WelCom April 2021
Lisa Beech
Photo: Martin de Jong, Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand
Human activity has taken the world’s climate into uncharted territory – but we still have the ability to make a difference. This was the message Professor James Renwick of Victoria University delivered to participants at the Caring for our Common Home – The Dimensions of Laudato Si’ day, at Cardinal McKeefry School, on Saturday, 20 March.
‘We have 100 per cent control over what is happening. When we stop putting carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, that’s when we will be able to control climate change,’ said Professor Renwick. ‘We need to love each other, and we need to love our climate that we’ve got so used to.’
Around 70 people attended the day, organised by the Archdiocesan Ecology, Justice and Peace Commission, and hosted by Ōtari, Plimmerton and Upper Hutt parishes. The three parishes have been running a series of formation programmes about Laudato Si’, Pope Francis’ encyclical on the care for our common home.
The day’s sessions focused on change in three dimensions – spiritual, lifestyle and public sphere. Participants were offered change for spiritual formation in a number of workshops ranging from understanding Biblical passages on creation, Marian reflections on integral ecology, and examination of conscience.
The lifestyle dimension included a presentation from Cardinal McKeefry students about their ‘garden to table programme’ as well as a demonstration by Ōtari parishioners, Stuart and Estelle Henrys, on how to use a phone app to calculate a household’s carbon footprint.
The public sphere dimension included opportunities to write submissions to the Climate Change Commission’s recently-released consultation report, banner-making activities, and introductions to composting and electric cars.
The event was supported with a grant from the Caritas Justice and Peace fund.
O’Shea Shield 2021
WelCom June/July 2021 The Year of St Joseph In this special year of St Joseph, it is fitting Hato Hōhepa – St Joseph’s Māori Girls’ College, Napier, have won the…
Support the COVID-19 vaccination programme
WelCom June/July 2021 The New Zealand Catholic Bishops and the Nathaniel Centre for Bioethics have started a campaign to provide accurate information about the COVID-19 vaccine, which is being rolled…
MFAT deal multiplies donations to Caritas
WelCom June/July 2021 Michael Fitzsimons Donors to Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand will have their donations multiplied fourfold, thanks to a new funding partnership with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and…