Laudato SiWe have been invited by Pope Francis to join with myriad institutions and individuals of the Church to journey toward integral Ecology. We undertake with courage, conviction, and compassion the responsibility to Care for Earth, our Common Home, and to stand with people who have been impacted by climate change, poverty, violence, and exploitation. We desire to understand the interconnections of all creation and to undertake a conversion journey. We, who live in our evolving universe, engage as Co-creators with God to promote justice, to advocate with the powerless and oppressed, and to sustain practices which provide opportunity for all humanity to live fully human lives.

We pledge to join with others to integrate the seven goals of the Laudato Si Action Platform into our lived reality as Dominican Sisters of Grand Rapids.

Affirmed at Dominican Sisters ~ Grand Rapids General Assembly on August 6, 2021

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The Laudato Si’ Action Platform is a unique collaboration between the Vatican, an international coalition of Catholic organizations, and “all men and women of good will.” (LS 3) Taking a truly ground-up approach, it is rooted in the strengths and realities of communities around the world, empowering all to take “decisive action, here and now” as we journey towards a better future together. (LS 161)

Action is urgently needed. Our Creator called the human family to be the steward of creation, but we have neglected that call. Our hotter, dirtier, deader planet is driving up the risk of suffering. The most vulnerable suffer above all.

Discerning a response to the ecological crisis is a profound act of care. At this kairos moment, action is needed. The Laudato Si’ Goals guide our actions. They redefine and rebuild our relationship with each other and our common home. Their holistic approach acknowledges the planetary limits of all socio-economic systems and the human roots of the ecological crisis. They call for a spiritual and cultural revolution to realize integral ecology.

Goals of The Laudato Si’ Action Platform

  • Responding to the cry of Earth
  • Responding to the cry of the poor
  • Building ecological economies
  • Adopting simple lifestyles
  • Creating ecological education
  • Recovering ecological spirituality
  • Promoting community action and advocacy

 

Laudato Si’ Resource Links

•  https://laudatosimovement.org/ (Laudato Si’ Movement)
•  https://laudatosiactionplatform.org/ (Laudato Si’ Action Platform)
•  https://www.laudatosi.va/en.html (Official Vatican Laudato Si’ Website)
•  https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20150524_enciclica-laudato-si.html (Vatican’s English Version of Encyclical)
•  https://www.usccb.org/offices/general-secretariat/laudato-si-care-our-common-home (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops on Laudato Si’)
•  https://www.youtube.com/user/DanHoranOFM (Understanding Laudato Si’ Series by Father Daniel Horan OFM)
•  https://www.grdominicans.org/introducing-our-common-home-one-human-family-laudato-si-video-series/ (Laudato Si’ Video Series by Mary Catherine Fodrocy OP)