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In February 2023, a twenty page guide was released as the result of a collaboration between the scientific and spiritual communities, between the Stockholm Environment Institute and the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development. It sets out essential facts and solutions on key topics, along with advice on how communities can respond.

It is inspired by Pope Francis’ second encyclical, Laudato Si’: On Care for Our Common Home, which explores our ecological crisis and its roots in over-consumption and current models of economic development.

View the document


 

Laudato Si’ Action Platform Launches with Leadership from the Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes

On the World Day of Prayer for the Poor in 2021, the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development announced the launch of the next phase of the Laudato Si’ Action Platform.  The Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes (CSA) played a key role in its development as a member of the Religious Order working group.

The Laudato Si' Action Platform is a key Vatican initiative to empower the universal Church to achieve total sustainability in the holistic spirit of integral ecology. The human family faces increasing risks of hunger, disease, migration, and conflict due to climate change and environmental degradation, unfortunately, the most vulnerable suffer above all. 

The Laudato Si’ Action Platform provides practical tools to address this socio-ecological crisis. Anyone who pledges to be part of the platform can access free resources to evaluate where they stand on the road to sustainability, reflect on the principles of integral ecology, and make a plan to take action. 

From 2020-2021, CSA has helped shape both the model and the content for this program. Through deep and sustained conversations with the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development and a global network of partners, the Holy Spirit has created a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts, a shared space for action that offers new momentum to urgently address our socio-ecological crisis.

We invite you and all members of the universal Church to join us and the Vatican on this Laudato Si’ journey.  


Find out more at www.laudatosiactionplatform.org

The Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes is grateful for the call of Pope Francis to Hear the Cry of Earth and the Cry of the Poor.

In light of the growing impact of climate change on the global community, we, the Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes and the Associate Community USA, honoring our interdependence with all of God’s creation and in a spirit of nonviolence, personally, communally, and collaboratively commit to actions that:

We commit to actions that:

  • Flow from a spirituality of integral ecology (Laudato Si’ – Chapter 4) that expresses interconnections among environmental, economic, scientific, social and cultural systems,
  • Respect Earth and the interdependence of all life,
  • Consume less of Earth’s nonrenewable resources through the six R’s: refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle, repurpose, and restore,
  • Educate ourselves and others about the equitable development of renewable, cleaner energy sources in order to
    • mitigate the impact of climate change and
    • enable the most vulnerable to adapt to climate change
  • Promote a low-carbon economy especially in Nicaragua and the USA where we serve,
  • Cooperate with governmental and non-governmental organizations that are committed to care for Earth.

This is not a new commitment, but rather a deepening of our community’s recognition of the sacred interdependence of creation and our place in the web of life. This is an opportunity to recommit ourselves to developing and acting out an ecological consciousness both individually and corporately. This renewed commitment is especially critical given the urgent need to address the global climate crisis.

The Vatican’s seven-year Laudato Si’ Action Platform calls the worldwide Catholic community and “all men and women of good will” (LS 3) to publicly engage in the work of transformation through integral ecology.

The Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes and the Associate Community USA publicly commit to the seven-year process of transformation by strategically engaging the seven goals of the Laudato Si’ Action Platform.

Stylized image of 7 Laudato Si goals

 

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Baseline for Goal 3

November 15, 2021
By CSA

Goal 3Acknowledges that the economy is a sub-system of human society, which itself is embedded within the biosphere—our common home. Actions include ethical investments and divestments in anything harmful to the planet and the people.

A Few of CSA's Actions So Far

CSA is a member of Seventh Generation Interfaith Coalition for Responsible Investment (SGI). SGI is a coalition of faith and values-driven institutional investors who view the management of their investments as a powerful catalyst for social change. By investing in socially responsible enterprises and choosing ethical banking and insurance companies, SGI members use the economy to advocate for their values, such as the value of resilience. 

The 2021 SGI Conference, which is themed Resilience: Building a Just & Equitable Economy for All, will be held virtually October 12th from 4:30-6:30 pm. Their "panel of company, investor, and labor representatives will offer their perspectives on how to implement positive change from the learnings and challenges of 2020, dismantle systems that perpetuate gender and racial inequities, and build an economy that serves all people and ensures the dignity of all workers." For more information contact SGI Board Member, Sister Ruth Battaglia, CSA, or use the link below.

Learn more about attending the SGI Conference >>


CSA works to practice fair and sustainable purchasing by supporting ethical businesses, taking a "total cost of ownership approach" to purchases. Issues of Reflections & Connections, CSA's quarterly publication of mission and ministry stories, are printed on FSC Mix paper. Products that bear this label are made using a mixture of materials from FSC-certified forests, recycled materials, and/or FSC controlled wood. While controlled wood is not from FSC certified forests, it mitigates the risk of the material originating from unacceptable sources.

By becoming aware of where consumer products come from and becoming a mindful consumer, we can do our part to protect places like the Amazon Forest, and help save our planet. The Amazon Aid Foundation provides a list of ways to be a better consumer.

Read Amazon Aid's Guide to Being a Better Consumer >>

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