Westminster Justice and Peace were represented at the launch of a 10-Day Vigil of Prayer, taking place outside the Houses of Parliament from 14th-24th February 2024.
We were surprised by the cameras from GB News and an interview by Jacob Rees-Mogg with Christian Climate Activist, Melanie Nazareth.
Watch from 38-44 minutes.
Since 2015, The Climate Coalition have used the power of green hearts on Valentine’s Day to send a message to those in power that we want to see a safer, greener future for generations to come.
Westminster Justice and Peace are members of The Climate Coalition
On Monday 12th February, we will join other participants in the Southern Dioceses Environment Network for deeper reflection on the theme of ‘Show The Love’ in our parishes and Catholic communities as we also make our preparations for Lent.
If you would like to join us, make or bring a green heart to the meeting and wear something green!
Southern Dioceses Environment Network – Book for 12th February, 12.45-2.00pm #ShowTheLove
Neil Thorns, the Director of Advocacy for CAFOD, was the guest speaker at the Southern Dioceses Environment Network on Monday 15th January, 12.45-2.00pm, to give feedback to participants on the UN Climate Conference (COP28) held from 1-12 December 2023 .
Neil was present at COP28 in Dubai and has attended a number of previous COPs as a member of the Vatican delegation
For his presentation, Neil identified four headline outcomes from COP28:
He reported on each issue in more detail, explaining the significance of each and what it means for Catholics in the UK going forward.
‘Loss and Damage’ is when poor communities overseas can no longer adapt to the effects of climate change but need to be able to respond when disasters occur. How do they get the resources they need?Developed countries who have done the most to cause the climate crisis have a responsibility towards these communities. ‘Loss and Damage’ has been kicking around for a long time in climate circles and in climate negotiations and a fund was finally agreed in principle Sharm El-Sheikh last year at COP27.
Operating the Fund was agreed on the first day of COP28 and money was put into it. Not enough money was put in, but what was important was that all the major countries contributed. For example, the US paid around $27 million which is just peanuts! The UK, in comparison has paid $45 million and the UAE $100 million. How that money is spent is going to be really important. It is also significant that ‘Loss and Damage’ will now be included for the first time in the Global Stock Take Process.
The Vatican is very interested in ‘Loss and Damage’ and especially non-economic ‘Loss and Damage’ – e.g. spiritual, cultural sites, language etc. The Vatican strongly supports ‘Integral Human Development’ so will continue to take a major interest in this aspect.
Neil said that people often ask, ‘Why do COPs have to happen annually? There have been 28 of them, are they achieving anything?’ His answer is ‘Yes!’ The pace may be slow, but the important thing is that we keep moving forward each year. The Global Stock Take Process is an important part of this. It is important to get things into the negotiations because then they get monitored and countries are accountable going forward. This was one of the biggest things to come out of COP28 and a big win for the first day.
2. UAE Consensus
Host countries like to get agreements named after themselves and so now we have the UAE Consensus arising as an outcome. COP28 was focused on the Global Stock Take that was agreed in Paris at COP21 in 2015 and came into force in 2020 whereby countries have to submit reports on how far they are doing to meet the principles of the Paris Agreement to keep global warming temperatures below 1.5C by 2050. All eyes were on COP28 to see if an end to Fossil Fuels would be included in the next Global Stock Take. Making a ‘transition away from fossil fuels’ was eventually included in the final agreement. It may not have been expressed in the strongest language – and was not what the Pope called for – but it was the first mention of an end to fossil fuels in a COP agreement. It is true there were a lot of caveats! For example, it didn’t call for taking away subsidies from fossil fuels, but we can start chipping away from this base.
3. Dubai – Baku – Belem Roadmap
COP29 will be in BAKU, Azerbaijan, in 2024 which is another oil state and will feature another COP president with oil company links.
COP30 will be in BELEM, Brazil in 2025 – a city in the Amazon rainforest.
These next two COPs are expected to be about finance. As Neil said, ‘Money makes the world go round!’ and at these next COPs progress of the Climate Fund will be closely scrutinised. A Climate Fund to enable developing countries to make adaptations was agreed in 2009 and set at $100bn per year. This target was meant to be reached by 2020 but is still only partially met. A ‘New Collective Quantified Goal’ has to be agreed this year in Baku to ensure that money gets to those countries for adaptation and loss and damage. Currently we using existing money to meet these commitments. For example, the UK is using part of the Overseas Aid Budget. This is essentially robbing Peter to pay Paul so we need innovative ideas on finance, such as a tax on international shipping. Levels of debt will be have to be addressed and debt cancellation considered as international finance architecture currently makes it difficult for developing countries to get loans, creating debt cycles that prevent spending on climate adaptation. The UK currently borrows money at 1 or 2%, while for Bangladesh it is 7 or 8%. There will also be questions about who pays? Should it be the historic big emitters? Or more recent emitters like Saudi Arabia, who don’t currently have any obligations to pay. A France-Kenya initiative to explore these options will report back to COP30 in Brazil.
4. Recognition of Food
A third of greenhouse gas emissions comes from our food and food systems. Food now needs to be considered in national plans. We can now include it in the whole aspect of deforestation. 150 countries are now pledged to include Food in their climate plans.
What Next?
The Vatican played an important role by talking about ending fossil fuels and talking about food and is in a position to ask for an ambitious Global Stock Take in these areas. The BBC reported on the Pope’s talk, read by Cardinal Parolin as the Pope himself was unable to attend due to illness. Media reports – especially the BBC which has a global reach – have an impact in COP spaces.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-67599985
The rate of action is accelerating as we head towards 2025. The UK is heading into an election year and we can use this to promote improvements to our Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC). We need to let our elected representatives know what we want in terms of climate ambition.
Q & A with Neil
Q. How useful is a focus new tech e.g. solar panels? There are always side things happening alongside COP. More renewable energy deals were done at COP28 than ever before, which is a good thing. People at COP were talking about ‘carbon capture and storage’ but experts say it has very little impact so we can’t rely on it. Solar energy is making a huge difference. Especially in the US Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Bill has had a huge impact in creating green jobs. Tech linked to jobs makes for social change.
Q. What about the Vatican follow-up? Loss and Damage is a priority as I said earlier and talking about ending fossil fuels. The Catholic Church celebrates a Jubilee Year in 2025 and the Vatican is looking into how this can be linked to Brazil 2025 and COP30. Pope Francis said during the Covid pandemic that we don’t come out of a crisis the same. We come out either better or worse. Can we ensure that we come out better, with a better economics and better outcomes for the poorest?
Q. Can we push the CAFOD Fix the Food System even more? The Pope said in Laudato Si’ that ‘everything is connected.’ We have to link food with everything else and seeds is a big part in that. As CAFOD we can make some progress making sure that seeds find a place in the food plans for individual countries.
We then split into small breakout groups to discuss the questions:
1) What is your response to the outcomes of COP28?
2)What will you be focusing on for the environment in 2024?
Members of the Network were encouraged by the positive messaging from Neil. Participants asked how they might encourage people to be hopeful but at the same time make things like taking multiple flights socially unacceptable and wanted to be more confident in speaking up for the climate with family and friends. Members are focused on taking local actions, with several planning to taking part in the Christian Climate Action 10-Day Vigil in Lent. Some are involved with Greenpeace.
Participants also agreed that, while we are glad to hear that progress is being made, we need to make it known that progress needs to be faster, especially in this election year. CAFOD and SVP are working together on election material that will encourage Catholics to push for climate action this year.
Colette Joyce, Westminster Justice and Peace Co-ordinator, who convenes the Network said: “We are really grateful to Neil for representing us at COP28 and for his comprehensive reporting and analysis. Knowing that we can have an impact on the international processes helps motivate us to keep going with climate action on a local and parish basis.”
Future meetings for the Southern Dioceses Environment Network take place this year on:
12 February, 12.45-2.00pm
11 March, 12.45-2.00pm
13 May, 12.45-2.00pm
10 June,12.45-2.00pm
8 July, 12.45-2.00pm
9 September, 12.45-2.00pm
14 October, 12.45-2.00pm
11 November, 12.45-2.00pm
9 December, 12.45-2.00pm
The Southern Dioceses Environment Network is a network for all Catholics and our friends who care about creation and meets monthly online on the second Monday of the month. It also organises other events online and in-person when this is possible. Some events take place jointly with the Northern Dioceses Environment Group, as we all work together to animate the Catholic community in the long-term task of stabilising our climate and protecting our common home. We are inspired by the principles of Catholic Social Teaching, especially as set out by Pope Francis in the encyclical Laudato Si’, and the teachings on caring for the earth and one another found in Scripture.
Participants include CAFOD and Diocesan staff and volunteers, Laudato Si’ Animators, Journey to 2030, parishioners, clergy, religious and activists. You are welcome to attend as a one-off or to participate regularly. The Southern Dioceses are: Arundel & Brighton, Brentwood, Clifton, East Anglia, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Southwark and Westminster.
For the Zoom link, more details, or to be added to the mailing list please email Colette Joyce, Westminster Justice and Peace Co-ordinator, colettejoyce@rcdow.org.uk or call her on 07593 434 905
Southern Dioceses Environment Network
Westminster Justice and Peace joined many other groups at the Global Day of Action march in central London for COP28 on 9 December 2023
Coinciding with the final days of the climate summit in Dubai, the London gathering brought together Christian groups including CAFOD, Jesuit Missions, Christian Aid, Tearfund, Christian Climate Action, Operation Noah, Green Christian, Laudato Si’ Movement, Columban Justice, Peace and Ecology, and the Quakers.
We also joined up with other activists from Faiths for the Climate and The Climate Coalition, marking the Global Day of Action for Climate Justice on the final Saturday of COP28 by taking part in COP28 marches and rallies throughout the UK.
We were united in calling for action at COP28 before time runs out.
The UN climate conference has now concluded and its impact is being assessed. While the negotiations have still fallen short of what is needed, in some ways the conference has exceeded expectations.
Reporting on the outcomes of COP28, Neil Thorns, Director of Advocacy at CAFOD, said:
“COP28 has confirmed what we need to do with an explicit reference to a world without fossil fuels and support to the most vulnerable communities through the agreement of a loss and damage fund.”
Neil recognises there is still a risk of delivering only the appearance of concern, rather than substantive change, but in his positive assessment, “We now have the basis to create greater ambition at our national levels. That is the way we will keep to a 1.5 degree pathway.
“It’s encouraging to see increasing government support to link the climate and food agendas, which should be reflected in future national plans and an urgent plan to transform our food system to provide greater support smallholder farmers.”
Read Neil’s report for CAFOD for COP28
This Saturday, 9 December 2023, sees the Global Call to Action. Westminster Justice and Peace are joining CAFOD and many other civic groups to march and call for leaders at COP28 to commit to urgent action on the climate crisis.
We’re going to meet at 11:50am at St James’s Square, SW1Y 4LE. This is next to the office of BP, one of the world’s largest fossil fuel companies.
A large march calling for a ceasefire in the war in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory is now going to be taking place in London on the same day as we gather to call for leaders at COP28 to act on the climate crisis.
As a result, the route for the COP28 march is going to be shorter than originally planned:
Along with Christian Aid and Tearfund, CAFOD have written a set of prayers that we will say when we meet outside BP. And, of course, if you’re unable to join us in person to call for leaders to act at COP28, you can say these prayers with us from wherever you are in the world.
We will be there with the Westminster Justice and Peace banner from 11.45am.
You can also join in at Farm Street Church for the Jesuit Missions prayer event from 10am
You are welcome to let us know if you would like to join us or just show up on the day.
And spread the word!
Email: justiceandpeace@rcdow.org.uk Colette Joyce Mobile: 07953 434905
Source: ICN, Sr Kate Midgley and Cecilia Bullock
Inspired both by Christian Climate Action and the Laudato Si Movement, on Saturday 9 September we had a ‘Pilgrimage for the Planet’ along the Thames Path. Over 50 people came. Some of us started at Kate’s parish in Bow where there was a prayer and blessing from parish priest Fr Howard James.
They then joined the rest of the group at the Cutty Sark and we all began our pilgrimage to the Thames Barrier.
We were pilgrims from various local parishes: a big contingent from the Chinese Catholic Community, nine religious Sisters from different Congregations (Columban Sisters, Little Company of Mary Sisters, Missionary Sister of Our Lady of Africa, Sister of the Holy Cross, Carmelite Sister), Fr Richard Nesbitt and parishioners from White City, including a visiting seminarian from Nigeria, Laudato Si animators and members of Christian Climate Action.
We hadn’t asked God for an extreme weather event, but we were given one anyway! It was the hottest day of the year and the sixth day in a row when it was over 30C in London in September!
We began our pilgrimage at the Cutty Sark with a prayer and an invitation to walk the pilgrimage with our five senses wide open to what God may want to show us. And as we walked we paused to reflect on Creation’s Song, Creation’s Cry and Creation’s Call and the message of Pope Francis for the Season of Creation.
We also paused at significant places such as:
-Crowley’s Wharf – where ironworks made ankle-irons, manacles and collars used in the enslavement of African people
-Greenwich Power Station
-The tidal terraces/reed beds – an innovation in flood defence providing a habitat for plants and animals
-‘Tribe and Tribulation/Totemic Sculpture’ by Serge Attukwei Clottey on the meridian line, with its sound recordings from three former slave forts on the Gold Coast. At this point we reflected on Creation’s Cry and also listened to a moving recording of Rev Jon Swales prayer for COP 27
-The beautiful Ecology Park which mimics the original marshland of Greenwich Peninsula.
At this point we reflected on Creation’s Call at this critical time in human history, and also invited all to enter into an imaginative dialogue with an other than human member of creation.
We passed the wharfs where boats arrive daily with sand and gravel aggregates found on the sea bed.
We finally reached the Thames Barrier, where we had the great joy of being joined by another pilgrimage group, coordinated by Barbara Wilson, a parishioner of Corpus Christi, Brixton, and member of Christian Climate Action. This group had walked 17km from the Shell HQ on the Southbank.
It included several Medical Mission Sisters and five Buddhists who found the pilgrimage experience very moving. The group had been reflecting on Pope Francis words: “How can we contribute to the mighty river of justice and peace in this Season of Creation? … We must do this by resolving to transform our hearts, our lifestyles, and the public policies ruling our societies.” These words inspired reflections at their stopping points.
It was wonderful for both groups to join together to share reflections and pray for people of all continents, especially those most impacted by climate change in the global south. We then listened to a powerful recording of Ben Okri reading ‘Broken’ from his book ‘Tiger Work’. Our final song was ‘Let Justice and Peace flow like a Mighty River.’
Sr Kate Midgley is a Missionary Sister of St Columban. Cecilia Bullock is a Laudato Si Animator, a member of Christian Climate Action, and a parishioner of St Paul’s, Harefield
Dear brothers and sisters!
“Let Justice and Peace Flow” is the theme of this year’s ecumenical Season of Creation, inspired by the words of the prophet Amos: “Let justice flow on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream” (5:24).
The evocative image used by Amos speaks to us of what God desires. God wants justice to reign; it is as essential to our life as God’s children made in his likeness as water is essential for our physical survival. This justice must flow forth wherever it is needed, neither remaining hidden deep beneath the ground nor vanishing like water that evaporates before it can bring sustenance. God wants everyone to strive to be just in every situation, to live according to his laws and thus to enable life to flourish. When we “seek first the kingdom of God” (Mt 6:33), maintaining a right relationship with God, humanity and nature, then justice and peace can flow like a never-failing stream of pure water, nourishing humanity and all creatures.
On a beautiful summer day in July 2022, during my pilgrimage to Canada, I reflected on this on the shores of Lac Ste. Anne in Alberta. That lake has been a place of pilgrimage for many generations of indigenous people. Surrounded by the beating of drums, I thought: “How many hearts have come here with anxious longing, weighed down by life’s burdens, and found by these waters consolation and strength to carry on! Here, immersed in creation, we can also sense another beating: the maternal heartbeat of the earth. Just as the hearts of babies in the womb beat in harmony with those of their mothers, so in order to grow as people, we need to harmonize our own rhythms of life with those of creation, which gives us life”. [1]
During this Season of Creation, let us dwell on those heartbeats: our own and those of our mothers and grandmothers, the heartbeat of creation and the heartbeat of God. Today they do not beat in harmony; they are not harmonized in justice and peace. Too many of our brothers and sisters are prevented from drinking from that mighty river. Let us heed our call to stand with the victims of environmental and climate injustice, and to put an end to the senseless war against creation.
The effects of this war can be seen in the many rivers that are drying up. Benedict XVI once observed that: “the external deserts in the world are growing, because the internal deserts have become so vast”. [2] Consumerist greed, fuelled by selfish hearts, is disrupting the planet’s water cycle. The unrestrained burning of fossil fuels and the destruction of forests are pushing temperatures higher and leading to massive droughts. Alarming water shortages increasingly affect both small rural communities and large metropolises. Moreover, predatory industries are depleting and polluting our freshwater sources through extreme practices such as fracking for oil and gas extraction, unchecked mega-mining projects, and intensive animal farming. “Sister Water”, in the words of Saint Francis of Assisi, is pillaged and turned into “a commodity subject to the laws of the market” ( Laudato Si’, 30).
The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has stated that acting now with greater urgency means that we will not miss our chance to create a more sustainable and just world. We can and we must prevent the worst from happening. “Truly, much can be done” (ibid., 180), provided we come together like so many streams, brooks and rivulets, merging finally in a mighty river to irrigate the life of our marvellous planet and our human family for generations to come. So let us join hands and take bold steps to “Let Justice and Peace Flow” throughout our world.
How can we contribute to the mighty river of justice and peace in this Season of Creation? What can we, particularly as Christian communities, do to heal our common home so that it can once again teem with life? We must do this by resolving to transform our hearts, our lifestyles, and the public policies ruling our societies.
First, let us join the mighty river by transforming our hearts. This is essential for any other transformation to occur; it is that “ecological conversion” which Saint John Paul II encouraged us to embrace: the renewal of our relationship with creation so that we no longer see it as an object to be exploited but cherish it instead as a sacred gift from our Creator. Furthermore, we should realize that an integral approach to respect for the environment involves four relationships: with God, with our brothers and sisters of today and tomorrow, with all of nature, and with ourselves.
As to the first of these relationships, Pope Benedict XVI spoke of the urgent need to recognize that creation and redemption are inseparably linked: “The Redeemer is the Creator and if we do not proclaim God in his full grandeur – as Creator and as Redeemer – we also diminish the value of the redemption”. [3] Creation refers both to God’s mysterious, magnificent act of creating this majestic, beautiful planet and universe out of nothing and to the continuing result of that act, which we experience as an inexhaustible gift. During the liturgy and personal prayer in “the great cathedral of creation”, [4] let us recall the great Artist who creates such beauty, and reflect on the mystery of that loving decision to create the cosmos.
Second, let us add to the flow of this mighty river by transforming our lifestyles. Starting from grateful wonder at the Creator and his creation, let us repent of our “ecological sins”, as my brother, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, has urged. These sins harm the world of nature and our fellow men and women. With the help of God’s grace, let us adopt lifestyles marked by less waste and unnecessary consumption, especially where the processes of production are toxic and unsustainable. Let us be as mindful as we can about our habits and economic decisions so that all can thrive – our fellow men and women wherever they may be, and future generations as well. Let us cooperate in God’s ongoing creation through positive choices: using resources with moderation and a joyful sobriety, disposing and recycling waste, and making greater use of available products and services that are environmentally and socially responsible.
Lastly, for the mighty river to continue flowing, we must transform the public policies that govern our societies and shape the lives of young people today and tomorrow. Economic policies that promote scandalous wealth for a privileged few and degrading conditions for many others, spell the end of peace and justice. It is clear that the richer nations have contracted an “ecological debt” that must be paid (cf. Laudato Si’, 51). [5] The world leaders who will gather for the COP28 summit in Dubai from 30 November to 12 December next must listen to science and institute a rapid and equitable transition to end the era of fossil fuel. According to the commitments undertaken in the Paris Agreement to restrain global warming, it is absurd to permit the continued exploration and expansion of fossil fuel infrastructures. Let us raise our voices to halt this injustice towards the poor and towards our children, who will bear the worst effects of climate change. I appeal to all people of good will to act in conformity with these perspectives on society and nature.
Another parallel perspective has to do with the Catholic Church’s commitment to synodality. This year, the closing of the Season of Creation on 4 October, the feast of Saint Francis of Assisi, will coincide with the opening of the Synod on Synodality. Like rivers in nature, fed by myriad tiny brooks and larger streams and rivulets, the synodal process that began in October 2021 invites all those who take part on a personal or community level, to coalesce in a majestic river of reflection and renewal. The entire People of God is being invited to an immersive journey of synodal dialogue and conversion.
So too, like a river basin with its many tiny and larger tributaries, the Church is a communion of countless local Churches, religious communities and associations that draw from the same shared waters. Each source adds its unique and irreplaceable contribution, until all flow together into the vast ocean of God’s loving mercy. In the same way that a river is a source of life for its surroundings, our synodal Church must be a source of life for our common home and all its inhabitants. In the same way that a river gives life to all kinds of animal and plant life, a synodal Church must give life by sowing justice and peace in every place it reaches.
In Canada, in July 2022, I spoke of the Sea of Galilee where Jesus brought healing and consolation to many people and proclaimed “a revolution of love”. Lac Ste. Anne, I learned, is also a place of healing, consolation and love, a place that “reminds us that fraternity is genuine if it unites those who are far apart, [and] that the message of unity that heaven sends down to earth does not fear differences, but invites us to fellowship, a communion of differences, in order to start afresh together, because we are all pilgrims on a journey”. [6]
In this Season of Creation, as followers of Christ on our shared synodal journey, let us live, work and pray that our common home will teem with life once again. May the Holy Spirit once more hover over the waters and guide our efforts to “renew the face of the earth” (cf. Ps 104:30).
Rome, Saint John Lateran, 13 May 2023
FRANCIS
Source: Independent Catholic News
Passionist priest Fr Martin Newell, 55, and Ben Buse, a Christian from Bristol, were among a group of nine environmental protesters found guilty on a charge of ‘Public Nuisance’ at a trial at Hove Crown Court last Friday. The nine were part of the Insulate Britain 2021 campaign of nonviolent civil resistance undertaken to demand the UK government insulate Britain’s cold and leaky homes.
The defendants were found guilty by a jury, on a majority verdict of 10-2. on a charge of ‘Public Nuisance’. In September 2021 they blocked a road at Dover Port bringing traffic to a standstill for over two hours.
This was the fifteenth Insulate Britain jury trial, a number of which have resulted in ‘not guilty’ verdicts by juries.
Sentencing will be on June 14th. Defendants in similar cases recently have had a range of sentences including substantial court costs, community service orders and suspended sentences. After saying they planned to do the same again, some were given immediate custodial sentences of a few weeks.
Fr Martin said: “Christians are called to live by the law of God’s Kingdom above all, and God’s laws at times lead us into conflict with human laws. The human court has decided we are ‘guilty’, but in the Kingdom of God there is a higher court. Pope Francis calls us to hear the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor. I took part in Insulate Britain in an attempt to take that call seriously. Pope Francis said in Laudato Si that our common home which is the earth is among the most abused and neglected of our neighbours. I live and work with refugees and asylum seekers. So I am acutely aware of the increasing impact of extreme weather resulting from climate change, such as the floods in Congo that recently killed over 400 people from one region. Increasing inequality and fuel poverty within the UK is also a moral scandal that cries to heaven. The Gospel call to hear these urgent cries is what impelled me to take part in the Insulate Britain campaign.”
Ben Buse said: “Science documents our warming world and the increases in extreme weather, as well as it’s unequal impacts. Christian Aid have reported the devastation already happening. It is a justice issue, a refugee issue, a biodiversity issue. Action is required at all levels. Dover Port was an iconic place to call for government action in the run up to COP 26 in Glasgow. 9,500 people also die of cold, uninsulated homes each winter in the UK. Christian faith requires us to tackle problems at the root. We need structural change, laying the foundations for a just, equitable and sustainable future. A future where creation can heal and be restored, anticipating the the time when all will be righted.”
The group point out that the trial comes after a series of unprecedented floods, droughts and heat waves have wreaked havoc across the globe, some of which “would be almost impossible without climate change” according to the ‘World Weather Attribution initiative’ and the UN IPCC report in March warned that only swift and drastic action can avert irrevocable damage.
LINKS
Insulate Britain: Insulate Britain Press Statement
CAFOD director on new climate report: ‘Its now or never’: www.indcatholicnews.com/news/44414
People around the world are being invited to celebrate Laudato Si’ Week 2023 from 21-28 May with the theme: Hope for the Earth, Hope for Humanity.
Laudato Si’ Week 2023 marks the eighth anniversary of Pope Francis’ landmark encyclical on care for creation. Laudato Si’ was first published 24 May 2015.
Communities are invited to base their celebrations around the 2022 film “The Letter” which tells the story of a journey to Rome of five frontline leaders – Arouna, Ridhima, Chief Dadá, Greg and Robin, respectively representing the poor, the youth of the world, the indigenous peoples and earth scientists – to discuss the encyclical letter Laudato Si’ with Pope Francis.
This global celebration will unite Catholics to rejoice in the progress we have made in bringing Laudato Si’ to life, and show how the protagonists of “The Letter” are already doing so. The film can be watched for free online.
Another idea for Laudato Si’ Week is to follow the Solidarity with South Sudan programme.
Every day Solidarity with South Sudan will publish news and stories from the South Sudan, the world’s newest country, to show you how their projects and communities meet the Laudato Sì Goals.
You can visit their website and Social media from 21 May to 28 May to remain updated on the Solidarity mission in South Sudan.
Diocese of Westminster Justice and Peace Commission 