich signed an appeal calling on government leaders to take immediate action to overcome the “devastating effects of the climate crisis.”
The cardinal says that he buys fair-trade coffee instead of Nespresso, no longer uses plastic bottles, and has changed his diesel car for a hybrid one.
In Monday’s statement, however, the EU bishops have adopted a softer tone as green ideology has crashed on the shoals of Europe’s real energy needs.
“Today, as winter is approaching in Europe, we call on all who bear responsibility in public life, not to abandon families and persons who are vulnerable or victims of socio-economic discrimination, unable to cope with soaring inflation and to pay for heating or electricity,” the bishops declare.
Europe is suffering from skyrocketing fuel prices and threatened energy scarcity following years of dismantling its domestic energy production capabilities in favor of renewable sources of energy, which have proven grossly insufficient to meet the continent’s real energy needs.
The European bishops themselves have been on the front lines of the war on cheap, available energy in accord with the green ideology that has swept over the EU.
The problem has been exacerbated by Europe’s near total dependence on Russian oil and gas, a natural result of abandoning home energy production. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the EU’s negative response, Russian president Vladimir Putin has been using his hold on Europe as a weapon to prevent any serious European sanctions.
In the face of the reality of Europe’s current energy crisis, the bishops have appealed to the policy-makers at the European level to ensure “accessible and affordable energy to the most affected people through temporary mitigation measures and a fair distribution of resources.”
“The long-term objective of replacing fossil fuels must be pursued,” they continue to insist, while conceding that “until greater progress is made in developing widely accessible sources of renewable energy, it is legitimate to choose the less harmful alternative or to find-short-term solutions.”
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