The Laudato Si Movement
One certainly need not be a Catholic or a person of any religious faith to be concerned with and take action regarding climate change. The effects and consequences of climate change have been unequivocally supported, leading citizens throughout the world to be invested in the call for it to be more urgently addressed. Yet, as Catholics, we bring an added dimension to such efforts that are nourished in our moral commitment to care for God’s creation and the call from Pope Francis to do so, as inspiringly presented in the encyclical, Laudato Si.
Catholics all over the world have been coming together on climate change concerns for years in their understanding of creation as original evidence of God’s existence and His blessing gift to us. Those efforts, exemplified in groups such as the Global Catholic Climate Movement and Catholic Climate Covenant, are now intimately tied to the vision and goals of Laudato Si such that just this summer, the Catholic Climate Movement was renamed the Laudato Si Movement.
Laudato Si is a compelling document founded in theological convictions through Scripture, Catholic Social Teaching, and previous papal documents on how addressing climate, environmental ecology, and poverty are religious and moral imperatives beyond the scientific and societal ones. The concepts of human dignity and the common good are pillars of its strong ethical features and are applied to our interconnectedness and responsibility to the natural world. Laudato Si is intended for all people, not Catholics or Christians alone, so much so that it was impactful in the Paris Climate Agreement in 2015.
The Laudato Si Action Platform to be advanced on November 14th is a unique collaboration among the Vatican, an international coalition of Catholic organizations, and all people of goodwill, to protect God’s creation our common home, embrace necessary lifestyle changes to do so, and care for those who are more vulnerable. Our parish will participate in the goals of the Laudato Si Action Platform which will be shared further closer to November 14th. All are encouraged to visit the Laudato Si Movement website and review the encyclical and related literature for more information.
– Nicholas Naccari, Ignatian Social Justice Ministry