THE STORY – A new name and living our mission on National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

Its official!  We are now Mouvement Laudato Si’ Movement – Canada (MLSM Canada).  Our new name reflects our aspiration for a bilingual organization, in line with the name change of our parent movement. In Canada, we work in partnership with allies, the Laudato Si’ Movement (LSM), and Catholics across Canada in order to respond to Pope Francis' urgent call for social, political, and ecological transformation and to animate the insights articulated in Laudato Si’ and other Catholic social teachings. We seek to ignite, inspire, and grow as a community of persons and institutions on a journey of integral ecological conversion, and that acts courageously to care for our common home. 

Dr. Lorna Gold writes about the decisions leading to international movement’s name change and expanded mission. “We are broadening our mission to include ecological justice. This broader vision requires a system change which starts with a change of heart. Achieving ecological justice is a call to first recognise the injustice is manifold and includes injustice against those in poverty, those who have done least to cause the problems, those yet to be born, those protecting ancestral lands from ecological devastation, and non-human species. This means continuing the long traditions of many Catholic organisations, and joining with youth in prophetic advocacy. It means speaking truth to power and working tirelessly to ensure that we do everything we can to enable a transition to a liveable future that is just.

And concern for the climate is still there. In this transition to a broader vision consistent with Laudato Si’, we won’t to lose sight of the fact that this crisis is perhaps the most urgent and most irreversible. If we lose the battle on emissions in the next few years, we lose everything.”

Cardinal Michael Czerny happily pointed out “When we name the movement now, every time we name it, we are saying a prayer. Laudato Si’! Praise be the Creator!” 

This year the Season of Creation has seen a wealth of activities across Canada, with more opportunities to come, as the list below attests. 

However, as the Season of Creation draws to a close, Canada recognizes another important season, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, September 30th, now be a statutory holiday in some provinces. Federally regulated workplaces will be closed to commemorate the tragic legacy of residential schools in our country. 

One of the 94 Calls to Action in the 2015 Truth and Reconciliation Commission was the creation of a statutory holiday to honour residential school survivors, their families and their communities, and ensure that public commemoration of the history and legacy of residential schools remains a vital component of reconciliation.

On the Canadian Union of Postal Workers website Reconciliation is described as a complex, multi-faceted process.  It is an acknowledgement of the intergenerational pain and suffering caused by residential schools. It is implementing all 94 Calls to Action from the Truth and Reconciliation report. And so much more.

Today Indigenous children are over-represented in foster care, while Indigenous adults are over-represented in prison. Women and girls are abducted and murdered at a rate that would not be tolerated if the same were happening to settlers. Land and water rights have been stripped.

It’s up to all of us to make the most of it this day. Attend an event in our community or virtually, read the Truth and Reconciliation Report, speak with and listen to elders.

In solidarity with them, it is our duty to work toward dismantling colonialism in this country and help to repair the damage done. Our ongoing task is to learn about the injustice of colonialism, and take seriously the 94 Calls to Action emanating from the Truth and Reconciliation Report. And opportunities abound.

The Kύkpi7 (Chief) Rosanne Casimir of Tk’emlύ Secwépemc invites everyone to an opportunity to learn their Honour Song in recognition of the very first Canadian National Day of Truth and Reconciliation. 

Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc is calling upon people around the world to gather simultaneously on line to #DrumfortheChildren.

The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation offers a week long schedule of events for members of the general public who have registered for the Truth and Reconciliation Week events: https://nctr.ca/education/trw/general-public-schedule/

Indigenous Climate Action has many resources to help us make the connection between Indigenous rights and building an ecologically sustainable future.  Read about seven Indigenous women creating Indigenous-led climate policy by and for Indigenous Peoples that will raise up and empower Indigenous-led solutions.

These are the voices our movement is called to amplify and join with in prophetic advocacy. May we work along side them with open hearts and minds, and willing hands.

Yours in service with the Creator, for Creation

ACTIONS

1. If you are able, please make a donation for the third year of Mouvement Laudato Si’ Movement – Canada programs here. Under the fund selection choose MLSM Canada – Cultivating Care for our Common Home. 

2.Canadian youth are asking for us to strike with them.  For those in southern Ontario, join Agnes Richard at the Toronto Fridays for Future strike, September 24th.  It would be great to create a block of MLSM - Canada people raising our voices and showing off our new name. Meet Agnes, Atish and Karen in the shade near the south east edge of Queen’s Park, across the street from Queen’s Park Day Care, between 11:30 and 12:15. D&P Toronto will meet in the same area. Make your own sign with our globe logo. Strike COVID protocols can be found here.

3. #Faiths4ClimateJustice invite actions of solidarity on October 17th at your parish, and October 18th in your community. Ideas and resources to make a joyful noise for Creation are on this website.  You can email Elyse Brazel, staff with Faith & the Common Good, to collaborate with Canadian activities. 

PETITIONS

4. Please continue to encourage signatures for the #HealthyPlanetHealthyPeople petition. Thank you, Archdioces of Regina, for sharing this excellent guide to organizing a petition signing event. To add names to the Canadian effort use https://bit.ly/petitionCanada  

5. People and Planet First is a 2021 campaign of Development and Peace. Their introductory video explains the need to hold corporations accountable for human and environmental abuses here and abroad. We want the obligation to prevent human rights violations to be legally binding, and have meaningful consequences through the Canadian courts. Please sign the petition:  https://www.devp.org/en/campaign/people-planet-first/take-action/ 

6. The Canada Energy Regulator projects that if Canada meets its crucial greenhouse gas commitments, the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion will not be needed and likely will not be financially viable. A House of Commons e-petition is now open for signature, calling for an immediate halt to the construction of the pipeline. The e-petition has been sponsored by MP Peter Julian, MP New Westminster—Burnaby.

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L'organisme de réglementation de l'énergie du Canada prévoit que si le Canada respecte ses engagements cruciaux en matière de gaz à effet de serre, l'agrandissement du pipeline Trans Mountain ne sera pas nécessaire et ne sera probablement pas financièrement viable. Une pétition électronique de la Chambre des communes est maintenant ouverte à la signature, appelant à l'arrêt immédiat de la construction du pipeline. La pétition électronique a été parrainée par le député Peter Julian, le député de New Westminster—Burnaby.

WEBINARS and COURSES

7.The Laudato S’ Movement is hosting the webinar Prophetic advocacy in climate policy spaces: A Home for All. To connect to the webinar visit https://seasonofcreation.org/event/a-home-for-all/, September 30th, 10am New York.

8. For the Love of Creation is hosting a series of recorded Advocacy workshops, register here. The Thursday, Sept 23’rd workshop is titled Reduce Emissions and Invest in a Just Transition. Details for their Fall Symposium - October 30, 2021 can be found here.

9. Star of the North Retreat Centre, Edmonton, invites participation in their three year program, Aurora Living: Word and Creation. Their emphasis is to deepen relationship with Sacred Word and story from Christian and other wisdom traditions, and renew relationships with Christ’s Spirit for the good of creation. The program aims to build an inter-generational, cultural and faith community.  It is inspired by contemporary witnesses who are making a difference. This video introduces the beautiful program. Applications now accepted for the program, beginning October 1, 2021.

10. Catholic Conscience Ecological Conversion webinar with Sr. Damien Marie Savino, Oct 14, 7:30 Free.  www.ecoconversion.eventbrite.ca

11. Blue Community, the Federation of the Sisters of St. Joseph in collaboration with Wellington Water Watchers invite participation in a discussion, Towards Decolonizing Settler Led Water Advocacy & Protection. Considering water as a human right, shared commons, and sacred gift in this watershed moment of unsettling colonial relations between Canadians and Indigenous peoples, how are Canadian-led water efforts picking up their responsibilities? Join us on September 29th from 3:00 - 4:30 pm ET to participate, listen, and learn. Bring your questions and observations both personally and professionally to the event or send them in advance to [email protected]. Please use the subject line: Question for Sept. 29 RSVP here.