Archdiocese of Cincinnati | Catholic Social Action Office
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St. Francis Pledge Newsletter
Fall 2021
a newsletter from the Care for Creation Task Force
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Welcome fall!
ļ»æWe hope this newsletter finds you safe, enjoying the end of summer, and looking forward the beauty of fall. The fall flowers, the changing leaves, and the cool breezes welcome us into this season of creation (9/1 to 10/4). Praise be to God!
This fall brings us - as always - the celebration of the feast of St. Francis, but this year's celebration will bring us something extra: the release of the full new seven-year roadmap for our journey to total sustainability - the Laudato Siā Action Plan. You can see the full platform here, the roll out video and additional resources here, and more from the Vatican here. Our task force plans to utilize this resource as we move forward in our work.
On that note: if you are interested in joining an ad hoc committee to address one of the goals of the Action Plan, please let me know. We know that not everyone can attend our bi-monthly task force meetings, but perhaps you could join this limited-time, fixed goal effort to address a goal or community that is of particular interest to you.
We wish a wonderful fall full of fresh air, time in nature, and continued work to care for all of God's creation.
ļ»æPace e bene,
Archdiocesan Care for Creation Task Force
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HB 6 (and it's various components) continues to be dismantled, piece by piece. Just recently the subsidies for most of the coal plants were removed. Unfortunately, there has been no reinstatement of the environmental protections that were removed. Check out a more detailed run down of the components of the bill and what you can do.
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JULY CCC CONFERENCE
"Laudato Siā and the U.S. Catholic Church: A Conference Series on Our Common Home", held virtually in July by the Catholic Climate Conference, was a three-day, jam-packed event for the 2700 attendees. Keynote presentations by Cardinal Blase Cupich, Dr. Maureen Day, and Sr. Illia Delio, OSF, plus breakout sessions on eight different topics put together by working groups, came together to challenge, inspire, and offer practical and creative ways to engage Catholics in the work of caring for creation. Cardinal Cupich spoke of Laudato Siās call for conversion and named specific areas in which this needs to happen. Maureen Day indicated that we may be in an opportune time for change based on studies showing what a majority of Americans believe. She added that we need red, blue, and purple Catholics to pull us out of our political communities and back to our Catholic community, to ask our Catholic questions, like, āWhat does solidarity have to say to this issue? Does anything in this policy risk compromising the dignity of the human person? How are the poor and vulnerable going to be affected?" Sr. Illia Delioās address featured insights from Teilhard de Chardin. Breakout sessions on Advocacy, Creation Care Teams, Homiletics, Communications/Media, Youth & Young Adults, Parochial School Education, Environmental Justice, and Colleges/Universities offered strategies, plans, and resources.
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FROM OUR FRIENDS AT EarthConnection
Click here to find a list of all of the activities being offered by EarthConnection (located at Mt. St. Joseph University) from Aug. to Dec. 2021. Thanks Sr. Cj for all that you and your team are doing!! And click here for their summer newsletter.
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LAUDATO SI 7-YEAR PLATFORM
In May of this year, the Vatican launched the 7-year Laudato Siā Action Platform. This initiativeās aim is to have every Catholic institution, from the family to large organizations, become ecologically sustainable in seven years. Pope Francisā goal is āto help lead the worldās Catholics along a journey of intensified action in caring for creation.ā In his video message on May 24th, Pope Francis stated that āWe need a new ecological approach that can transform our way of dwelling in the world, our styles of life, our relationship with the resources of the Earth and, in general, our way of looking at humanity and of living life.ā
āOur selfishness, our indifference and our irresponsible ways are threatening the future of our childrenā¦I therefore renew my appeal: let us overcome the temptation of selfishness that makes us predators of resources; let us cultivate respect for the gifts of the Earth and creation, let us inaugurate a lifestyle and a society that is finally eco-sustainable,ā said Francis in his video address.
In his encyclical Laudato Siā, published five years ago, Pope Francis identified the ecological crisis as āa summons to profound interior conversion; a reexamining of our relationships with the Creator, with creation, and with our sisters and brothers.ā He also noted that āLiving our vocation to be protectors of Godās handiwork is essential to a life of virtueā¦and calls for a spiritual and cultural revolution to realize integral ecology.ā
The Laudato Siā Action Platform will focus on seven sectors: families, parishes, schools, hospitals, businesses, organizations, and religious orders. It has seven goals: the response to the cry of the earth, the response to the cry of the poor, ecological economics, adoption of simple lifestyles, ecological education, ecological spirituality, and community involvement.
Following the Season of Creation (September 1st-October 4th), more specific steps will be released about how the various sectors can become active participants in working towards the action plan goals. To learn more about Laudato Siā and the 7-year plan go to: www.catholicclimatecovenant.org. Check out this page - www.godsplantet.us - the principle website for the U.S. response to the action plan.
āThere is hopeā, Pope Francis says, āWe can all collaborate, each one with his own culture and experience, each one with her own initiatives and capacities, so that our mother Earth may be restored to her original beauty and creation may once again shine according to Godās plan.ā
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Helpful Hints
If you're looking for some practical ways to make an impact right now, check out these ideas!
As we soon move cool weather, it might be time to ask if your home is well insulated. Adding insulation can be a difficult do-it-yourself project, but the benefits can be substantial. The EPA recommends that before adding insulation, seal and insulate the attic hatch or door, and seal air leaks with caulk, spray foam, and weather stripping. Homeowners typically save up to $200 a year in heating and cooling costs by air sealing their homes and adding insulation. Save even more by closing shades and drapes after the sun goes down to prevent heat loss. When replacing windows and doors look for EnergyStar. For more energy saving tips from EPA, visit https://www.energystar.gov/campaign/waysToSave.
Do you find you home needing a new upgrade? A new roof, door, or windows? Perhaps a new water heater or furnace? Insulation? If so, act now and qualify for a tax rebate offered through Dec. 31, 2021. Other types of upgrades also qualify. For those whoāve thought about renewable energy systems, such as fuel cells, small wind turbines, solar energy systems and geothermal heat pumps, these also have tax credit value. Visit https://energystar-mesa.force.com/ENERGYSTAR/s/?s=footer.
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Volunteers needed!
The new Cincinnati Recycling and Reuse Hub could use your help. Check out this link - https://www.cincinnatirecyclingandreusehub.org/volunteer - to find out when you can support their work. This is a wonderful new Earth-loving place in Cincinnati, and we should all do our part to support their success.
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Laudato Si' Communities - You can do it!
We want to recognize Catholic parishes and schools that live out Pope Francis' Laudato Si' message of caring for God's creation.
Qualifying parishes or schools will:
- Earn the title "Laudato Si' Community" at an annual recognition event; Receive an eco-friendly banner to display in or outside their building
- Be featured on the Archdiocesan website, Facebook page, and in other Archdiocesan media outlets and communications.
To earn this designation, parishes/schools should:
1. Complete a facilities assessment and meet a target score for environmental stewardship practices
2. Have 10 percent of its member-households complete their own household assessment
3. Host or provide a Care for Creation formation program to parishioners/students
We are accepting applications for our 2022 communities. Qualifying communities will be recognized around the feast of St. Francis (10/4). For more information, check out the website. If you have any questions, let us know.
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Laudato Si' Communities - Highlight
Each season, we're celebrating one of our 2020 recipients.
For this fall newsletter, we're focusing on St. Xavier Hight School. For their project, they worked on increasing recycling and using water more responsibly. To improve their campus recycling, they added containers at the schools front entrance, in all class rooms, in the cafeteria, and throughout the stadium. To improve their water use, they installed multiple bottle refill stations and encouraged all students to bring their own bottles daily rather than purchasing single use containers. In addition, they also started a vegetable garden in one of their courtyards and are creating a pollinator space. They plan to add bee hives and clean up their wooded areas by removing invasive species.
Congrats to St. Xavier High School
on becoming a 2020 Laudato Si' Community!!
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The following items are provided by the Archdiocesan Care for Creation Task Force Prayer and Learning Teams for use where appropriate in parish liturgies and bulletins during the coming months. |
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September
Bulletin Prayer
We pray that we all will make courageous choices for a simple and environmentally sustainable lifestyle, rejoicing in our young people, who are resolutely committed to this.
Intercession
For all Godās children, for abundant harvest, and sharing of resources, we prayā¦.
Papal Quote
āThe gradual depletion of the ozone layer and the related 'greenhouse effect' has now reached crisis proportions as a consequence of industrial growth, massive urban concentrations and vastly increased energy needs ā¦ When the ecological crisis is set within the broader context of the search for peace within society, we can understand better the importance of giving attention to what the earth and its atmosphere are telling us: namely, that there is an order in the universe which must be respected, and that the human person, endowed with the capability of choosing freely, has a grave responsibility to preserve this order for the well-being of future generations. I wish to repeat that the ecological crisis is a moral issue.ā Saint John Paul II, Peace with God the Creator, Peace with All Creation - 1990 World Day of Peace Message, nos. 6, 9.
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October
Bulletin Prayer
In honor of St. Francis, the patron saint of the environment, let us recommit to Care for ALL of Godās Creation. May we live by his example and treasure our sisters and brothers in creation.
Intercession
For all of Godās creation from the teeniest, tiny quark to the most vast galactic filament, we pray..
Papal Quote
āCan we remain indifferent before the problems associated with such realities as climate change ā¦ ? Humanity needs a profound cultural renewal; it needs to rediscover those values which can serve as the solid basis for building a brighter future for all. Our present crises ā be they economic, food-related, environmental or social ā are ultimately also moral crises, and all of them are interrelated. They require us to rethink the path which we are traveling together.ā Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, If You Want to Cultivate Peace, Protect Creation - 2010 World Day of Peace Message, nos. 4, 5.
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November
Bulletin Prayer
Generous God, give us the grace to live in full compassion with our brothers and sisters of other religions, open to all, grateful for our blessed diversity
Intercession
For all Godās people in this season of gratitude and thanksgiving, we prayā¦.
Papal Quote
āIt must be said that some committed and prayerful Christians, with the excuse of realism and pragmatism, tend to ridicule expressions of concern for the environment. Others are passive; they choose not to change their habits and thus become inconsistent. So what they all need is an āecological conversion,ā whereby the effects of their encounter with Jesus Christ becomes evident in their relationship with the world around them. Living our vocation to be protectors of Godās handiwork is essential to a life of virtue; it is not an optional or a secondary aspect of our Christian experience.ā Pope Francisā encyclical Laudato Siā, 217)
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