Sr. Jecinter Antoinette Okoth, FSSA
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| AMECEA Chairman Bishop Charles Kasonde of Zambia's Solwezi diocese |
At the commencement of the 5th anniversary of Laudato Si’celebration, an Encyclical Letter by Pope Francis published in 2015 on Care for the environment, the Chairman of Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa (AMECEA) Bishop Charles Sampa Kasonde has called on the Catholic Church in the region to be in the frontline in caring for creation from grassroots level, a task which requires collaboration to regain the destroyed creation.
“The Catholic Church in Africa must therefore rise strongly to reclaim our already wounded Mother Earth through prayer, education, advocacy, initiating various environmental programs and making the understanding and implementation of the Laudato Si a priority from the grassroots level,” Bishop Charles Kasonde said on Saturday, May 16,
“Let us therefore support our Church leaders in the campaign for renewable energy and against excessive exploitation of the natural resources,” Bishop Kasonde added in his reflection during an online opening prayer service to mark the start off Laudato Si’ Week (LSW).
He said, “there is a nobility in the duty to care for creation through little daily actions given that "the external deserts in the world are growing because the internal deserts have become so vast."
Quoting Laudato Si’ the Prelate echoed the Pontiff’s remarks that “Ecological crisis is also a summon to profound interior conversion, and living our vocation to be protectors of God's handiwork is essential to a life of virtue.
Bishop Kasonde who is also the Local Ordinary of Zambia’s Solwezi diocese said that creation is connected hence no one is spared when it comes to ecological impact.
“We are all connected and attack on one is attack on the entire creation,” he underscored giving example with the current disasters affecting the continent saying, “This can be seen in the recent and current catastrophic events around our African continent; the surging water levels, the increased spell of drought in some regions, the locust invasion in Eastern Africa, the floods, landslides, and the Covid-19 pandemic.”
“All these calamities have claimed lives and led to poor living conditions for most of our people on the continent. There is not one of us who is not affected by what is happening, the entire creation is messed up,” he stated.
The online prayer service convened under the theme Everything is connected: slow down the pace reminded participants further on the necessity of each and every component of the earth which the Bishop noted saying, “A harmonious co-existence and respect for creation ensures a healthy and dependable ecosystem without exceeding its carrying capacity. We therefore must be reconciled with creation and this is possible through examination of our lives and acknowledging the ways in which we have harmed God's creation through our actions and our failure to act.”
He appealed to all the faithful and people of good will to be in union with Pope Francis during this weeklong celebration of Laudato Si’anniversary and act accordingly in various ways to care for the environment.
“I call upon my brother bishops, priests, religious men and women, the laity and all people of good will in Africa to celebrate this anniversary of Laudato Si by joining the Holy Father in responding to the ecological crisis. Let us take bold climate actions and care for creation, a gift from our loving God.
The online prayer service was convened by the Global Catholic Climate Movement (GCCM), a global network that works within the Catholic Church to better care for creation.