The LAUDATO SI ACTION PLATFORM is one year old.  So Happy birthday!  Did you get the invite and did you come to the party?  Do you know what LSAP is? Maybe there is an information glut right now with the world in the middle of the UN COP27, as well as G20, and all their own concerns. Many of these concerns, weather and electricity cuts do involve climate effects in varying degrees. COP27 is the highly significant conference in Egypt this year, intended to mitigate negative effects of climate change and identify and consider costs of action to be taken.    

Worldwide hundreds of initiatives exist to address aspects of the climate issue from every possible angle, scientific, pollution, poverty and food related, or a love of nature or biodiversity.  There are so many angles that we as family people can only become selective as to what interests us, what can be helpful and where we can make a contribution, on a practical and spiritual level too.  

LAUDATO SI is the 2015 encyclical of Pope Francis subtitled ON CARE OF OUR COMMON HOME. Although the Church has spoken on environmental matters often before this was the first such extensive  statement on this current problematic reality of our time.  An early outcome of the document was the GLOBAL CATHOLIC CLIMATE MOVEMENT which was later renamed LAUDATO SI MOVEMENT in 2020.  It is an active promotion, advocacy and spirituality resource. In May 2021 the Vatican announced the creation of the LAUDATO SI ACTION PLATFORM, which makes the message more action and implementation orientated.  The LSAP was developed and launched on 14 November 2021, with goals and sectors for implementation and for those enrolled in the platform to develop their own plans. platform. See diagrams LAUDATO SI ACTION PLAN GOALS and IMPLEMENTATION SECTORS

 In this first year of an intended 7 year overall process to build a critical mass of concerned carers for creation some 3250  members have enrolled in the various general sectors and the greatest number, some 2800,  being in the sector for families and individuals, i.e. around  6000 in total with the actual reach of course being much greater and estimated as being 2,5 million. There has been ongoing evaluation during this year leading to a renewed impetus towards recruitment. 

CARE OF OUR COMMON HOME is the ultimate goal of LAUDATO SI and the call is to a change of our human mindset, an integral ecological conversion, recognizing the sinfulness and harm inflicted on the earth as home and the suffering caused, as well as appreciating the positive value of God’s creation.  LSAP is clearly for the benefit and the good of both participants and all the elements of creation.      

One of the core statements in LAUDATO SI is “EVERYTHING IS CONNECTED,” and very clearly all creatures – human, animal and plant, all countries, people of every nation and generation, time and life and work situations are connected, if not directly or physically, certainly through modern day technology. The benefits and weaknesses of technology are discussed in the document. Benefits are valued, but the weaknesses must be taken into consideration too.  That is one of the actions that every family and every member can and should take.  The media is filled with reports about COP27, generally critical. Being connected doesn’t necessarily mean things are good, it does mean that there is a mutual dependence and possibility for combined and supportive action where needed.

The film THE LETTER has been launched by the LAUDATO SI Movement and is an enriching resource towards exploring the LS goals, the cry of the earth and of the poor, ecological spirituality, education and conversion. It is being screened daily at COP27. A local community screening of the film with discussion and sharing is also a powerful ecological learning experience.  MARFAM  is promoting an additional focus with its family-eco spirituality programmes.  THE WORLD AS A FAMILY OF FAMILIES  on the one hand speaks about the family as a foundational aspect of creation and on the other hand the work of families is the work of caring, repairing, nurturing, and sharing God’s love expressed beautifully in the document chapter on the Gospel of Creation .

So during this heightened awareness time please consider signing up as a family or an individual for the LAUDATO SI ACTION PLATFORM,  for the family sector or any of the other sectors, as appropriate.  Assess your family’s eco-family-friendliness and make your plans for the future of all the creatures of our world, and for our children and grandchildren.      

FROM ANNUAL REPORT:   The Laudato Si’ Action Platform is a sharing ground of experiences, a treasure chest of knowledge that motivates us toward change and mutual support in this urgent need to change our lifestyles and deepen our relationships with the natural world. The Platform is a bottom-up way of building a community of families and individuals that integrate the social, cultural, human and spiritual ecologies as part of this integral ecology that stands for the best approach toward unity in diversity. We can all start this experience one day, or make today our first day. The time is now to live out our connectedness.    TR FAMILY WEEKLY NEWSLETTER 16 NOVEMBER 2022