St. Francis Pledge expresses our care for environment

Caravan Staff|October 4, 2019

As a way to follow up on last week’s Freshman Impact Service Week, students are invited to make a pledge to embrace five actions that can lead to the “integral ecology” which Pope Francis calls for in his encyclical, Laudato Si’.
A link to the pledge was circulated to students through email on Friday, October 4th – the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of ecology.  As an external sign of the internal commitments represented by the pledge, students were encouraged to wear green on Friday as a sign of their  solidarity with creation.
Specifically, the St. Francis Climate Pledge states:
I/We Pledge to:
 PRAY and reflect on the duty to care for God’s Creation and protect the poor and vulnerable because it is an essential part of my faith
 LEARN about and educate others on the causes and moral dimensions of climate change.
 ASSESS how we-as individuals and in our families, schools, parishes and other affiliations contribute to climate change by our own energy use, consumption, waste, and neglect.
 ACT to change our choices and behaviors to reduce the ways we contribute to climate change.
 ADVOCATE for Catholic principles and priorities in climate change discussions and decisions, especially as they impact those who are poor and vulnerable.