In a statement to mark this year’s Season of Creation, the Lead Bishop for the Environment for the Bishops’ Conference, Bishop John Arnold, has called for Catholics in England and Wales to take action to address the environmental crises of our times. This action, he says, needs to take place at every level in society – from the personal to the parish, in politics and in business.
Bishop Arnold also urges Catholics and people of goodwill to be challenged by Pope Francis’s 2015 encyclical letter on Care for our Common Home, Laudato Si, to change our lifestyles, build healthy communities, and to educate ourselves and others on integral ecology – the interconnectedness between humans and the natural world.
“This year marks the 10th anniversary of the publication of Pope Francis’s encyclical, Laudato Si. Building on a long tradition of Catholic teaching, this encyclical served both as a call to conversion and a call to action.
“As we enter the Season of Creation, which runs from 1 September to 4 October, I call on all Catholics to honour Pope Francis’s legacy by taking heed of his teaching in this area. We only have to observe the many extreme weather events, conflicts over natural resources and destructive environmental practices that have been taking place in recent times to understand the importance and urgency of this task.
“In the first place, we are called to prayer. The world day of prayer for creation is on 1 September and the theme, chosen by Pope Francis, is: ‘Seeds of Peace and Hope’.
“Pope Leo has reminded us that the face of the earth is being ravaged, including increasingly by war, and therefore environmental justice ‘can no longer be regarded as an abstract concept or a distant goal’.
“However, as he also notes in his own message for the season of creation: ‘by working with love and perseverance, we can sow many seeds of justice and thus contribute to the growth of peace and the renewal of hope. It may well take years for this plant to bear its first fruits, years that, for their part, involve an entire ecosystem made up of continuity, fidelity, cooperation and love, especially if that love mirrors the Lord’s own self-sacrificing love.’
“I urge Catholics and people of goodwill in England and Wales to be challenged by Laudato Si to change our lifestyles, build healthy communities, and to educate ourselves and others on integral ecology.
“Prayer and education should be part of a wider process of conversion which I hope will lead all Catholics in England and Wales to take action to address the environmental crises which are linked to the other great crises of our time. If our seeds of hope are to bear fruit, we need action at every level in society – from the personal to the parish, in politics and in business.
“I invite you to join the events that we are organising to mark the 10th anniversary of Laudato Si. The first of these is on Wednesday, 3 September: ‘The 10th Anniversary of Laudato Si, Sustaining the Impact’.
“I also hope that parishes will use the text of the Mass for the Care of Creation during this season of creation. Most importantly, I ask you to follow Pope Leo by planting seeds of hope.”
Bishop John Arnold
Lead Bishop for the Environment
Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales
