As we prepare to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Pope Francis’ Laudato Si’ encyclical on May 24, the important teaching urging care for our common home, we invite the Mercy community to deeper engagement through a series of stories showcasing how sisters and others have responded to the encyclical. Their inspiring stories are part of the Institute’s participation in the Jubilee Year, when Pope Francis calls us to be Pilgrims of Hope.
By Sister Eileen O’Connor, RSM
It began with an email in early 2015 from a local community organizer, a member of the Disciples of Christ, with whom I’d worked over the years. It posed the question: “How are you Catholics getting ready for the Pope’s encyclical on the environment?”
My response: “Good question! Let’s talk.”
From that early encounter came a decade of interfaith cooperation, community building and action. The network we created has borne fruit: the New York governor signed major climate legislation in December 2024, after many letters, phone calls, meetings, prayer services, sit-ins, letters to the editor and pressure from many environmental groups.
Our movement started small, first gathering activists to plan ways to respond to Laudato Si’, which was released in May 2015. The Niagara/Western New York Sierra Club also invited me to give a presentation on Laudato Si’ in early July, so I spent the July 4 weekend that year at the kitchen table, reading the groundbreaking document from beginning to end.
The Sierra Club gathering included many people from different faiths, excited about the Pope’s call to action. Clearly, these people wanted to be educated and involved, and many wanted to approach our climate advocacy from a faith perspective.
We created the Interfaith Climate Justice Community to advocate for action on behalf of creation. We included the word community because we were also about creating a shared sense of community, regardless of faith. Our stationery carries the motto: All faiths are rooted in love. All faiths care for creation.
We began inviting the larger western New York community to learn about the encyclical. On one memorable occasion, we were invited to a local Mosque for a simple supper and sharing. Over 80 people were present, and a representative of each faith was invited to share one or two statements from their tradition about caring for our earth.
Over these 10 years we have continued to meet regularly and advocate on a number of legislative issues, at the federal and the state level. We celebrated recently when New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law the Climate Change Superfund Act, which requires fossil fuel companies to contribute to a fund for climate adaptation infrastructure, based on their past greenhouse gas emissions, with the goal of addressing the state’s climate change challenges.
That victory has shown the power of community and we continue to monitor climate legislation and to respond as needed. But as important as the work, are the wonderful friendships created and the deeper appreciation of the various faiths in our midst.
It began with Laudato Si’. It continues to be a communal call to action!