On 15 June at the 9.15 mass at St Mary and St Monica’s, Cottingley, there was a 10th birthday party for the Papal Encyclical Laudato Si’. There was music and a celebration afterwards, including a short talk. The children produced prayers and delighted in some special party activities, and of course there was birthday cake!
Laudato Si is named after the Canticle of St Francis of Assisi which begins ‘Praise to You (Laudato Si’), Lord, in all Your creatures’. In his 2015 Encyclical, Pope Francis built on the teachings of Pope St John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI which emphasise that justice for the poor and justice for the planet are inextricably related.
Speaking at the 10th anniversary event, Angela Powell, CAFOD’s local staff member stressed the immense importance of Laudato Si’, and affirmed how the charity’s work together with parish communities helps ensure that our actions around the world are not only providing real impact for the poorest and most vulnerable but are done in a way that cares for the earth, enabling more of us to seek, to hear and respond to the cry of the poor and the cry of the earth.
At the start of the Jubilee Year, Pope Francis talked about the ecological debt we owe to countries in the global south who suffer the most from climate impacts – either droughts, floods, degraded soil and extreme weather. Tackling the debt crisis is also another way to release funding for the climate crisis.
St Mary and St Monica’s parish volunteers encouraged everyone to sign the parish’s petition calling for debt justice, as some countries are currently forced to spend up to five times more on foreign debt repayments than vital services such as hospitals and doctors! The consequences of this are that families forgo medical care, children miss school and small scale farmers face the devastating impacts of climate change without support.
This was a wonderful opportunity to include a debt action in this Holy Year, and there is still time for others to Join CAFOD in campaigning for debt justice in the Jubilee Year
For more about Laudato Si’ visit https://cafod.org.uk/news/uk-news/pope-francis-encyclical
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