By Christina Bagaglio Slentz, Ph.D.
Though Earth Day is a secular celebration, it offered us yet another reminder to care for creation. It also gave us an opportunity to share with the wider world the Catholic teachings on caring for our common home. Did you attend an Earth Day celebration this year? Our Creation Care Ministry was at the South Bay Earth Day celebration and the La Mesa Earth Day Festival, both on April 18. Maybe you saw us there?
Launching ‘Laudato Si’
Christ the King Parish took advantage of this special day to launch their “Laudato Si” effort with their catechetical program, also on April 18. After a welcome and opening prayer by pastor Father TJ Jennings, Creation Care leader Rey Estrada led a day of learning about this principle of Catholic Social Teaching with Jorge Soto and the CTK Fidelis Scholars.
“Nature is like God’s art,” Estrada began. Then he asked the students if they knew Pope Francis had written them a letter. He then showed them a cartoon on the letter Pope Francis wrote to everyone on caring for our common home — “Laudato Si.”
CTK students interacted with the presenters as they discussed what happens to our waterways when plastics and pollution intrude. Estrada demonstrated this effect by combining the things that often corrupt our waterways in a blender.
The students agreed this polluted water was not what the fish and sea life wanted to experience. Moreover, only humans are responsible for this pollution, and only humans can fix this problem.
Following the classroom experience, the whole group went outside to do a clean-up of the parish grounds. When they finished, they celebrated with a St. Francis of Assisi cake.
Earth Day on the Road
Again, this year, students from the Diocese of San Diego traveled during “Earth Day month” to attend the statewide “Laudato Si” Youth Advocacy Summit in Sacramento on April 20.
More than 350 students gathered, attended Mass, ate together, held a public witness and prayer service at the Capitol, and visited their state representatives to advocate for proposed bills that align with Catholic Social Teaching related to the environment and human dignity.
Our contingent came from Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish (San Diego), and Mater Dei and Cathedral Catholic high schools. Our prayers went with them. Our group included Bishop Michael Pham, Auxiliary Bishop Felipe Pulido and Jesuit Father Scott Santarosa, of Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish.
Beyond Earth Day
If you are interested in finding creative ways to present Caring for Creation to your parish or school, please reach out to the Creation Care Ministry and Christina Slentz at cslentz@sdcatholic.org. We are excited to work with you.
September is the Season of Creation, focusing on Sister Water this year, and of course, we continue to celebrate the extraordinary Jubilee Year of St. Francis of Assisi. There’s no time like the present to begin responding to the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor and vulnerable.
