Plans Underway to Celebrate Laudato Si' Week in Africa amid COVID-19 Restrictions

The GCCM Africa Programs Manager went on to explain the significance of having the Apostolic Nuncio grace the May 18 tree planting ceremony saying, “This event is based on an Encyclical written by the Pope and the Nuncio is the representative of the Pope in any given country. He is more symbolic in terms of connecting the Vatican and the Encyclical.”

On the same day, Fr. Benedict said various Africa-based Catholic organizations will announce their divestiture from fossil fuel.

Published June 18, 2015, the Encyclical Letter, Laudato Si’ is borrowed from St. Francis of Assisi’s medieval Italian prayer, the Canticle of the Sun, which praised God through creation such as Brother Sun, Sister Moon and Our sister Mother Earth.

In Laudato Si’, Pope Francis calls for the care of the earth, laments about environmental degradation and global warming and criticizes consumerism. The Holy Father also calls for an immediate and global action to rectify the ills being experienced.

The celebrations of the 5^th anniversary of the Papal Encyclical is being guided by the theme, “Everything is connected”

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According to Fr. Benedict, the theme was derived from COVID-19 crisis in view of emphasizing “our interconnectedness as a global community and the need for solidarity around the world.”

“In Laudato Si’, the Pope speaks about our interconnectedness; the Pope speaks about us being a web of connections and that if we disturb one part of the web, the other part of the web gets affected,” the Kenyan-born Cleric reiterated.  

Explaining the interconnectedness between nature and humanity, the Capuchin Friar said, “It is alleged that COVID-19 started in a market selling animals. So, you can see how something from animals affects the human.”

“Something we thought was a Chinese problem, the small thing that started in Wuhan-China is now in a small village in Western Kenya, it is in the remotest parts of the world,” he remarked in reference to the rapid spread of COVID-19 across the world.

“The Pope talks about our common home because we breathe the same air. If we destroy the Amazon and they are the lungs of the earth, the effects will be felt everywhere,” Fr. Benedict said and added, “We are experiencing floods, the locusts; this could be a problem caused elsewhere. Maybe we did not participate in the pollution but we are feeling the effects.”

On his part, the Communications Coordinator for GCCM Africa, Br. Stephen Otieno Makagutu, told ACI Africa that prior to COVID-19 restrictions, plans were underway to have activities that would bring together crowds of people.

GCCM Africa had partnered with other organizations to plan for a climate match, feeding the poor, launching Laudato Si’ clubs in schools and environmental cleaning activities, Br. Stephen, a Capuchin Friar said May 12.

The Kenyan-born Friar called on individuals and families to undertake activities that care for the environment such as planting of trees and flowers and "to evaluate how much they use electricity, water and to think about using clean energy.” 

GCCM Africa is an affiliate of GCCM, the Rome-based international network of Catholic people and 900 member organizations, all working together “to better care for our common home.”

Magdalene Kahiu is a Kenyan journalist with passion in Church communication. She holds a Degree in Social Communications from the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA). Currently, she works as a journalist for ACI Africa.