Environmental Justice

Purpose

The Environmental Justice Program within the Secretariat of Justice and Peace educates and calls Catholics to a deeper reverence and respect for God's creation and encourages Catholics to respond to environmental challenges, especially as they disproportionately affect our poor and vulnerable neighbors across the United States and the world.

Celebrating 10 Years of Laudato Si'

Laudato Si' is the appeal from Pope Francis addressed to "every person living on this planet" for an inclusive dialogue about how we are shaping the future of our planet. Celebrate the 10th anniversary of Laudato Si' during Laudato Si' Week (May 24-31) and throughout the year.

USCCB Statement on 10th Anniversary of Laudato Si'

Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, president of the USCCB, reflects on ten years of Laudato Si'.

Bishops' Letter to Young People

Archbishop Borys Gudziak and Bishop A. Elias Zaidan write a special letter to young people for the 10th anniversary of Laudato Si'.

Summary of Activities of the U.S. Church in Response to Laudato Si’

See examples of activities of the U.S. Church in Response to Lautado Si'.

Examples of Laudato Si' Activities in the Dioceses

See examples of activities to implement Laudato Si’ happening in dioceses around the country.

Explore Laudato Si'

Find resources including a discussion guide, bulletin inserts, videos, and statements on the Laudato Si’ encyclical.

Laudato Si' Week Resources

Laudato Si’ Week is an eight-day campaign held annually in May to mark the anniversary of Pope Francis’ landmark encyclical on creation care. Find prayer and action resources to engage your community.

Environment Resources

Our Faith and Call to Act

Church teaching recognizes that the challenges to preserving and honoring God’s creation are social and environmental. The solutions require an integrated approach- social, economic, and environmental- which Pope Francis calls “integral ecology.” There is much work to do in order to ensure all God’s children can live in environments that support their flourishing.

Our rich history calls us to care and act for God’s creation and our Common Home. Examples include scripture, the U.S. Bishop’s 2001 statement Renewing Earth, and encyclicals such as Pope Benedict XVI’s Caritas en Veritate, and Pope Francis’ Laudato Si.

The challenges involve society-wide transformations. Pope Francis invites us to an “ecological conversion.” He encourages Catholics and people of goodwill to take action in our lifestyles, parishes, communities, and public policies.

Educational and Parish Resources

Celebrate and honor God's gift of creation and the Church's teaching on the environment with the following resources:

Our Common Home and the Transforming Power of the Liturgy

This new resource explores the relationship between liturgical celebrations and the Church’s life and mission in caring for our common home.

Reflect on Pope Francis' Laudate Deum (Praise God)

Use this prayer inspired by Laudate Deum, read the exhortation, and study with materials in English and Spanish from the Dicastery for Integral Human Development.

Querida Amazonia (Beloved Amazon)
Pope Francis' Apostolic Exhortation, Querida Amazonia, or Beloved Amazon, focuses on hearing the “cry of the poor” in the Amazon, protecting indigenous rights, solidarity, and action to care for God’s creation. Read the exhortation. Use this study guide (en español) to reflect on the exhortation as an individual or with a group.

World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation
Pope Francis has called for an annual World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation on September 1, marking the beginning of the "Season of Creation," which lasts through the Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi on Oct. 4. This bulletin insert/handout can help families and communities renew their commitment to care for our common home.

Statement on World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation
Archbishop Borys Gudziak and Bishop A. Elias Zaidan, September 1, 2024

Children's storybooks on caring for God's creation

Catholic Campaign for Human Development & Environmental Justice

Learn how CCHD is helping communities support environmental justice. Since 2013, CCHD as invested more than $3.2 million and partnered with over 70 community-based organizations and 36 dioceses in 25 states to support environmental justice.

Stories of Hope
See the CCHD-funded groups working for environmental justice.

CCHD Supports Major Environmental Justice Initiatives

CCHD Groups are Advocating for Environmental Justice

Videos on Laudato Si'

Interview with Archbishop Gudziak on Pope Francis' Laudate Deum

Archbishop Borys Gudziak Interviewed by Maura Moser on Pope Francis' Laudate Deum (Praise God)

Laudato Si' Roundtable

Archbishop Paul Coakley, Bishop Robert Barron, and Bishop Robert McElroy discuss Pope Francis's encyclical Laudato Si' as the Church worldwide celebrated the 5th anniversary of the document's publication. This discussion was originally streamed on Wednesday, May 20.

Mesa Redonda de Obispos celebrando Laudato Si

Disfrute de esta conversación entre los obispos Jorge Rodríguez-Novelo, Oscar Cantú, Daniel Flores y Joseph Tyson, quienes reflexionan sobre el 5º aniversario de la encíclica Laudato Si.

CST 101: Care for Creation

CST 101 is a 7-part video series by the USCCB and Catholic Relief Services on Catholic Social Teaching. In this video, Cardinal Peter Turkson, Fr. James Martin, SJ, and Dr. Carolyn Woo, discuss Care for God's Creation.

Vatican Releases Video on Pope's Encyclical

Using scenes from nature and quotes from Pope Francis’ encyclical, “Laudato Si´”, this video inspires individuals, congregations and communities to reflect on the need to care for our common home—Earth.

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"We are faced not with two separate crises, one environmental and the other social, but rather with one complex crisis which is both social and environmental. Strategies for a solution demand an integrated approach to combating poverty, restoring dignity to the excluded, and at the same time protecting nature."

Pope Francis
Laudato Si' no. 139