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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 4

November 15, 2021
By CSA

Goal 4This goal is grounded in the idea of sufficiency and promoting sobriety in the use of resources and energy. Actions include reducing waste, recycling, and adopting sustainable dietary habits.

A Few of CSA's Actions So Far

Sustainable energy from the sun powers 100% of the congregation's motherhouse and the on-site maintenance building in Fond du Lac, WI. Pattrn, a climate-focused branch of the Weather Channel, produced a video highlighting the sister's reasons for this sustainable choice. 
Watch the video >>


The Congregation owns a total of 13 Toyota Prius; fuel efficient hybrid cars classified as Super Ultra Low Emissions Vehicles (SULEV). With clean emissions, there will be less poisonous gases and pollutants released into the atmosphere. From the cars we drive to the trees and flowers we plant, and the lifestyles we choose, CSA has been engaged in caring for Earth in numerous ways, for numerous years. 

The Peace and Social Justice Ministry of St. Matthew Catholic Church in North Carolina, shares these 50 easy ways to care for creation. 

Read the 50 Ways >>


In additional to recycling practices throughout their homes and work spaces, CSA Sisters participate in CSA Swap - an online message board for Sisters only, who are looking to share or find items such as musical instruments, office supplies, household goods and furniture, and more. By sharing among themselves sisters help avoid purchasing duplicates or discarding items that may find a second-home in the community. What they don't re-home within the congregation, they donate to the local St. Vincent de Paul thrift store to ensure it has a new life.

Tags: Goal 4
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