Laudato Si' Week marks the fifth anniversary of the publication of Pope Francis' encyclical on caring for our common home. The week's theme is “Everything is connected.”
FR. JOSHTROM KUREETHADAM
Ecology and Creation, Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development
“We are launching the Laudato Si' Anniversary Year, with the Laudato Si' Week, in course right now, and which has seen very enthusiastic, widespread participation, hundreds of events, thousands of people taking part.”
The year's events will include online conferences with global experts, a Laudato Si' documentary, a musical and a number of cultural multimedia events. There is also an international drive to plant one trillion trees. Particularly significant is the multi-year plan to gradually achieve total sustainability, starting with local families, communities, and institutions.
The current health crisis, which has limited the week's events to online webinars, meetings and retreats, further underlines the urgency of taking action.
FR. JOSHTROM KUREETHADAM
Ecology and Creation, Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development
“But as with every crisis, I always think the word 'crisis' in Greek means 'opportunity,' and in modern languages, we have forgotten that deeper meaning of a crisis—crisis telling us, 'Don't go forward in this direction. There's danger. You need to stop, think and change course.' The pandemic has been telling us this.”
The Laudato Si' encyclical was written to address the precarious situation of the planet, which Fr. Josh explains, has only been deteriorating, even after the publication of the document.
FR. JOSHTROM KUREETHADAM
Ecology and Creation, Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development
“The challenge is precisely to, you know, gear up, to act, to speed up action. And our Laudato Si' Special Anniversary Year plans center precisely around this theme of acting—acting together, acting in solidarity with the poor communities around the world, but also acting in partnership with so many agents, and with creativity.”
Laudato Si' Week, which began May 16, will conclude with a worldwide prayer for Earth and for humanity, on May 24, at 12 p.m., Rome time. All are invited to participate. The prayer can be accessed on the Laudato Si' Week website. https://laudatosiweek.org. In any case caring for the planet is a challenge that will continue for years to come.
CT
