The Josephite Laudato Si’ Action Plan Team has commemorated Laudato Si’ Week (17 – 24 May) with the release of its final conversation package in the five-part Urgent Hope series.
Titled Voices in a Suffering World, the community and educational resource was developed by the Sisters of Saint Joseph of the Sacred Heart in collaboration with the Sisters of St Joseph Lochinvar to spark discussion, inform, and inspire people of hope.
The Josephite Action Plan, Explore~Embrace~Embody, reflects the body of Catholic social teaching presented in Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical, Laudato Si’, and reinforced in the urgency of Laudate Deum.
The crisis in 2026 is different from what it was in 2015 when Laudato Si’ was launched, and Voices in a Suffering World focuses on the crucial imperative to use our voices for positive and lasting change.
Lead authors, Sister Jan Barnett rsj (Josephite Justice Coordinator) and Sister Mary Ellen O’Donoghue rsj (Congregational Leadership Team), said Pope Francis’ call to political advocacy was at the heart of Conversation Package Five.
“Throughout Laudate Deum, Pope Francis underscored the need for every one of us to respond to the global and social crisis with unrelenting action,” Sr Jan said.
“The exhortation was a clear assertion that acknowledgement of the science and subsequent personal activity will not be sufficient to deal with the accelerating challenges now confronting the planet.
“This urgent need demands more than individual and communal achievements. Without systemic change on the part of governments and world powers, the actions of individuals and communities will fail to achieve the necessary transformation essential to heal earth and all of creation. Advocacy and political action are critical.”
It is intended that Voices in a Suffering World will help to facilitate conversations, reflect on the climate crisis and encourage positive action and advocacy.