We began this year with a Zoom meeting in November, 2024. Those present agreed that this area of Ecology, Laudato Si’-inspired, is a very large challenge. Some told of good efforts that they had seen tried (i.e. parishes with solar panels in place, good working groups for Catholic Climate Covenant, etc.), while others said the bishop in their diocese was rather uninterested or seemed to find “Care for our Home” at a low level.
We had three other WG Zoom meetings, with a fourth one scheduled. Concern for the environment has made us aware that we have
to try to interest others in our parishes, spiritual centers and community groups to “pray for the earth all around us and cherish every part of God’s vast creation as we search for new pathways of Energy!” We continue to pray the Prayer for Creation and to follow the main guidelines and directives found in Laudato Si’. The death of Francis in recent days will inspire us to do more. Though the number of “eco-websites” and groups forming to celebrate the Season of Creation is huge and complicated, we all agree that keeping things simple and direct is a big challenge.
We developed a Mission statement which reads: We in this Working Group are deeply concerned for the future well-being of our common home, Earth. We stand with Pope Francis in proclaiming all the themes of Laudato Si (2015) and Laudate Deum (2023) and in valuing “all people and all of creation (being) connected in one ecology”. We are committed to striving for the good of all on our planet—including the poor, who often are first to suffer from serious climate change and other legacies of our human neglect or carelessness. In summary, we promise to walk gently on this earth, and urge others to adopt a similar lifestyle, so that we can pass on to our children a planet worth saving and an ecological mindset that knows the need for watchful sustainability.