The Diocesan Environmental Group invite you to a series of events marking Laudato Si’ week Sunday 21 – Sunday 28 May 2023. you can find out more about Laudato Si’ week by clicking here.
The week will begin with a special Mass on Saturday 20 May 2023 at The Cathedral Church of St Mary, Newcastle at 10.00am. Everyone is invited to come and celebrate creation and to reflect on how to protect it.
Throughout the week we will be presenting special screenings of the film, ‘The Letter‘.
The Letter is a powerful film produced by the team that made the Oscar-winning film My Octopus Teacher. It brings the message of Pope Francis’s Laudato Si’ to life through the stories of the people representing the voices of the poor, the youth, indigenous peoples and the natural world. This is a film that everyone should see and talk about in their families and communities, definitely not to be missed! The film launched on 4 October 2022, the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, a day which also marked the Holy See’s official entry into the Paris Agreement on climate change.
The System is Broken
- Addressing the planetary crisis can improve the health, security, and future prospects of all people on Earth.
- A warmer planet means a greater risk of extreme weather. This leads to a greater risk of hunger and sickness. Migration and conflict follow.
- The loss of biodiversity, a “great extinction” threatens God’s creation and the production of food and medicine.
A Better Way
- All major faith traditions – 7 in 10 people on Earth – encourage us to care for our common home.
- Catholics alone – 1 in 6 people on Earth – stand on decades of papal teaching about urgent action on the ecological crisis.
- We have strength in our values and each other.
We have the Power
- The tools to protect our common home are already with us.
- Families are committed to solving the planetary crisis for the people they love.
- About 4 in 10 people on Earth are under age 25. They are standing up for the future of our common home.
Visit the website for ‘The Letter’ for more information.
Details of the screenings are as follows:
- Monday 22 May: at Cardinal Hume Catholic School, Old Durham Road, Gateshead NE9 6RZ with doors opening at 6.30pm and film showing at 7.00pm.
- Tuesday 23 May: at St Wilfrid’s, Waterloo Road, Blyth NE24 1EA at 7.00pm.
- Wednesday 24 May: at Carmel College, The Headlands, Darlington DL3 8RW with doors opening at 6.30pm and film showing at 7.00pm.
- Saturday 27 May: at St Cuthbert’s Church, Albion Road West, North Shields NE29 0JB at 7.00pm.
All are welcome to join us.