Catholic Climate Covenant Abounds in Earth Day Resources

This Earth Day, consider making it a tribute to God’s beautiful work in Creation! To make your Earth Day holy and thank God for His creation, be sure to check out this plethora of resources and ideas from Catholic Climate Covenant (CCC):

Advocacy

• CCC’s April Action of the Month: Urge your senators and to support the Green Climate Fund
• Download CCC’s amicus brief supporting the Clean Power Plan, and read about Catholic institutions’ involvement in supporting the Plan.

Videos

• Watch CCC’s video on Trees for the Earth, an Earth Day Network initiative to plant 7.8 billion trees by 2020, to help mitigate the effects of climate change, support communities, and protect biodiversity.
• Watch Catholic Heath Association’s video, A Reflection on Earth Day 2016 to reflect on the beauty of creation, juxtaposed with excerpts from Laudato si’.
• Watch Catholic Relief Services’s video, El Niño and Ethiopia: Year of Extremes?, which explains the extreme drought caused by climate change, how it has been exacerbated by El Niño, and the effects of the drought on Ethiopia’s agricultural systems and the families that depend on them.

Programs and Activities

• Download an Earth Day Program Guide, filled with prayer ideas, Scripture readings, videos, discussion guides, and activity ideas for your community, parish, school, or university
• Download an Earth Day Flyer to advertise your activities and events
• Download the Columban Center for Advocacy and Outreach Laudato Si’ Study and Action Guide, geared towards individuals and groups seeking to learn more about the encyclical and ways to act upon Pope Francis’s call to care for our common home.

How will your college or university be celebrating creation on this Earth Day? Let us know! 

New CST 101 Video

In continuation of its series on Catholic Social Teaching, CST 101, CRS and USCCB have released a third video. Entitled Call to Family, Community, and Participation, the video addresses another of the Seven Themes of Catholic Social Teaching.

The video features, author Lisa Hendey, Msgr. Ray East, pastor of the St. Teresa of Avila Parish in Washington, DC, and Dr. Jonathan Reyes, Executive Director of the USCCB Department of Justice, Peace, and Human Development. Each speaker gives a definition of the components of the Call to Family, Community, and Participation and what those components and the theme as a whole mean to them. Check out the video and the USCCB website to learn more about the Call to Family, Community, and Participation!

Stay tuned for more installments!

Additional Resources

Additional Recommended Resources on CST-based Advocacy and Care for Creation

Catholic Climate Covenant.  “Catholic Social Teaching and Climate Change.” Catholic Climate Covenant, accessed August 29, 2014.  http://catholicclimatecovenant.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Climate-Change-and-Catholic-Social-Teaching.pdf

Hug, James. “Bishops on Carbon Pollution: A Model for Faith-Based Advocacy.” Ignatian Solidarity Network. May 31, 2014. http://ignatiansolidarity.net/blog/2014/05/31/bishops-carbon-pollution/.

Pope Benedict XVI. “Message to 2009 Summit on Climate Change.” Holy See, accessed February 7, 2014, http://catholicclimatecovenant.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/holysee_to_Summit_on_Climate_Change-09.09.pdf.

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. “Global Climate Change.” United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, accessed February 7, 2014, http://catholicclimatecovenant.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Global-Climate-Change-backgrounder-2011-FINAL.pdf.

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Global Climate Change: A Plea for Dialogue, Prudence, and the Common Good. Washington, D.C.: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2001. Available here.

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops .  Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship.  Washington, D.C.: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2011. Available here.

 

For more information on A Vision of Justice, including supplemental materials and how to order copies, please visit the ACCU website.

 

Thank you to Dan DiLeo for resource recommendations!

New Resource: Materials from Conference on Catholicism and Libertarianism

Catholic University’s Institute for Policy Research & Catholic Studies sponsored a program on June 3rd, 2014 titled “Erroneous Autonomy: The Catholic Case Against Libertarianism.” The conference featured Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga, Archbishop of Tegucigalpa, Honduras and Chair of Council of Cardinals as keynote speaker, and included panels of experts addressing theology, economics, politics, and culture in relation to libertarianism. Bishop Blase Cupich, Spokane, responded to the Cardinal’s comments, and Mark Shields, from PBS “Newshour” gave a response on politics.  Texts, videos, and op-eds from the conference are available on the conference website.

New Online Library of Interfaith Resources

Interfaith Youth Core is excited to announce the launch of our new online library of interfaith resources. Visit ifyc.org/resources  to access over 50 different resources, including downloadable documents, videos, podcasts, and more. The library also includes a customizable search option for individuals to filter by topic and audience type, including students, faculty, and staff.