Faith on the Move: Catholic Social Teaching and Climate-Induced Migration

As climate change accelerates forced migration, Catholic social teaching (CST) provides a critical ethical and theological framework for addressing climate-induced displacement. This paper examines how CST informs Catholic responses to climate migration through humanitarian action, policy advocacy, and global governance efforts. Using case studies from Catholic Relief Services in Central America and the Catholic Climate Covenant in the U.S., this paper highlights the Church’s role in supporting climate migrants. It explores how Catholic Social Teaching principles, especially the common good, human dignity, and the preferential option for the poor, shape faith-based interventions and influence international migration policy. Catholic organizations challenge existing legal definitions of refugees, advocating for expanded protections for climate-displaced persons. This study asserts that Catholic actors are not only responding to climate migration but actively shaping ethical and political discourse on migration governance in an era of ecological crisis.