Cardinal Peter Turkson, Prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, has announced the creation of a Laudato Si’ Action Platform.
We’re grateful to share that Catholic Climate Covenant plays a central role in the platform’s development as a member of the parishes and dioceses working group and as the organizing and communications hub for Laudato Si’Action Platform activities in the United States.
The Laudato Si’ Action Platform is a key Vatican initiative to empower the universal Church to achieve total sustainability in the holistic spirit of integral ecology. As storms grow more intense, seas rise, and deserts grow, the human family is facing ever-higher risks of hunger, sickness, and conflict. Sadly, it is the most vulnerable of our sisters and brothers who face the worst consequences.
For decades, the Church has taught us to urgently respond to this crisis. For 15 years, Catholic Climate Covenant has helped lead the response, developing educational programs for the Feast of St. Francis and Earth Day, organizing the U.S, Catholic Church to respond to the climate crisis, advocating for creation care centered public policies, and inspiring parishes, schools, and religious communities in the United States to care for God’s creation and care for the poor.
The Laudato Si’ Action Platform builds on the foundation established by partner organizations like Catholic Climate Covenant and its 20 member organizations. In creating a shared space for action, the platform offers new momentum to urgently and ambitiously address our ecological crisis. This is a key way to continue growing and developing as we work to build a better future together.
“The encyclical, Laudato Si’: On care for Our Common Home is a beautiful gift to a world crying out for urgent solutions to the spiritual, ecological, and economic crises we face in the 21st century,” said Paz Artaza-Regan, Catholic Climate Covenant’s program manager and a representative to the Laudato Si’ Action Platform’s Dioceses and Parishes working group. “Now, the Laudato Si’ Action Platform takes Pope Francis’ 2015 gift and gives it wings to reach every corner of the Earth. Catholic Climate Covenant, along with its partners and supporters, is excited to envision the breadth and scope of the response to the Holy Father’s invitation to embark on this 7-year journey to sustainability.
“We know the Laudato Si‘ Action Platform will spur a myriad of local and national activities as the United States Catholic Church responds faithfully to the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor. The enormous global ecological crisis before us demands our immediate attention, and the U.S. Catholic Church is ready to step in and be the leader the world needs.”
Today’s announcement launches the first phase of the initiative. The first phase is an opportunity for institutions, communities, and families to review initial information and consider their path forward.
The next phase of development will launch on October 4th, which is the Feast of St. Francis and the conclusion of the Season of Creation. Catholic Climate Covenant will contribute to the continued development of this initiative in the run-up to October 4th.
The Laudato Si’ Action Platform is available at laudatosiactionplatform.org.
