Laudato Si’ Week

Hundreds of thousands of Catholics are uniting this week to mark the seventh anniversary of Laudato Si’, Pope Francis’ encyclical on the care of creation. 
 
In the Diocese of Albany, a planning group is being organized to prepare a Laudato Si’ Action Plan that will outline tangible actions that can be taken to meet the seven Laudato Si’ Goals in the coming years. Members of the committee are expected to be announced shortly.
 
The theme for the week is “Listening and Journeying Together.” The eight-day global event is guided by the following quote from Pope Francis’ Laudato Si’: “Bringing the human family together to protect our common home” (LS 13).
 
On May 27, the day celebrating ecological education, footage from "The Invitation,' a new feature-length documentary film on Laudato Si’, will be shown to the general public for the first time during a live-streaming event. "The Invitation" will have its global release later this year. Registration is required and is available here.
 
More information on the week’s activities and the complete schedule is here.

Mobilizing for social justice

Noting how difficult it can be to get people of faith to join advocacy initiatives or campaigns, the St. Columban Mission for Justice, Peace and Ecology is offering a webinar on how to mobilize people for social justice.
 
This free event is tomorrow (Tuesday, May 17) at 4:00 p.m. It is 90 minutes long and includes time for questions and answers.
 
The sponsor notes how overwhelming it can be to reach out to our communities, especially when some people can be indifferent or hostile to the issue we care about (such as with immigration reform) or even deny there’s a problem (such as with climate change). The announcement states that they will share “some of the tools to have effective and transformative one-on-one conversations about social justice issues as well as how to organize your community to achieve advocacy ‘wins.’”
 
Here is information about the panelists:

Colin Martinez Longmore is the Outreach and Education Specialist at NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice. Prior to working at NETWORK, Colin served in parish ministry for seven years in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange in Southern California. He directed bilingual faith formation programs, led retreats, and spoke at Diocesan youth conferences. He also mentored teens and young adults in juvenile hall and youth vocational work programs.
 
Wesley Cocozello is the Communications and Outreach Manager for the St. Columban Mission for Justice, Peace and Ecology. In this role, he organizes mission exposure trips, facilitates advocacy skills trainings, and creates educational content. Before this, he worked for Catholic Climate Covenant, ending his tenure there as Director of Operations. He holds a degree in English Literature from the Catholic University of America, and has produced a number of literary and theatrical projects.

For more information or to register, click here. If you are not able to attend the webinar, you can watch a recording here.

Catholics and the Poor People’s Campaign

On Thursday, May 5, at 7 p.m., there is a webinar to educate Catholics about the upcoming Poor People’s and Low-Wage Workers’ Assembly and Moral March on Washington and to the Polls on June 18. This assembly is the culmination of a year-long campaign that is seeking legislation to improve the condition of poor people in America. Proposals include expanding voting rights and the Voting Rights Act; a living wage; the right of workers to form and join unions; and high-quality pre-K-12 education for all. 

This webinar is especially for Catholic groups. Among the sponsors are the Franciscan Action Network, Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, Pax Christi USA, Leadership Conference of Women Religious, and NETWORK. Speakers include the National Co-Chair of the Poor People’s Campaign, the Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis; Bishop John Stowe, Bishop President of Pax Christi USA; and Sister Patricia McDermott, President of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas. Locally, the activities of the Poor People’s Campaign have been organized by the New York State Labor-Religion Coalition. I am on their Board of Directors.
 
Click here to register. More information about the Poor People’s Campaign is here.