Catholic News Service
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. When he created man, he gave him dominion over the earth (Gn 1:28). In the wake of Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical “Laudato Si’,” parishes across the United States — and all over the world — have been striving to implement the pope’s vision of how we can appropriately fulfill our role as caretakers of creation.
“Laudato Si’, on Care for Our Common Home,” was officially released on June 18, 2015, and was Pope Francis’ second encyclical.
This encyclical is uniquely Pope Francis; this can be seen even in the unconventional title. Nearly all official titles of encyclicals and other major papal documents are in Latin, whereas this is a phrase in an Italian dialect from St. Francis of Assisi’s “Canticle of the Sun,” also called “Canticle of Creatures.”
In the spirit of the great saint of creation, the encyclical implores responsible caretaking of the world around us, and asks us not to let economic or other goals lead to detrimental choices in regards to the environment.
Since the release of the encyclical, dioceses, parishes, universities and communities all over the world have been striving to implement Pope Francis’ appeal. Here are two examples of parishes in the United States that are implementing programs and changes of their own.
Franciscan Father Jacek Orzechowski has supported the ideals of “Laudato Si'” more publicly than many. As a priest of St. Camillus Church in Silver Spring, Maryland, he testified in March 2016 before the Maryland House Economic Matters Committee in favor of an act to drastically reduce the state’s greenhouse gas emissions.
Father Orzechowski is not alone in his commitment to caring for God’s creation. A Franciscan parish, the St. Camillus community strives to “embody the Franciscan view of creation in the way we worship, evangelize, teach our children and use the resources that God gave us,” according to the parish website.
To that end, the parish has many programs to foster appropriate stewardship of creation, including gardening, a Polar Bear plunge and small Lenten groups aimed at “reflection, prayer and action” in regard to the encyclical.
St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Parish in Madison, Wisconsin, has hosted numerous activities and enacted changes to be better stewards of creation, in light of the encyclical.
In addition to hosting a study of the encyclical itself, they have formed a care of creation team that is tasked with helping the parish meet goals regarding care of creation; the parish bought a new efficient boiler and are planning a complete energy audit for this summer, along with many other initiatives.
One challenge the parish has experienced has been in the willingness of many to participate. “While many people are supportive of care for creation in theory, those who are willing to help with organizing activities or efforts are much fewer,” observed Jennifer Ludtke, director of evangelization and parish outreach at St. Thomas Aquinas.
“Luckily, we have a pastor who is very supportive and open to hearing from parishioners who have a passion for this issue,” Ludtke said. “Even if we are unable to do sweeping changes at the parish, there is an openness to making small changes that are steps in the right direction.”
For Ludtke and the St. Thomas Aquinas community, it all comes down to evangelization and the salvation of souls.
“Our key focus as a parish is to evangelize — to help people to experience the love of God, the salvation of Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit in such a way that it changes how they live their lives every day. For some people, the door to being evangelized comes from the outside in, rather than the inside out,” Ludtke said.
“It arises from being moved by the beauty of creation and amazement at the Creator’s work. If the beauty of creation is lost or damaged, we will most certainly have lost one of the doors to the sacred that is accessible to everyone.”
(Senz is a freelance writer living in Oregon with his family.)
