Archdiocese of Cincinnati | Catholic Social Action Office

|
|
St. Francis Pledge Newsletter
Summer 2022
a newsletter from the Care for Creation Task Force
|
|
|
Summer is here!
We hope this newsletter finds you well and enjoying the beauty and growth of the season. We thank God for guiding us through the joy and celebration of Easter, and we pray that our hearts - filled with God's grace poured out at Pentecost - can look and act with love towards all of God's creation.
As we enter Ordinary time, we hope that you can come closer to God through the extraordinary blessings that God always shares with us and open your arms to welcome our neighbors and all of creation.
Pace e bene,
Archdiocesan Care for Creation Task Force
|
|
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops issued an action alert during Laudato Si’ Week, asking Senators to enact a proposed $555 billion in ambitious climate solutions. The bishops’ alert echoes the call from more than 800 U.S. Catholics in 47 states during the Covenant’s Encounter for Our Common Home campaign. We welcome the USCCB’s action to the crucial effort to save our planet. And thanks to all of you for your dedication to building a world in the spirit of Laudato Si’!
(from the Catholic Climate Covenant)

|
|
Protagonists for Transformation: Young Catholic Leaders for Climate Justice
From the Catholic Climate Covenant
We are excited to invite all ages to an amazing online gathering, “Protagonists for Transformation: Young Catholic Leaders for Climate Justice” on June 9th at 12 pm ET – this Thursday! The panelists will discuss how their faith and/or spirituality informs their work for climate justice, how they imagine living in a climate-changed world, what they desire in their relationships with people from other generations and their dreams for the church. The webinar will be recorded and a link to the recording will be sent to all who register. Contact Paz Artaza-Regan (paz@catholicclimatecovenant.org) if you have any questions.
|
|
From the Marianist Environmental Education Center
Native Plant Sale
Saturday, June 25, 8:00am - 1:00pm
We have four brand new species this year - including leatherflower (Clematis viorna) - as well as the return of several favorites that weren't available last year.
Our native plant sale is our most important fundraiser, and each sale is actually a non-exempt donation to our habitat restoration work, both here at Mount St. John and around the region. You can also help by sharing this catalog, directing people who may be interested to our website (https://meec.center) and sharing the sale on social media. If you are involved in an organization that can distribute our catalogs, we'll be happy to supply some!
_____________________________________________________________________________
MEEC was recently featured in the April issue of The Catholic Telegraph. You can read the article here.

|
|
From EarthConnection
On the third Thursday of every month, Sr. Cj hosts a Zoom webinar on environmental issues facing us today.
The Zoom sessions are free but you are asked that you register. See their event page to register.

|
|
Midwest Regional Sustainability Summit
Thursday, June 16, 2022
Each year, the Midwest Regional Sustainability Summit brings together hundreds of passionate leaders to share inspiring solution-oriented ideas that propel us toward a healthier, more resilient future. We are thrilled to announce that in 2022 the Summit will return to Xavier University's Cintas Center as an in-person, hybrid event on Thursday, June 16th. This year’s event is co-sponsored by The Brueggeman Center for Dialogue.
Our 2022 theme will explore Emergent Strategies for an Equitable, Climate Prepared Region. We are now accepting proposals for panel discussions, interactive workshops, and short talks, as well as field trips and community events for the day after the conference. Check out our sponsor and exhibitor opportunities. Award nominations are also now open for individuals and organizations that have made outstanding strides in impact, innovation and leadership. Learn more!
***In-person registration is sold out, but virtual registration is still available.***

|
|
LAUDATO SI ACTION PLATFORM
We are happy to announce that Archbishop Schnurr has given us his blessing to officially join the Archdiocese of Cincinnati as a partner with the Laudato Si' Action Platform. We are thrilled to be joining dioceses from around the globe in this important effort.
We are planning on holding information sessions on the Laudato Si' Action Platform and how our Archdiocese will be implementing the different goals across the different sectors. We don't have hard dates set yet, but please be on the look out for an invitation for events to be held in late spring.
In case you missed it in the winter, here's a brief article
giving a bit more information on the new platform.
In May of this year the Vatican launched the 7-year Laudato Si’ Action Platform (laudatosiactionplatform.org). This initiative’s aim is to have every Catholic institution, from the family to large organizations, become ecologically sustainable in seven years. Pope Francis’ goal is “to help lead the world’s Catholics along a journey of intensified action in caring for creation.” In his video message on May 24th, Pope Francis stated that “We 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.”
“Our selfishness, our indifference and our irresponsible ways are threatening the future of our children…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,” said Francis in his video address.
In his encyclical Laudato Si’, published five years ago, Pope Francis identified the ecological crisis as “a summons to profound interior conversion; a reexamining of our relationships with the Creator, with creation, and with our sisters and brothers.” He also noted that “Living our vocation to be protectors of God’s handiwork is essential to a life of virtue…and calls for a spiritual and cultural revolution to realize integral ecology.”
The Laudato Si’ Action Platform focuses 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. More specific steps about how the various sectors can become active participants in working towards the action plan goals are available at www.catholicclimatecovenant.org.

“There is hope,” Pope Francis says. “We 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 God’s plan.”
|
|
Helpful Hints
If you're looking for some practical ways to make an impact right now, check out these ideas!
Nations reached their climate agreements at COP 26 and now it’s up to us to continue to act and to advocate for the earth. Some actions we can take: cut back on the gas guzzling. Transportation is the largest source of carbon emissions in the U.S., accounting for about 28 percent of all GHG emissions. Questions to ask ourselves: Is this trip necessary? What about combining errands? Could that meeting happen over Zoom? Shall we carpool, walk, bike, or take public transit? Keeping in mind that how we drive can make our ride more fuel-efficient. We can save gas by accelerating and braking gradually, subduing our inner speed demon by keeping it at 50 miles per hour and using cruise control on long hauls. And we don’t want to be that person who leaves the car idling while chatting with neighbors, waiting for the train’s caboose, or idling in a school zone.
Servicing the car regularly can help keep it running efficiently. Simple things like checking and adjusting tire pressure and upgrading motor oil can increase fuel efficiency. Tending to a more serious problem, like a faulty oxygen sensor—which measures the composition of your car’s exhaust and helps calculate how much fuel to use—can improve mileage by as much as 40 percent. So be sure to tend to that check-engine light right away!
Another tip -- when packing cargo, using a hitch-mounted rack (the kind that attaches to the back of the car) instead of roof-top boxes makes the more aerodynamic, saving fuel, big time.
One key point: New cars generate anywhere from 6 to 35 tons of CO2 emissions during the manufacturing process, depending on the type of car and materials needed, which counteracts the fuel-efficient benefits of switching in the first place. That’s major, especially considering the average American’s carbon footprint is about 18 tCO2e per year. So while driving an electric car or a hybrid can help cut down on emissions in the long run, there’s no need to rush to upgrade to something new, no matter how shiny it is. The production of vehicles is actually hugely carbon intensive and may take away the gains from opting for an energy-efficient model. If you are buying a new car, look for a Smart Way certified vehicle—this government program run by the EPA certifies the lowest emitting cars each year.

|
|
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.

|
|
Laudato Si' Communities - Highlight
Each season, we're celebrating one of our recipients.
For this summer newsletter, we're highlighting Bayley (a non-profit retirement and wellness community founded by the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati in 1990), the second of our two 2021 honorees. In 2016, they launched an interdepartmental environmental sustainability committee to attempt to be better stewards of God's creation across their campus. They installed a new HVAC system, switched over to LED lighting, offered education to their staff, and adopted an environmental sustainability plan for their grounds. Moving forward, they plan to offer additional education, go paperless in their fitness center, and reduce water and styrofoam usage.
Congrats to Bayley
on becoming a 2021 Laudato Si' Community!!
|
|
The Laudato Si Movement has launched a Prayer Book in English and in Spanish, with 62 prayers from 25 countries around the world to help you and your loved ones experience the ecological conversion that St. Pope John Paul II first mentioned, and Pope Francis echoed in Laudato Si’. Later this year, LSM will be launching an app featuring prayers from the Prayer Book and many other prayers. Here are the links for you to download it at no cost and share it among your friends and community.

|
|
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. |
|
June
Bulletin Prayer
Loving God, surround us in love and protection in this time of our great need.
Intercession
For the peoples, creatures and plants of the world that are being mindlessly destroyed, we pray to the Lord….
Papal Quote
"Let us dream, then, as a single human family, as fellow travelers sharing the same flesh, as children of the same earth which is our common home, each of us bringing the richness with his or her beliefs and convictions, each of us with his or her own voice, brothers and sisters all."
(Ft 8)
|
|
July
Bulletin Prayer
Loving Father, watch over us in our times of need. Grant us the grace to believe strongly even during those times of need.
Intercession
For all those living in fear, hunger and poverty, we pray to the Lord…
Papal Quote
"When we speak of the need to care for our common home, our planet, we appeal o that spark of universal consciousness and mutual concern that may still be present in people’s hearts. Those who enjoy a surplus of water yet choose to conserve it for the sake of the greater human family have attained a moral stature that allows them to look beyond themselves and the group to which they belong. How marvelously human! The same attitude is demanded if we are to recognize the rights of all people even those born beyond our own borders."
(Ft 117)
|
|
August
Bulletin Prayer
Heavenly Father, help us rejoice in the bounty of the summer season and remember to share this bounty with those who have none.
Intercession
For the growth of love and faithfulness in each of our human hearts, we pray to the Lord…
Papal Quote
"We need to develop the awareness that nowadays we are either all saved together or no one is saved. Poverty, decadence and suffering in one part of the earth are a silent breeding ground for problems that will end up affecting the entire planet. If we are troubled by the extinction of certain species, we should be all the more troubled that in some parts of our world individuals or peoples are prevented from developing their potential and beauty by poverty or other structural limitations. In the end, this will impoverish us all."
(Ft 137)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
‌
‌
‌