The Archdiocese of Sydney has made a Laudato Si’ action toolkit available for parish groups that wish to get active in caring for creation. Source: The Catholic Weekly.
Launching the kit at St Patrick’s Mortlake on Sunday, Justice and Peace Promoter Fr Peter Smith said the kit helps to reflect on how people can be a part of Pope Francis’s call to walk gently on this planet.
“The kit offers practical ways that we as individuals, as families, as parishes, as schools, can engage with Pope Francis’s encyclical, the ways we can, in a sense, be co-creators with God of this planet,” Fr Smith said.
The launch event was attended by parishioners from around Sydney Archdiocese. Attendees each received a flowering plant to take back and plant in their home or parish.
Each plant included a QR code linking to the kit, which is digital-only to provide an example of using fewer resources.
“As these plants are taken back and take root in our home communities, hopefully the ideas set out in our new kit will also take root around the archdiocese,” social justice facilitator Michael Walker said.
“The Church has given environmental concern a new focus with the Laudato Si’ action platform,” Dr Walker said.
“It stands in a long tradition, though, that can be found in the writings of the saints and in the Hebrew Scriptures.”
Also in attendance was Chris Nolan from Caritas Australia, representing Catholic Earthcare.
“Parishes play a critical role in promoting the values of Laudato Si’. The Plenary Council’s decree on integral ecology encourages all Catholic parishes to join the Laudato Si’ action platform, which outlines specific steps that we can take to protect our planet,” Mr Nolan said.
“I hope all parishes engage with the toolkit, and the resources provided by Catholic Earthcare, as a way of supporting their journey toward ecological justice.”
The kit is available at https://justiceandpeace.org.au/laudato-si-kit/
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Archdiocese of Sydney launches Laudato Si’ toolkit to help parishes care for creation (The Catholic Weekly)
