VATICAN CITY — People must end the "senseless war against creation" and help victims of environmental and climate injustice, Pope Francis said.
"We must do this by resolving to transform our hearts, our lifestyles and the public policies ruling our societies," the pope said in his message for the 2023 World Day of Prayer for Creation.
Some injustices needing immediate responses are "economic policies that promote scandalous wealth for a privileged few and degrading conditions for many others," the continued exploration and expansion of fossil fuel infrastructures, and "predatory industries" depleting and polluting freshwater sources, he wrote in his message, which was released by the Vatican May 25.
The World Day of Prayer for Creation, which will be celebrated Sept. 1, marks the start of the ecumenical Season of Creation. The season concludes Oct. 4, the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi, patron saint of ecology. The theme for 2023 is "Let justice and peace flow," based on the verse from Book of Amos (5:24), "Let justice surge like waters and righteousness like an unfailing stream."
The verse describes how God wants justice to reign and to "flow forth wherever it is needed," the pope said in his message.
"God wants everyone to strive to be just in every situation, to live according to his laws and thus to enable life to flourish," he wrote. When the faithful keep "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."
The pope recalled his visit to the shores of Lac Ste. Anne in Alberta, Canada, in July 2022, and how many generations of Indigenous peoples found consolation and strength there. It is imperative, he added, that people "harmonize our own rhythms of life with those of creation, which gives us life."
Unfortunately, he wrote, the heartbeats of so many people do not beat in harmony with the heartbeat of creation and God; "they are not harmonized in justice and peace."
Too many people "are prevented from drinking from that mighty river," the pope wrote. "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."
Some effects of that war include polluted waterways and rivers drying up, he wrote.
"Consumerist greed, fueled by selfish hearts, is disrupting the planet's water cycle," he wrote. "The unrestrained burning of fossil fuels and the destruction of forests are pushing temperatures higher and leading to massive droughts."
"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," he added.
Christians can "contribute to the mighty river of justice and peace in this season of creation" by transforming hearts, lifestyles and public policies, he wrote.
Individuals must rediscover creation as a gift of love from God and repent of their own personal "ecological sins," he said in his message. "Let us adopt lifestyles marked by less waste and unnecessary consumption," put an end to unjust economic policies and phase out fossil fuel development and dependency.
World leaders who will gather for the COP28 summit in Dubai Nov. 30-Dec. 12, he wrote, "must listen to science and institute a rapid and equitable transition to end the era of fossil fuel."
Based on the commitments nations made with the Paris Agreement to restrain global warming, "it is absurd to permit the continued exploration and expansion of fossil fuel infrastructures," he added.
"We can and we must prevent the worst from happening," Pope Francis said. People must come together "like so many streams, brooks and rivulets, merging finally in a mighty river to irrigate the life of our marvelous planet and our human family for generations to come."
"Let us join hands and take bold steps to 'let justice and peace flow' throughout our world," he wrote.
Presenting the pope's message at a news conference at the Vatican May 25, Canadian Cardinal Michael Czerny, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, provided a few examples of what people can do.
He said people can: organize community screenings of the film, "The Letter: A Message for Our Earth," which is available free on YouTube Originals and TheLetterFilm.org; join the Laudato Si' Action Platform at laudatosiactionplatform.org; and join networks such as Caritas and the Laudato Si' Movement.
Tomás Insua, executive director of the Laudato Si' Movement, said at the news conference that "while most other global leaders, particularly the most powerful ones, remain lukewarm and subservient in way too many cases to corporate interests, Pope Francis continues to be a beacon of moral leadership on this critical issue."
— Carol Glatz, Catholic News Service
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Sept. 1 - Oct. 4 Season of Creation initiative
Laudato Si' Animators Program forms Catholic advocates for 'ecological conversion'
Terrence Thompson's work gives him an up-close view of the impact of climate change and other environmental factors on public health around the world. Becoming a Laudato Si' Animator has helped him unite faith and action with his knowledge and experience, Thompson said.
"My wife and I wanted to do something in the Catholic tradition," said Thompson, who worked on health and environment issues for the World Health Organization and is now a consultant in the same field. "I have personal, firsthand awareness of the effects of climate change on public health and the delivery of health services on hospitals and health care facilities, health centers, things like that. And I'm anxious to share that knowledge and raise awareness."
Launched in 2016, the Laudato Si' Animators Program is an initiative of the Laudato Si' Movement, an international organization founded in 2015 as the Global Catholic Climate Movement. It changed its name in 2021 to better reflect its mission. Its Animators Program certifies individuals committed to its three pillars of ecological conversion, sustainability and prophetic advocacy, thus creating "a global network of motivated Catholics who are empowered to bring Laudato Si' to life in their communities," its website states.
Erin Lothes, a Catholic theologian and senior manager of the Laudato Si' Animators Program, described an animator as "a person who joins in our mission to care for our common home; to begin a journey of ecological conversion, as Pope Francis has called us all to do; to take action to care for our common home; to bring this into parish life, community life; and to raise a prophetic voice for the changes we need in society."
"Laudato Si'" -- Pope Francis' 2015 encyclical subtitled "On Care for Our Common Home" -- opens with a quote from St. Francis of Assisi's "Canticle of the Creatures": "Laudato Si', mi' Signore" ("Praise be to you, my Lord"). With the letter, Pope Francis reflected on the relationship between human beings and creation, stating environmental problems have "ethical and spiritual roots" that lasting solutions must seek to address.
In the encyclical, Pope Francis rejected "throwaway culture" and called for an "integral ecology" that recognizes that "everything is connected." He also called for Christians to seek "ecological conversion," "whereby the effects of their encounter with Jesus Christ become evident in their relationship with the world around them," both with the environment and other people, especially the poor and vulnerable.
"Living our vocation to be protectors of God's handiwork is essential to a life of virtue; it is not an optional or a secondary aspect of our Christian experience," Pope Francis wrote.
Lothes told OSV News "Laudato Si'" shows the "cry of the earth and the cry of the poor" are linked, and are actually a single crisis.
"What the encyclical does so powerfully is ... spiritually remind us how we are all graced by belonging to this sacramental world that God has given us, this gift that is meant to sustain us all, be our home, share the good gifts of creation with everyone, and invite us to to care for it lovingly and reverently," she said. "That's our spiritual, religious invitation. And there's many ways we live that out."
Animators Program resources include a daily newsletter, monthly prayer guides and connections to Laudato Si' Circles, monthly prayer-based small groups that meet throughout the world. As part of its initial training, it supports its animators as they create and execute projects in their own parishes or communities.
The program has nearly 13,000 certified animators globally, with about 200 in the U.S., Lothes said. Registration is open for a self-paced, on-demand animator training course beginning Oct. 7.
Program materials say the free course teaches "the main concepts of Pope Francis' encyclical Laudato Si' and how it fits into the Catholic social teaching principles of human dignity, the common good and solidarity."
Thompson, 68, and his wife, Cheryl, joined the Animators Program and began a training course in April, receiving certification at the end of May. As part of their formation, they identified ways to connect the youth in their parish -- first, with the screening of the Laudato Si' Movement-produced documentary "The Letter" that connects the encyclical and people affected by contemporary ecological challenges, and second, by organizing a youth group trip to a nature education center at protected wetlands.
"We reflected on something that the pope says in the encyclical ... that it's difficult for people to care about nature and the environment if they don't feel connected to it," said Thompson, who, with Cheryl, is a member of St. Anthony of Padua Parish in Hightstown, New Jersey. The Thompsons perceived their parish's youth felt a greater connection to the human-built environment and cyberspace than the natural world around them.
The field trip "helped us to see the interconnectedness between all living things within the marshland itself, and the interconnectedness between the marshland and the surrounding communities, surrounding human settlements," Thompson told OSV News. "It brought out this concept that the pope talks about in his encyclical about how all living things are interconnected."
Thompson said the couple hopes to raise broader environmental awareness within the Diocese of Trenton, New Jersey. In the immediate future, however, their parish's youth group is hosting a poster competition for the Season of Creation, an annual ecumenical observance Sept. 1-Oct. 4 the Laudato Si' Movement describes as "a time to renew our relationship with our Creator and all creation through celebration, conversion and commitment."
The season opens with the Sept. 1 World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, which Pope Francis established in 2015. The day's 2023 theme is "Let Justice and Peace Flow," drawn from the prophet Amos: "Let justice flow on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream."
As part of their own ecological conversion, the Thompsons have made adjustments to their own lifestyle. Thompson said they try to live modestly, recycle, keep clothing longer before replacing it, and reuse things they own before buying new. They recently renovated a house and chose to exclusively use electricity for energy instead of natural gas, which is considered a fossil fuel.
"Combustion of fossil fuels is one of the main drivers, if not the main driver, of global warming," he said. "Additionally, burning fossil fuel inside the home emits carbon monoxide inside the home as well as some other byproducts, so it's not healthy for the indoor environment. It's not healthy for us to be breathing it."
Thompson said he would encourage fellow Catholics to become Laudato Si' Animators "because the need is critical."
"I believe that humankind is facing an existential crisis," he said. "And I believe that God our creator has called upon us in the Scripture, if we have a proper understanding of Genesis 1:28." The passage states, "God blessed them (the male and female) and God said to them: Be fertile and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and all the living things that crawl on the earth."
"God our creator has called upon us to care for our common home and to respect all of his creation," Thompson said. "Every blade of grass, every ant that crawls on the ground is part of God's creation and deserves respect and care."
— Maria Wiering, OSV News