It’s been 10 years since the publication of Laudato Si’, we are reminded of the relevance of the Pope’s message and the ongoing urgency of the environmental crisis.
The Ecology, Justice and Peace Commission has published materials to bring the message of Laudato Si’ into our local communities, which can help raise awareness of the importance of looking after each other and our planet.
One of those materials is a Penitential Liturgy. This follows the emotional winter morning on June 16 as a Penitential Liturgy at Spicer Landfill in Porirua.
You can read the materials – including prayers for our planet – here:
As Pope Francis urged us, as we become more accustomed to injustice and the throwaway culture of our society, there ultimately is no “away” – everything goes somewhere. And that somewhere is here.
Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand and the Nathaniel Centre for Bioethics – Te Kupenga have also released a powerful reflection. They highlight Pope Francis’ invitation to an “integral ecology” which recognises “a relationship existing between nature and the society which lives in it”.
The environmental and social crisis we find ourselves in “requires a cooperative, communal and intergenerational approach towards the earth and its resources.”
You can read the reflection at the link below:
https://www.tekupenga.ac.nz/…/2025/06/Laudato-Si-Op-Ed.pdf
Let’s pray for our planet, and that we may look after it – and look after each other.