Launched on Aug. 16, 2021, the action plan Laudato Si’: Embarking on a seven-year journey promoting an integral ecology in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington includes practical ways that parishes, Catholic schools and institutions, and individuals and families can care for creation, drawing on environmental science and inspired by the social teachings of the Catholic Church.
After Pope Francis issued his landmark 2015 encyclical on the environment, Laudato Si’: On Care for Our Common Home, the Vatican’s Dicastery (Office) for Promoting Integral Human Development published a document listing seven ways to implement the encyclical. The dicastery’s document serves as the framework for the Archdiocese of Washington’s Laudato Si’ action plan.
The Vatican office’s document’s seven markers for measuring Laudato Si’ are listed below, and each category includes ideas from the action plan on how Catholics in the Archdiocese of Washington can bring those markers to life in their personal lives and homes or at their parishes, schools and institutions. The plan notes, “Given our wonderful diversity of parishes and people, this action plan lists options according to an easy, moderate and advanced scale so that according to your parish, school or family’s financial and human resources, you can find ways to implement Laudato Si’.”
Markers for implementing Laudato Si’
1.) Response to the Cry of the Earth: greater use of clean renewable energy and reduction of fossil fuels in order to achieve carbon neutrality efforts to protect and promote biodiversity guaranteeing access to clean water for all.
The plan notes that “in May 2020, the number of parishes and parish schools in the archdiocese buying their electricity from clean wind-power generators went from two to 91.” It also pointed out that, “In 2020, Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington switched on the largest ground-based solar array in the District of Columbia, saving hundreds of thousands of dollars each year on electric costs.”
Possible actions recommended in the plan for this marker include sealing or caulking around windows and door frames, turning off light sources when not needed, adjusting temperatures to 70 degrees or lower in winter and 80 degrees or higher in summer, lowering water consumption, replacing lightbulbs with LED bulbs, creating gardens, developing a facilities plan for parishes or schools and action steps to reduce emissions, introducing storm water and pollution reduction methods, beginning a parish or school composting program, and installing solar panels on property.
2.) Response to the Cry of the Poor: defense of human life from conception to death and all forms of life on Earth, with special attention to vulnerable groups such as indigenous communities, migrant children at risk through slavery, etc.
The plan notes that this means actively engaging all members of the archdiocese in implementing the encyclical, and it points out this area includes people who “are suffering from the effects of structural racism and from political, social and economic negligence and who are disproportionately affected by climate change.”
Possible actions recommended in the plan for this marker include volunteering to do a parish clean-up; assisting vulnerable persons; supporting charity programs including Catholic Charities and Catholic Relief Services; contributing food or financial donations to your parish food pantry; developing or expanding parish emergency funds to help individuals with energy, water and other bills; and volunteering with a local clean the waterways project.
3.) Ecological Economics: sustainable production, Fair Trade, ethical consumption, ethical investments, divestment from fossil fuels and any economic activity harmful to the planet and the people, investment in renewable energy, etc.
Possible actions recommended in the plan for this marker include reducing food waste, reducing meat-based meals, starting a home garden, composting food scraps, buying locally produced and prepared food, buying fair-trade and sustainably-produced food, and starting a parish garden.
4.) Adoption of Simple Lifestyle: sobriety [intense focus] in the use of resources and energy, avoid single-use plastic, adopt a more plant-based diet and reduce meat consumption, greater use of public transport and avoid polluting modes of transportation, etc.
The plan notes that “In Laudato Si’, we are called to adopt a prayerful and intentional approach to our purchases, and to be mindful of the toll our choices have on God’s creation and the world we live in. Laudato Si’ calls us to live more simply.”
Possible actions recommended in the plan include cutting down or eliminating single-use plastic such as water bottles, buying less non-essential items, cutting down or eliminating foam-based food containers, encouraging recycling, wasting less and avoiding throwing away food whenever possible, driving less, and taking time to pray and give thanks.
5.) Ecological Education: re-think and re-design educational curricula and educational institution reform in the spirit of integral ecology to create ecological awareness and action, promoting the ecological vocation of young people, teachers and leaders of education, etc.
The plan notes “Ecological education can be integrated into our catechetical programs and liturgical celebrations because our Catholic faith offers a rich array of teachings on the theology of creation, life and human dignity and our role in fostering the common good. Noting how Pope Francis and other Christian leaders have designated Sept. 1 through Oct. 4 as a Season of Creation, the plan says parishes can mark that through preaching, prayer services and other activities. October as Respect Life Month is a special time to promote integral ecology, the concept that connects caring for the vulnerable and marginalized with protecting the environment, which the plan says “are important dimensions of what it means to be pro-life.”
Possible actions recommended in the plan include organizing local environmental educational trips, finding nature preserves in the area, expanding parish and school libraries with resources promoting the vision of Laudato Si’, incorporating Church teaching on care for the environment into faith formation programs, and involving parish religious education programs, youth ministries and Catholic schools in living out the teachings of Laudato Si’.
6.) Ecological Spirituality: recover a religious vision of God’s creation, encourage greater contact with the natural world in a spirit of wonder, praise, joy, and gratitude, promote creation-centered liturgical celebrations, develop catechesis prayer, retreats, formation, etc.
The plan notes that “Pope Francis reminds us that spirituality rooted in creation is Christ centered,” and this approach “challenges us to change our personal behaviors and to seek to change society for the better,” guided by Catholic social teaching.
Possible actions recommended in the plan include homilies on pro-life values and integration of Catholic social and moral teaching regarding care for creation, participating in the annual archdiocesan Green Mass, bringing in expert speakers for conversations at parish or school events, and offering parish and school events and formation opportunities promoting the Church’s teaching on climate change and social, racial and environmental justice.
7.) Emphasis on Community Involvement and Participatory Action: to care for creation at the local, regional, national and international levels (promote advocacy and people’s campaigns, encourage rootedness in local territory and neighborhood ecosystems, etc.)
The plan notes that this advocacy follows Pope Francis’s call in Laudato Si’ to heed “the cry of the Earth and the cry of the poor.” The D.C. Catholic Conference and the Maryland Catholic Conference advocate for social justice in those regions and rely on grassroots support.
Possible actions include using parish and Catholic school communications, including social media, to spread the message of Laudato Si’ and put its teachings into action, form parish social concerns teams that focus on integral ecology, engage ministries and groups in collaborative ecological efforts, connect with other parishes through the Archdiocesan Care for Creation Committee, and connect to interfaith groups focusing on environmental advocacy.
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August 16, 2021 at 08:20PM
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Archdiocese of Washington's action plan offers practical steps for caring for creation - My catholic standard
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