As reported in the April 10 issue of The Record, June of this year marks the 10th anniversary of Pope Francis’ encyclical, “Laudato Si’: On Care for Our Common Home.”
The Archdiocese of Louisville will celebrate “Laudato Si’ ” at Age Ten” with two events, one on June 17 at The Olmsted in Louisville and the other on June 18 in O’Connell Hall at the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth Motherhouse in Nazareth, Ky. Both are at 7 p.m., and all are invited to attend for free.
Both events feature a talk by Dan Misleh, the founder and executive director of the Catholic Climate Covenant, an organization formed with the support of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops to help U.S. Catholics “respond to the Church’s call to care for creation and care for the poor.” He will speak about work already done by the Catholic Climate Covenant and other organizations, and tell us how we can take the next steps to implement “Laudato Si’.”
Celebrating anniversaries can produce mixed emotions, depending on the event we remember and what has occurred since then. In marking the anniversary of “Laudato Si’,” we remember a hopeful call for the “whole human family” to work together for the protection of “our common home.”
When it was published, the encyclical stirred a global reaction, encouraging those already striving to be “instruments of God for the care of creation.” However, 10 years have passed with record-setting heat, rising sea levels and more frequent and destructive severe weather.
As Pope Francis pointed out in his 2023 apostolic exhortation, “Laudate Deum,” the “responses have not been adequate” to address the serious threats to both planet and people. It is time for urgent action. So we observe this anniversary with a mixture of sorrow at the loss of time and renewed hope for a more productive future.
Several weeks before Pope Francis’ death on Easter Monday, our anniversary planning committee had reached out to him and his Apostolic Nuncio in the U.S., Cardinal Christophe Pierre, hoping for a statement or message we could share. We received a reply from Cardinal Pierre imparting the pope’s “Apostolic Letter as a pledge of strength and joy in the Lord.”
It is good to know that we proceed with the Holy Father’s blessing, but perhaps we will find his most powerful and inspiring messages already written within the pages of this encyclical.
If you haven’t read it yet, doing so would be a perfect start to observe its anniversary. If you have already read “Laudato Si’,” rereading it can produce new insights and encouragement to take action.
In the closing paragraphs of “Laudato Si’,” Pope Francis described the writing of the encyclical as “both joyful and troubling.” But he ended with a positive message: “May our struggles and our concern for this planet never take away the joy of our hope.”
Please plan to join us as we gather in June in Louisville and Nazareth to celebrate “Laudato Si’ ” at Age 10” with a renewed hope and commitment to take action in caring for our common home.
Mark Webster is a retired attorney who serves on the Archdiocese Creation Care Team. He is a member of Holy Spirit Church.
