10 Years of Laudato Sì and the Joy of Hope

“Let us walk singing. May our struggles and our concern for this planet not take away the joy of hope.” Laudato Si’ 244.

With the motto ‘Raising Hope’, this year we celebrate 10 years of the Encyclical Laudato Sì.

Next week we will commemorate and recognize our journey globally. The invitation is for each of us to reach 10 people with the message of hope, as together we build a more responsible, committed, and shared future in the care of Our Common Home. We are aware that these activities are both a requirement and an expression of our faith that illuminates this common future.

In 2023, all Solidarity with South Sudan communities participated with a member in a workshop on Laudato Sì. It was joyful to recognize how the 7 Objectives of Laudato Sì fit into the focus of the various Solidarity projects. Especially since in all of our projects, we aim to build capacity in various areas. These objectives, in other words, are visible in the way Solidarity trains young people and adults in living together and developing its proposals. The challenge is to make this even more explicit.

The communities have been developing various activities, some more visible than others, but consistently so, since Laudato Sì is one of the important dimensions of our Strategic Plan for this time.

We have the horizon of a campaign at the East African level, in which various episcopal conferences (Kenya and Uganda) are launching a joint campaign for an ‘Energy Transition’ We see that our Solidarity projects have made significant progress in solar energy, but it’s about continuing to take steps in that direction; it’s about continuing to ‘Raise and share hope‘.

In this spirit, tomorrow Solidarity will launch a special campaign in support of the Sustainable Agriculture Project, a concrete action that aims to bring dignity, sustainability and hope: empowering families, improving food security and child nutrition, promoting responsible land management and strengthening community development for lasting peace. By joining us, you can actively contribute to ‘walk singing’ towards a future where the care of Our Common Home and the joy of hope are mutually reinforced.#staytuned