Environmental Justice

We’ve come a long way toward protecting our common home, but the journey ahead needs more. On the 5th anniversary of Laudato Si, we see more clearly the prophetic nature of this document. Catholic communities everywhere will celebrate the fifth anniversary of Laudato Si’ during the week of May 16–24. Our faith calls us to do more together.

The responsorial psalm today is "Let all the earth cry out to God with joy." Yet, often, our world cries out not in joy but in pain. So join Pope Francis and take the next step in our "Laudato Si" journey. Commit to an action that grows your response to “the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor.”

Pope Francis states, “I urgently appeal, then, for a new dialogue about how we are shaping the future of our planet. We need a conversation which includes everyone, since the environmental challenge we are undergoing, and its human roots, concern and affect us all. … As the Bishops of Southern Africa have stated: 'Everyone’s talents and involvement are needed to redress the damage caused by human abuse of God’s creation.' All of us can cooperate as instruments of God for the care of creation, each according to his or her own culture, experience, involvement and talents” (Laudato Si §14).

Querida Amazonia was written for the fifth anniversary of Laudato Si to show its real ramifications in our lives through applying it to the situation in the Amazon. How should we respond as we celebrate the Easter season of new life in ways new and original where we live.