Catholic Mission, as the Pope’s international Mission agency, works in direct contact with some of the poorest and most vulnerable people and communities in the world. Across many of these places, conflict, existing inequalities and development challenges such as poverty and limited access to basic services like clean water, not only heighten sensitivity to climate hazards, but also limit communities’ capacity to adapt.
With nearly half the world's children living in countries at extremely high risk of ongoing and worsening exposure to climate and environmental shocks, progressive generations of children will suffer compounding and unequal harms devastating their health and wellbeing, livelihoods, and cultures. Ecological justice must be woven into our responses so that we hear the ‘Cry of the Earth and the Cry of the Poor’.
Catholic Mission is committed to the understanding of an Integral Ecology as shared by Pope Francis in his second encyclical, Laudato Si' (LS), on care for our common home. Integral Ecology recognises the interconnectedness of environmental, economic, political, social, cultural, and ethical issues.
In 2020, Catholic Mission established its EAP Working Group to support the development of our Environmental Action Plan which was approved in March 2022. This plan is a vehicle for Catholic Mission to build an ecological justice framework and ensure the organisation plays a positive role in God’s Mission by caring for our common home.
The Catholic Mission Ecological Action Plan takes inspiration and guidance from the Laudato Si' Action Platform offered by the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development. We commit to their concrete and practical expertise on actions that support our progress towards the seven Laudato Si’ Goals.
Catholic Mission has been involved in the work of environmental advocacy and education for many years. This work has included activities such as workshops, colloquiums, Village Space and the publishing of The Francis Effect II. Our Mission: one heart many voices conferences have included presentations on Laudato Si' and ecology. We offer Formation programs that are centred on Creation as God’s first act of Mission, and student workshops on Caring for our Common Home.
