The seven goals of the Laudato Si Action Platform

You may have read or heard about the seven goals of Laudato Si, here is a synopsis of what they mean.

1.     The Response to the Cry of the Poor is a call to promote eco-justice, aware that we are called to defend all forms of life on Earth. Actions could include supporting initiatives to end human trafficking, accompanying the elderly, people with disabilities, migrants and families of missing persons, assisting children in day care centers whose low-income mothers have to work, etc.

2.     The Response to the Cry of the Earth is a call to protect our common home for the wellbeing of all. Actions could include promoting greater use of clean renewable energies and reducing fossil fuels to achieve carbon neutrality, efforts to protect and promote biodiversity, supporting policies that guarantee access to clean water for all, etc.

3.     The Adoption of Sustainable Lifestyles is grounded in the idea of solidarity and promoting sobriety in the use of resources and energy. Actions could include participating in urban eco-projects, encouraging the elimination of single-use plastic, adopting a more plant-based diet, supporting people wishing to implement family/community gardens, etc.

4.     Ecological Economics acknowledges that the economy is a sub-system of human society. Actions could include the promotion of cooperatives in indigenous communities, sustainable production, fair trade, ethical consumption, ethical investments, divestment from fossil fuels and any economic activity harmful to the planet and people, investment in renewable energies, etc.

5.     Ecological Education is about re-thinking in order to foster ecological awareness and transformative action. Actions could include assistance to patients with alternative medicine, promotion of values of care for creation, promotion of eco-friendly projects, etc.

6.     Ecological Spirituality springs from a profound ecological conversion and helps us to “discover God in all things.” Actions could include prayers on integral ecology, promoting creation-based liturgical celebrations, developing ecological retreats, catechesis, and formation programs, etc.

7.     Community resilience and empowerment envisage a synodal journey of community engagement and participatory action at various levels. Actions could include promoting advocacy and awareness of fracking, fostering rootedness in local territory and neighborhood ecosystems, taking a stand against unfair systems, etc.

LCWR and CMSM Open Letter to President Donald Trump

SILVER SPRING (January 18, 2017). The Presidents of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) and the Conference of Major Superiors of Men (CMSM) representing the elected leaders of more than 55,000 Catholic religious sisters, brothers, and priests sent a letter to President-Elect Donald Trump reminding him of the gift and responsibility of leadership.

LCWR President, Mary Pellegrino, CSJ and CMSM President, Brian Terry, SA write out of their concern for the critical needs facing the country and the world today, and the call to respond through the service of leadership.

They express deep concerns about the “fractures and divisions” that “threaten the well-being and freedom of all Americans and those who have fled in fear to our shores and borders.” They urge all of us to commit to “respectful and dignified civil discourse.”

Sister Mary and Father Brian invite President-Elect Trump and his administration to join them in promoting the “common good” and  they renew their own commitment to “actively advocate against promoting the privilege of some over the needs of others and turning away from our shores those who are in need.”

They make this commitment in the context of the Holy Father’s message for the World Day of Peace and they urge President-Elect Trump “to join us in accepting Pope Francis’ challenge to political and religious leaders to apply the Beatitudes in the exercise of our respective responsibilities. ‘It is a challenge,’ the pope writes, ‘to build up society, communities and businesses by acting as peacemakers. It is to show mercy by refusing to discard people, harm the environment, or seek to win at any cost.’”

 The letter to President-Elect Trump reads as follows:

The gift of leadership is given to American leaders by the “Right of the People.” Leadership brings with it a great joy and a great responsibility.

We serve as Presidents of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) and the Conference of Major Superiors of Men (CMSM), respectively.  Together we represent the elected leaders of 38,800 Catholic Sisters and 17,000 Catholic Brothers and religious priests who live and minister throughout the United States.  As elected leaders we know and share with you both the joy and the burden of this service. 

We and the members of our communities seek to be instruments of the reconciliation our people urgently need. In our poverty of spirit, we rely on the help of God and the example of Jesus, the one who came to serve us all. Since before the founding of our nation and often during its darkest hours, Catholic Sisters, Brothers and religious priests, ourselves often immigrants, have served the needs of both civic leaders and those on the outskirts of influence. We have chosen to live with those who were sick, dying or living in poverty. Our schools, hospitals and social services helped to build, shape and humanize American society by healing, educating and serving those in need regardless of ethnicity, religion, means or circumstance. Then and now, we strive to bring healing, hope and consolation in the face of sadness and despair.

As religious leaders, we are committed to contemplative prayer which compels us to take a long, loving look at what is real, to name its truth and to respond lovingly to its call through our service and leadership. We write today from this contemplative space, immersed in the Gospel call for all of us to grow in unity, peace, dialogue, and ultimately, conversion to the Reign of God. 

We are deeply concerned by the fractures and divisions—seen so clearly during this past election season—which continue to threaten the well-being and freedom of all Americans and those who have fled in fear to our shores and borders. We remember how we struggled at our country’s very foundation as strangers and pilgrims in this land. From this humble beginning, we celebrate how the United States of America has often been a beacon of hope and unity to a broken world. We rejoice in how our diversity has been our strength. America is at its best when its people come together to overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles with ingenuity and creativity even going so far as to courageously risk their lives to transform conflict into peace. 

Jesus Christ’s Gospel of Love is the charter that moves us to action. In order to be “one nation under God,” we believe we are all called to live as true ambassadors of reconciliation, in all places and all times, so “that all may be one” (John 17:21).  We believe that we need a President who transcends party politics and personal agendas in order to heal deep divisions that threaten the stability of our nation.  We strongly believe that we all need to be dedicated to respectful and dignified civil discourse with those whose positions differ from our own. 

We pledge our own efforts toward this end. 

To the extent that the new administration seeks to promote the common good through its policies, practices and people, we stand ready to collaborate. We will actively work for the preservation of the dignity of all whose home is here in America and to welcome those who come to our shores in search of safety, freedom and a life worthy of their dignity. We will also actively advocate against promoting the privilege of some over the needs of others and turning away from our shores those who are in need. Together, we have the opportunity to advocate for and build a just, merciful and humane society worthy of the dignity of all. 

We invite you to join us in our constant prayer and hope that God might act in our hearts and through our actions as leaders.  We urge you to join us in accepting Pope Francis’ challenge to political and religious leaders to apply the Beatitudes in the exercise of our respective responsibilities.  (Pope Francis, World Day of Peace Message, January 1, 2017)  “It is a challenge,” he writes, “to build up society, communities and businesses by acting as peacemakers.  It is to show mercy by refusing to discard people, harm the environment, or seek to win at any cost.”

We pledge the service of our leadership and urge you to pledge yours toward this great endeavor of building a truly good and just society. 

We congratulate you on your inauguration and assure you of our prayers as you begin your service as President of the United States.

Original article published on LCWR website

A Citizen's Prayer for the Pending Election

A Citizen’s Prayer: Election 2016  
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Call to Prayer:
Each son or daughter of a given country has a mission, a personal and social responsibility. We are called to defend and preserve the dignity of our fellow citizens in the tireless and demanding pursuit of the common good, for this is the chief aim of all politics. A political society endures when it seeks, as a vocation, to satisfy common needs by stimulating the growth of all its members, especially those in situations of greater vulnerability or risk. (Adapted from address of Pope Francis to the US Congress, September 24, 2015.) 

Reading: None of us can say, ‘I have nothing to do with this, they govern. . . .’ No, I am responsible I have to do my best by participating in politics according to my ability. Politics, according to the Social Doctrine of the Church, is one of the highest forms of charity, because it serves the common good. I cannot wash my hands. We all have to give something! A good Catholic meddles in politics, offering the best of him or herself, so that those who govern can govern. And what is the best that we can offer to those who govern? Prayer! (Adapted from a homily of Pope Francis, September 13, 2013.)

And so let us pray . . .

Leader: God of all creation, in a world where life and dignity is threatened at every turn by racism, xenophobia, misogyny, consumerism, and environmental degradation, we pray for the grace to choose leaders who will build a nation where all of God’s creation is cherished and the dignity of each and every person is respected. 
Response: Creator God, grant us the grace of discernment.

Leader: Spirit of wisdom, make us mindful of our brothers and sisters who suffer from poverty, injustice, and violence, We pray for the insight to choose leaders who understand that the moral test of our society is how the poor, the weak, and the vulnerable are faring.
Response: Spirit of God, grant us the grace to choose wisely. 

Leader: Word of God, in this election season fraught as it is with conflict and division; where some pit neighbor against neighbor and try to turn us against ourselves, we pray for the courage to choose those who will labor to heal divisions and build the common good.
Response: Word of God, grant us the grace to stand in solidarity with all who seek to build your beloved community.

All: Good and gracious Triune God, we pray that through your mercy and ever abundant love these elections may lead to a world of greater peace, where justice is the norm, and all of God’s creation is treasured. Amen!

(created by the LCWR Office for Social Mission) 

Join LCWR in Call for Civil Discourse for the Public Good

Thanks to all who have shared LCWR's Call for Civil Discourse for the Public Good with your sisters and colleagues. We encourage you to continue to work with your staff to share the statement with the wider public through letters-to-the-editor and op-ed pieces in your local secular and religious press.  

We'd like to invite you to join us in the second phase of our campaign to promote positive and productive dialogue during this presidential campaign. Please join us in calling on candidates for the highest office in the land to pledge to engage in careful listening and honest dialogue that treats all with the respect that is their God-given right.

In phase two, we hope to gather the signatures of thousands of women religious on a letter to the candidates for president. We plan to deliver the letter to the candidates, the leadership of their political parties, and the press shortly after the national conventions.

Please help us gather the thousands of signatures of women religious we need to make an impact on the candidates and the public. We have just two weeks to get it done. We plan to close the letter for signatures on July 30.

You'll find an invitation and the letter at: http://salsa4.salsalabs.com/o/51250/c/201/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=19143.  

Please join us!  Sign the LCWR letter calling for civil discourse for the common good and invite your sisters to do the same!

LCWR Calls for Civil Discourse for the Common Good

You are called to defend and preserve the dignity of your fellow citizens in the tireless and demanding pursuit of the common good, for this is the chief aim of all politics. 

-- Pope Francis, Address to the US Congress, September 24, 2015

We live in a world increasingly marked by hatred, brutality, and violent conflict. We see our own country threatened by increasing disparities in economic, political, and social power. We are caught in a political system paralyzed by ideological extremism and hyper-partisanship. Those on both sides of the growing political divide too often appeal to our basest instincts and stoke the fires of fear that threaten to tear the fabric of our nation apart. We cannot let the voices of hatred and fear carry the day.

We call for a return to civility in our discourse and decency in our political interaction that promotes the common good, reaches out to others, engages in constructive dialogue, and seeks together the way forward.  We hope for political dialogue that reflects the principles and values upon which this nation was founded.

The need for courageous leaders has never been greater. We simply ask that all refrain from language that disrespects, dehumanizes, or demonizes another. All are created in God’s image and are worthy of respect. We ask that all who seek to influence public opinion, all who hope to serve this nation as leaders, be always mindful of the common good and respectful of the dignity of each and every person.

Citizens of this pluralistic nation form a diverse polity characterized by a wide variety of beliefs, experiences, and interests. Disagreements and differences of opinion have the potential to challenge all of us to abandon easy certainty and seek a fuller truth. The problem is not our many disagreements. It is how those conflicts are handled that spells the difference between building the common good and destroying the bonds that bind this nation together.

In his address to the US Congress last September, Pope Francis invited members of Congress to promote respect for the dignity of every human person and to renew their commitment to a spirit of cooperation.  He also addressed each of us and all who seek to lead this nation when he said,  

Each son or daughter of a given country has a mission, a personal and social responsibility . . . You are called to defend and preserve the dignity of your fellow citizens in the tireless and demanding pursuit of the common good, for this is the chief aim of all politics. A political society endures when it seeks, as a vocation, to satisfy common needs by stimulating the growth of all its members, especially those in situations of greater vulnerability or risk . . . Building a future of freedom requires love of the common good and cooperation in a spirit of subsidiarity and solidarity.

Let us engage in careful listening and honest questioning.  Let us honor the dignity of those with whom we disagree and treat them with the respect that is their God-given right. Let us seek the common good, desire only good for all others, and offer our own truth with equal measures of conviction and humility.

Marcia Allen, CSJ -- LCWR President
Mary Pellegrino, CSJ -- LCWR President-Elect
Sharon Holland, LCWR Past President