In today’s culture, conversations about the environment feel pessimistic or even apocalyptic, said Commissioned by Christ volunteer Marilyn Kott. But in the Arlington diocese, the CBC’s Laudato Si’ Seven Goals Faith Journey approaches those conversations from a place of encouragement and joy: “The environmental news is not good, but it doesn’t help to despair over it.”
“Laudato Si’, on Care for Our Common Home,” is a papal encyclical published in 2015 by Pope Francis on the environment. The Vatican later established the Laudato Si’ Action Platform in 2021, sponsored by the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development. The action platform assists Catholic institutions, communities, families and households to implement Laudato Si’ on the local level. Through CBC, a nonprofit that organizes international mission trips, and Nativity Creation Care Ministry at Nativity Catholic Church in Burke, some 17 volunteers created the diocesan faith journey program, which provides a community for those using the action platform.
“The invitation is for a seven-year transformation. The idea is to spend the first year discerning a plan while you get familiar with the platform and what it means to be sustainable in the spirit of Laudato Si’. Then you can spend the next six years implementing your plan, making changes if you need to,” Kott said.
The diocesan program uses the Vatican’s action platform to live out the seven goals of Laudato Si’: Response to the Cry of the Earth, Response to the Cry of the Poor, Ecological Economics, Adoption of Sustainable Lifestyles, Ecological Education, Ecological Spirituality, and Community Resilience and Empowerment.
“We took each of the goals, one at a time, and we looked at it from the perspective that is households — an individual, a family, or a couple — and we specialized how people in North America live in a suburb,” Kott said. From there, the group met monthly to discuss each goal and discern new sustainable habits.
For instance, at the first meeting, “We were looking at fossil fuel usage. For North American households, that meant getting more familiar with our utility statements, finding out where our electricity comes from,” Kott said. Tracking utilities reminds participants to limit excessive use of electricity and water. “A lot of the time, we have a relationship with our pocketbook,” she said.
For Care for Creation ministry Director Janet Broderick, the Laudato Si’ program has helped change her day-to-day habits. “Some specific actions that will help us grow along the journey to sustainability include moving toward a plant-based diet, making changes to our yard to support local biodiversity, and rethinking what we buy and how we shop as we consider the costs to society and the planet, not just the bottom line. We are consciously trying to reduce the amount of material and energy resources we use,” she said.
Nativity parishioners Chuck and Kathy Walters likewise use the Laudato Si’ program to fully live out the slogan “Reduce, reuse, recycle.” “I think the ministry has focused me on trying to live more sustainably. I try to give away items I no longer need instead of throwing them in the trash. I try to buy items that are produced with less plastic. I air dry some of my laundry. I have planted native plants to create a habitat garden. I am always learning about the environment and our common home and trying to share the knowledge with others,” Kathy said.
“One important fruit of the CBC Laudato Si’ faith journey for me is a greater understanding of our interconnectedness to all of humanity,” said CBC Director Michelle Haworth. “The health of our planet and its ecosystems are intricately linked to the actions and decisions of every human being.”
Haworth added that the Laudato Si’ program has inspired CBC to develop environmental initiatives for its mission trips. “We include a Laudato Si’ session in our pre-mission trip retreats, which focuses on the current environmental challenges being faced by the people in the country where we will be serving,” Haworth said.
The Laudato Si’ faith journey goes far beyond the practical, Kott said. “I would characterize the pope’s encyclical Laudato Si’ as a re-invitation to the Christian life, centering ourselves back on God.”
The program wrapped up its first year May 1, ahead of Laudato Si’ Week May 19-26. The eight-day campaign is held annually in May to celebrate the encyclical’s anniversary.
Find out more
For the Laudato Si’ Action Plan platform, go to laudatosiactionplatform.org.
For the CBC Laudato Si’ Faith Group, go to cbc-missions.org/laudato-si-faith-group.
