Tag: laudato si

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Trudi Jenny

Do our part to live Laudato Si’

To the editor:

Your recent article on St. Dennis Parish’s solar panel installation is welcome news.  Congratulations to Fr. Randy Timmerman for embracing and acting on the message of Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si’. St. Dennis is leading by example and paving the way for their parishioners and more parishes in the diocese to do likewise.

I am also grateful for the article informing parishes that there is grant funding available from RENEW Wisconsin to assist in the costs of installing solar. Parishes who are struggling to find the time to explore energy options can simplify the process by checking out Catholic Energies at https://catholicenergies.org

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Tony Magliano

Our common home really needs your help!

“A very solid scientific consensus indicates that we are presently witnessing a disturbing warming of the climatic system,” warns Pope Francis in his landmark environmental encyclical Laudato Si’ (“On Care for Our Common Home”).

Indeed, the scientific consensus is very solid. According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), “97 percent or more of actively publishing climate scientists agree: Climate-warming trends over the past century are very likely due to human activities.” (see: http://climate.nasa.gov/scientific-consen us/).

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Bill Dagnon

Support scientists in protecting our planet’s health

To the editor:

Thank you for publishing the December 1 article on Pope Francis’ November speech at the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. Pope Francis said, “I would say that it falls to scientists, who work free of political, economic or ideological interests . . . ” to build a cultural model to confront the challenge of climate change.

American Catholics must also support our scientists. U.S. bishops could hold a similar science summit. This would be an opportunity to teach Catholics and public leaders and explain the Catholic principle of stewardship of our earth in human solidarity.

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Mary C. Uhler, Catholic Herald Staff

Join in praying for the care of creation

Sometimes when I’m driving home in the evening, I am treated to a panoramic view of the sunset on the west side of Madison.

The vibrant colors of red and gold in the sky are amazing. It prompts me to say a quick prayer of thanksgiving to God for the beauty of our world.

Unfortunately, it’s a world we often take for granted. And if we don’t start paying more attention, we might not be able to enjoy this beautiful world as much in the future.

World Day of Prayer

To remind us to pay attention, Pope Francis in 2015 declared September 1 as the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation. He joined the Orthodox Church in this practice, something that Church has done since 1989.

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Mary C. Uhler, Catholic Herald Staff

Facing pope’s challenge to protect creation

It doesn’t seem possible that almost a year has passed since Pope Francis issued Laudato Si’, his beautiful encyclical on care for our common home.

Released on June 18, 2015, the encyclical touched on many of the critical issues facing our world today, including the availability of fresh drinking water, the loss of biodiversity, decline in the quality of human life, the breakdown of society, and global inequality, to name a few.

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Mary C. Uhler, Catholic Herald Staff

Caring for creation: making it personal

As a small child, I can remember watching my grandmother work in the garden on the family farm. It was so peaceful to be outside in such a beautiful setting.

My father also had a garden in the backyard of our house in La Crosse when I was young. As a teacher, he had summers off and had the time to plant a big garden. At harvest time, he often went through the neighborhood giving away beets, tomatoes, and other extra vegetables.

I enjoyed helping him plant and care for the vegetables and flowers (which were my favorite part of the garden). To this day, there is nothing I like better than digging in the soil and planting flowers. The smell of the dirt and the sound of insects always make me feel good.

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Bill Dagnon

Follow pope’s example in caring for creation

To the editor:

Pope Francis was prophetic when he wrote his encyclical on climate change and care of creation, Laudato Si’: On Care for Our Common Home. Pope Francis released the encyclical on June 18, 2015.

This encyclical cannot be summarized in a letter, so I urge you to read it, but here is Pope Francis’ appeal: “I urgently appeal, then, for a new dialogue about how we are shaping the future of our planet. We need a conversation which includes everyone, since the environmental challenge we are undergoing, and its human roots, concern and affect us all.”[14]

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Laura Green, For the Catholic Herald

Catholic Multicultural Center puts pope’s encyclical into action

MADISON — Pope Francis’ recent encyclical Laudato Si’ makes a firm and urgent case for taking care of God’s creation in order to care for the poor and vulnerable among us.

He asserts that environmental stewardship must always be tied to social justice and vice versa. For the Catholic Multicultural Center (CMC), the encyclical is an affirmation of the work it has already been doing.

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Fr. Donald Lange

Improve social, physical environment, says pope

To the editor:

I enjoyed the July 2 Catholic Herald articles about Pope Francis’ encyclical, Laudato Si’, on Care for Our Common Home.

Since becoming pope, Francis has continued the concern for the environment that St. Francis of Assisi, St. John Paul II, and Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI shared.

He has connected the physical environment crisis with the social environment crisis. Improving the physical environment begins by improving the social environment.

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Trudi Jenny

Will we answer pope’s call to action?

To the editor:

I would like to express my gratitude to Pope Francis for writing his encyclical, Laudato Si’. He inspires us all to act on our calling to care for the gifts of God’s creation.

In 2001, the U.S. Catholic bishops said, “global climate change is not about . . . partisan advantage or interest group pressures. It is about the future of God’s creation and the one human family. . . ”  Pope Francis’ encyclical endorses this and moves the climate change conversation beyond politics to the moral realm where it belongs.

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