An international movement working to advance the directions of Pope Francis’s 2015 encyclical has adopted its name. The organization formerly known as the Global Catholic Climate Movement will henceforth be called the Laudato Si’ Movement.
The announcement was made in a July 29 virtual name reveal. Herald Malaysia reports that the movement sought and received Pope Francis’ blessing for the new name. After the group sent the pontiff a letter and booklet describing the movement’s work and mission, the pope responded:
Around Pentecost in May, Francis sent a message back, thanking them for their “mission of promoting integral ecology and for the help you offer to the Church throughout the world.”
The new name is expected to allow for instant recognition and association between the movement and the mission. Organizers also say that the new moniker is much easier to translate into other languages and harder to confuse with other, similar groups. For an international consortium of more than 800 Catholic organizations, with thousands of members around the world, this is pivotal.
A renewed mission
While the ability to pronounce and remember the name is important, the new name is also more representative of their work. Tomás Insua, the movement’s co-founder, said that their work was broader and more focused on raising awareness of Laudato Si’ at its start. Today, the mission is more dedicated to a hands-on approach, with mobilization and action taking the focus.
Their updated mission statement is:
“To inspire and mobilize the Catholic community to care for our common home and to achieve climate and ecological justice.”
Their work
To achieve this, the Laudato Si’ Movement organizes petitions to government leaders, Catholic climate marches and demonstrations, and hosts prayer events. They also have a youth leadership program that trains young Catholics to be “Laudator Si’ animators” in their communities. The Laudato Si’ Movement also has resources to help the Catholic Church divest from fossil fuels.
Cardinal Michael Czerny hailed the decision in a prerecorded message that was presented at the virtual announcement. He noted that the Laudator Si’ encyclical was based on the ideas put forth by the Vatican II council. The prelate compared the new name to a prayer, saying:
“And for the Laudato Si’ Movement to name itself as a prayer is to tell the truth that we are not going to be able to implement the encyclical Laudato Si’, we’re not going to be able to care for our common home, unless we do it together, as Fratelli Tutti teaches us, but also as whole persons. Not only environmental persons, but also spiritual persons,” he said.
The Laudato Si’ Movement’s official website has already been updated to conform with the name change. It has now become a one-stop shop for all things related to Laudato Si’, including resources for prospective “animators” or for organizations that are interested in joining the movement. They even have an impressive map that shows their activities and members spread across six of seven continents.
Visit the Laudato Si’ Movement to learn more about this exciting new step for this international Catholic movement and find out how to get involved.
