Johannesburg, 27 December, 2022 / 8:55 pm (ACI Africa).
The Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP) of South Africa’s Johannesburg (JHB) Archdiocese has embarked on a year-long “environmental justice” campaign under the theme, “Greening the Archdiocese of JHB”, an official has said.
In an interview with ACI Africa to mark the occasion of the Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi, the Coordinator of the Johannesburg Archdiocese CCJP said, “We felt the need to do something to reach out to the communities, and the first thing that came to mind was environmental justice.”
“We approached the Archbishop of Johannesburg, and he gave us the green light to go ahead with the campaign. In most of our Township areas you rarely see a lot of trees or plantations. So, we dedicated ourselves in undertaking this campaign to green the Archdiocese between 2022 and 2023”, said Ntlantla Madinane in the Tuesday, October 4 interview.
Launched by Archbishop Buti Joseph Tlhagale on August 19 during the Vigil Mass to mark the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the CCJP environmental campaign of greening the Archdiocese of Johannesburg by the end of the season of creation on 4 October 2023 has seen at least 300 trees planted in Catholic Parishes of the South African Archdiocese.
The CCJP Coordinator of Johannesburg Archdiocese told ACI Africa, “The first tree was planted by Archbishop Tlhagale at the Johannesburg Chancery, that was followed by the planting of six trees at St. Peter Catholic Church and three trees at John Martin Catholic School in Kagiso 1."
