Laudato Si’: 5th anniversary of the encyclical and week of action
The encyclical Laudato Si’ has been transformative for the Church and its global community. The reflection on the state of our common home, and our duty to care for creation, has inspired a Catholic movement to live sustainably and push for systemic changes in our production and consumption systems. All Catholics now have this encyclical as a faith-based guiding light in navigating ecological injustices.
The encyclical is more relevant than ever in this moment of global health crisis, which overlaps with the existing ecological and social crises to further exacerbate the suffering of the most vulnerable. The encyclical can help us to see beyond the end of the current pandemic, to envision a systemic change that would truly uproot the origins of unequal access to a healthy environment, medical care, and economic support through periods of enforced industrial pause.
The publication of Laudato Si’ also marked the beginning of our initiative Change for the Planet – Care for the People, which brought together the volunteers of our member organisations. CIDSE and it’s member organisations have facilitated the reflections of the volunteers and supported their commitments to live sustainably, and offered them training in mobilisation and public action to demand sustainable production systems. This initiative is now celebrating its 5th year anniversary.
18 May – 24 May: Laudato Si’ week
Laudato Si’ week is a global period of reflection, communal action, and awareness raising around the encyclical. It is sponsored by the Dicastery for Integral Human Development, and facilitated the the Global Catholic Climate Movement and RENOVA+, and supported by a long list of organisations. On the official website you can find the full list of events, resources and supporting organisations.
20th May – 17:00-18:30 CEST: Webinar on Laudato Si’ and Advocacy by CIDSE, GCCM, Franciscans International and Iglesias y Minería
This webinar will review the relevancy of Laudato Si’ in our advocacy for just economic systems that protect vulnerable communities and sustain our common home. We will also exchange on examples of the political actions inspired by Laudato Si’. Register here.
Speakers:
- Mgr Pirmin Spiegel, Misereor, Germany
- Alberto Acosta, Ecuador
- Anja Appel, KOO, Austria
- Padre Dario Bossi, Iglesias y Minería, Brazil
Moderation: Moema de Miranda, Iglesias y Minería
24th May: Global Day of Prayer
Prayers will begin at 12pm in every time zone. A prayer text has been prepared by Caritas Internationalis with the Dicastery for Integral Human Development. You can find the prayer and register your prayer service on the website.
24th May 13:00 CEST: Webinar Sustainable Development Goals and Laudato Si’ Towards Ecological Solidarity
In 2015, two of the landmark documents of our time were institutionalized: the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Pope Francis’s encyclical Laudato Si’. They represent two different lenses towards the common goals of ending poverty and leaving no one behind. Human dignity and the interconnectedness of our world are at the heart of their respective calls for paradigm-shifting development. Despite these similarities, the SDGs and the Laudato Si’ diverge in key aspects of their messages and approaches to achieving their common goals. These differences also result in distinct challenges and opportunities in addressing issues towards creating a “new normal”. As the world faces immediate and long-term threats at the global and local scales, the urgency for a unified approach for attaining sustainability and eco-solidarity has never been stronger. Register here.
28th May 15:00-17:00 CEST: Laudato Si’ Reflection Day Webinar by ELSiA
PRESS RELEASE – 29 MAY (available in EN/ES/GE/FR/IT/PT) – WEBINAR VIDEO
High-level speakers will exchange on how the Encyclical Laudato Si’ could guide European actions towards a just recovery after the Covid-19 crisis. This online gathering is a first step towards the International Conference on Laudato Si’ which will be convened by the Vatican in the fall. What is the role of the EU in the transition towards economies that sustain people and the planet? And how can faith-based organisations support this transition? Register here by 22 May.
Read the press release including video recording and presentations.
Speakers:
- Mariana Mazzucato: professor at University College London in Economics of Innovation and Public Value, founder/director of their Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (IIPP): See Presentation
- Rev. Msgr. Bruno Marie Duffé: secretary of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development: Watch video message
- Reactions from Members of European Parliament, Patrizia Toia and Lukas Mandl
All month: Drawing Laudato Si’ challenge
Ecojesuit, Fundação Fé e Cooperação (FEC) and other partners are holding a drawing challenge. Every day from May 1-31, Ecojesuit will share on their Facebook page an excerpt from Laudato Si’ as a prompt to inspire drawings.
CIDSE members’ initiatives
The whole CIDSE network is celebrating the 5th anniversary of the Laudato Si’ Encyclical. Our members are involved in many initiatives at national level. We cannot list them all. Below are a few examples.
CAFOD (England & Wales) has produced a number of prayer materials.
CCFD-Terre Solidaire (France) will join the initiative “5th years after Laudato Si’ : Bells for the climate” on Sunday 24 May at 8pm CEST in partnership avec Chrétiens Unis pour la Terre.
Development and Peace (Canada) is organing 2 simultaneous webinars on 23rd May at 1 pm local time in conjunction with the Canadian Religious Conference and GCCM – Canada, one in English and the other one in French on “Laudato Si’: heeding the cry of the Earth and the cry of the poor five years on”. Watch the video of the French-speaking panel debate and read the input by Josianne Gauthier, CIDSE Secretary General.
As part of the initiative “On The Way”, FEC (Portugal) is launching a series of mini videos about the journey of two volunteers, from Portugal to Rome on the occasion of the Synod of Bishops for the Pan-Amazonian region last October. Laura and Madalena went through 8 countries and visited 12 integral ecology projects that are documented in 9 episodes which can be watched and shared during the LSI week.
Manos Unidas (Spain) invites everyone to join the Laudato Si Week and shares some of the initiatives scheduled in Spain.
Misereor (Germany) will organise a webinar on 19 May, at 8 pm CEST “Laudato Sí – Wichtige Impulse und Orientierung für eine global gerechte Klimapolitik” and has produced a series of materials for the Laudato Si week.
Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns (US) released a special brief on Climate Change and Care for Creation. It is also joining an interfaith campaign in support of the Big Shift movement to urge the World Bank to shift toward renewable energy investment whose launch coincides with the 5th Anniversary of Laudato Si’.
In a blog article, SCIAF (Scotland) writes on our responsibilities as global citizens to take climate action.
Trócaire (Ireland) will coordinate a webinar on 24 May, at 8pm local time entitled “ A Love Letter to the Earth”. This will be an evening of music, poetry and song from Ireland and around the world. Contact for registration: jane.mellett(at)trocaire.org.