The bishops of Australia implement sustainable and environmental protection initiatives in accordance with the teachings of Pope Francis’ encyclical “May You Be Praised”.
(Vatican News Network)The bishops of Australia recently issued an annual social justice statement. The title of the 2021 statement is “The Cry of the Earth, The Cry of the Poor”, and the bishops have made a historic commitment towards a more sustainable church. The goal set by the members of the bishopric of the country is to complete the journey of seven goals listed in the encyclical “May You Be Praised” in seven years.
Bishop Vincent Long, chairman of the Social Justice, Mission and Service Committee of the Australian Bishops’ Conference, explained the purpose of this initiative, saying, “We are facing an ecological crisis. Pope Francis hopes that the entire church will have a greater global level. The sense of urgency comes into action”. He said, “In Australia, enthusiastic people, religious groups, schools and organizations have been committed to ecological issues for a long time. I want to thank everyone and urge the entire Catholic community to work side by side with them.”
Then, Bishop Miso pointed out, “The aborigines and residents of the Torres Strait Islands have been caring for the environment since ancient times. The rest of us need to listen and learn how we can walk together to take care of the entire creation, including others, brothers. sisters”.
According to the statement of the Bishops’ Conference of Australia, the goal of “May You Be Praised” is realized, “The purpose is to implement the encyclical issued by Pope Francis in 2015, so that groups around the world can develop sustainably in the spirit of the overall ecology.” The bishops of Australia called on Catholics to “discover the sacramental nature of creation” and to discover the presence of God in creation. The bishops stated in their statement, “We are called to think, feel, understand and live in a new way.” Bishop Misono finally stated, “I hope that “The Cry of the Earth, The Cry of the Poor” can encourage Christians to respond more deeply and effectively to the urgent cry of the earth and the poor.”
The statement of the Bishops’ Conference of Australia also urged families, schools, parishes, dioceses and organizations to join the bishops on the “May You Be Praised” action platform. This platform is launched by the Ministry of the Holy See for the Promotion of the Whole Human Development, and it will collect action ideas from all over the world to help participants in their journey. The Office of Social Justice of the Bishops’ Conference of Australia has participated in the development of the platform. To this end, the Bishop of the Bishops’ Committee on Social Justice, Mission and Service, Bishop Miso Jue, also announced the new name of the Office of Social Justice, the Office of Justice, Ecology and Peace, because “Social Justice, ecology and peace are inseparable.”
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