Archbishop calls to bring ‘Laudato Si’ to life

By Tatiana Antonyeva and Noemi Ann Perez Pope Francis’ encyclical on the environment was not written to be put on a bookshelf, but to held be in one’s hand, to be read, and then to take action, a church official said. Three years after the release of the encyclical, Caritas Philippines national director Archbishop Rolando Tirona said it’s about time for action in the spirit of Laudato Si. The archbishop on Monday presided over a Mass before the start of a symposium to mark the third anniversary of Laudato Si at St. Scholastica’s College in Manila. “Laudato Si doesn’t deserve to be simply on our bookshelves. Laudato Si should always be in the deepest of our person, of our being,” Tirona said in his homily. Organized by the Global Catholic Climate Movement-Pilipinas, the symposium was aimed to raise people’s awareness on the current environmental concerns in the world. “There is a need to redirect our life because the greatest sin we do is the exploitation of the world,” said Tirona. According to him, pollution of the environment started because the “people’s hearts are also polluted”. He said that Laudato Si acts as a reminder to redirect the people’s lives back to God by protecting the environment. The event ended with the signing of the pledge of commitment for environmental responsibility.