San Diego's Robert McElroy, who will be elevated to cardinal on Saturday, has been among the most outspoken among U.S. bishops in addressing climate change and environmental justice, and transforming words into actions.
Originally set for Oct. 4, the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi, the Laudato Si' Action Platform is now scheduled to begin its enrollment period on Nov. 14, with materials for the program available on its website.
In the face of social and environmental crises, the world would do well to follow the lead of its young people, Pope Francis said in a Sept. 1 video message to mark the start of the Season of Creation.
Speakers urged a bolder embrace of Laudato Si' in the U.S. at the start of a conference seeking to bolster the response of the nation's Catholics to climate change and the pope's landmark ecological encyclical.
In the U.S., 2021 will mean a new president making up for four years of environmental deregulation under Trump. Globally, it means making up for missed Paris Agreement deadlines delayed by the pandemic.
Pushing back against single-issue voting, Lexington Bishop John Stowe said during a Sept. 10 webinar that Catholics should consider concerns beyond abortion, such as the environment, when evaluating candidates.
Catholics across the world have embraced and acted on environmental encyclical Laudato Si'. But the consensus among Catholic ecological leaders is those responses have been not nearly as widespread as Francis sought.
