Churches make food and car Lent call

Church leaders have called on Austrians to cut back on food and car use during Lent.The Roman Catholic and the Evangelical Churches are urging people to walk, cycle, use public transport and car pool from Ash Wednesday on 17 February until Holy Saturday on 3 April to help the environment.Markus Gerharinger, the Vienna archdiocese official responsible for environmental issues, said today (Tues): “Stop the car reflex that makes people automatically use cars to go somewhere and not think of alternatives.”He said cutting back on car use did not mean abandoning the use of cars completely but that people should learn to be more flexible in mobility during the 40 days of Lent.He added that cutting back on food would draw attention to global inequality.For more information visit www.autofasten.at and www.klimafairbessern.koo.at/fleischfasten.php