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Pastoral letter | Diocesan Response to the Laudato Si’ Action Platform
October 5, 2021
To coincide with the feast day of St Francis of Assisi (4 October), Bishop Brian Mascord has released a pastoral letter to the people of God on the diocese’s response to Pope Francis’ Laudato Si’ Action Platform.
In Laudato Si’, Pope Francis reflects upon the Gospel of Creation and offers a renewed theology of the natural world in light of Scripture, Tradition and Catholic social teaching. Creation is one interrelated community before God, and humanity is grounded in three fundamental and closely intertwined relationships: with God, with our neighbour and with the earth itself. Our task as human beings is to steward the flourishing of all three relationships.
Pope Francis challenges the people of the world to appreciate that we can no longer be in denial, indifferent, or blindly confident in technical solutions to earth’s crises. Nor can we any longer adopt a simple cosmetic approach to environmental and human crises. Whilst campaigns, recycling and emergency appeals remain compelling, concern for the environment “is not an optional or a secondary aspect of our Christian experience” (LS, 217).
Click below to download and read the full pastoral letter: