The Story: Let me bring HOPE
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While reflecting on the gospel of Friday, November 18th, the same day the United Nations Conference of the Parties on Climate Change (COP27) was scheduled to close, parallels became apparent. |
“My house shall be a house of prayer,
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“My house shall be a house of prayer.” Indigenous Peoples understand this in the beauty, abundance and inherent goodness of all creation, the fullness of the natural world all around us, of which we are a part. By embracing Laudato Si’ many more are reminded that our faith understands this too; that the great gift of a planet full of life is sacred, in all aspects, and we as part of it are sacred too. |
The God who created the universe out of nothing can also intervene in this world and overcome every form of evil. Injustice is not invincible. LS 74 |
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But people of faith are finding ways to steer us back to healthy relations with our planet home and with each other. We are finding ways to speak universal truths in the halls of power... |
Newo: An Extraordinary Organization with a Vision to Serve Community and Planet
An abundance mindset (you choose your own wage?!). Founded on a vision of sharing harmonious relationships with all Earth’s kin. Committed to decolonizing all levels of engagement and conducting business. Alberta-based, non-profit social enterprise, Newo.energy is all this and more.
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| Team installing solar panels on roof. |
Time to listen to the cry as well as the song of creation
“Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy” Ps 96:12
“During this Season of Creation, let us pray that COP27 and COP15 can serve to unite the human family (Laudato Si', 13) in effectively confronting the double crisis of climate change and the reduction of biodiversity. Mindful of the exhortation of Saint Paul to rejoice with those who rejoice and to weep with those who weep (cf. Rom 12:15), let us weep with the anguished plea of creation. Let us hear that plea and respond to it with deeds, so that we and future generations can continue to rejoice in creation’s sweet song of life and hope.”
-Message for the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, Sept. 1, 2022, Pope Francis
Laudato Si’ Dialogues Newsletter Thirteenth Issue, August 2022
The Story – Pope Francis in Canada:
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First and foremost, Pope Francis’ visit to Canada was to ask for forgiveness for the harms done to Indigenous children in the Indian Residential Schools. Métis elder Jo Anne Young echoes the words of Métis National Council President, Cassidy Caron; “There is so much work ahead of us to seek out truth, justice and healing …Learning to love again after everything our people have gone through is tougher than learning to walk. … These teachings of respect and of love must continue to guide us as we move forward …This week, and beyond, is about Survivors and supporting what they need to find peace in their lives.” 1 Jo Anne was impressed with the sincerity of Pope Francis. His words in Spanish, she said, signified more remorse than the English translations indicated. Many people, including Métis peers, agreed that they heard his sincerity. “We understand that he recognizes the abuse and assimilation that happened at Indian Residential Schools, and on his trip home to Rome, he agreed that genocide is the correct word to describe what happened.” |
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Solidarity in the lead up to UN conferences on climate change and biodiversity
“I have spoken of an “ecological conversion” which demands a change of mentality and a commitment to work for the resilience of people and the ecosystems in which they live. This conversion has three important spiritual elements…
The first entails gratitude for God’s loving and generous gift of creation.
The second calls for acknowledging that we are joined in a universal communion
with one another and with the rest of the world’s creatures.
The third involves addressing environmental problems not as isolated individuals
but in solidarity as a community.” Pope Francis, 13 July 2022.
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Laudato Si’ Dialogues Newsletter 11th Issue, February 2022
THE STORY – The Catholic Eco-Investment Accelerator Toolkit is READY TO USE
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The Toolkit signals the launch of a campaign to encourage faith based Canadian fossil fuel divestments in the forefront of global divestment announcements with the Laudato Si’ Movement this year. As members of MLSM Canada we encourage you to register with the Toolkit website, in English or French. It’s an easy read, interspersed with graphics and videos that emphasize the strong connection between Catholic Social Teaching and a more intentional response to Care of Our Common Home. The Climate is a Common Good: Social Teaching and Climate Change is an excellent example of new videos that can be used in early discussions with organizations and finance committees. In January, the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines made their most urgent appeal to date, for a strong Catholic response to the climate crisis. |
Laudato Si’ Dialogues Newsletter Tenth Issue
THE STORY – We are today’s John the Baptist, spread the JOY!
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There is Joy in the Presence of Jesus, artwork by Rebecca Brogan |
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As this week begins with Gaudete Sunday, I can’t help but contemplate how we, who are working to bring Laudato Si’ into our lives and society, mirror characters in the gospel about Saint John the Baptist. Like the multitude who went out to be baptized by John, full of joyous anticipation for the coming of the Messiah, we ask what must we do to bring to bear the good fruit of repentance and welcome Jesus? We are also like John the Baptist, voices crying out in the wilderness of our communities that a new day is dawning. Like John, we rejoice in knowing Christ is present in our world. We know the promise of His redeeming grace. We know with the Holy Spirit, He is still here, speaking eloquently to us through nature, through our fellow human beings, through the very depths of our own concerns and desires. Our joy springs from knowing that we have enormous support from Pope Francis to continue spreading the message of an intricately interconnected world. He reminds us “The Creator does not abandon us; he never forsakes his loving plan or repents of having created us. Humanity still has the ability to work together in building our common home.” LS 13 Rejoice! Christ is with us! |
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Laudato Si’ Dialogues Newsletter Ninth Issue
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.
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