Pope Francis | Casa Rosada (Argentina Presidency of the Nation)/Wikimedia Commons
Laudato Si' Week 2023 will be observed from May 21st to May 28th.
"Yesterday, #LaudatoSiWeek began," Pope Francis said on Twitter. "I invite everyone to collaborate in the care of our common home. There is such a need to put our capabilities and creativity together!"
Laudato Si' Week commemorates the 8th year since the release of Pope Francis' encyclical "Laudato Si': On Care for Our Common Home" in 2015, according to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. This encyclical addresses environmental concerns, building upon the Church's long standing teachings on creation, according to the conference.
In the encyclical, Pope Francis urges the Church, as well as everyone in the world, to recognize the pressing nature of environmental threats, including global warming, and to unite in a shared effort to preserve the planet. Divided into six chapters, the encyclical addresses key themes such as "The State of Our Common Home," "The Gospel of Creation," "The Human Causes of the Ecological Crisis," and more, according to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
During Laudato Si' Week this year, Catholic organizations worldwide will screen the film "The Letter", which shows the journey of frontline leaders to Rome. The film features many discussions with Pope Francis about his encyclical letter, Laudato Si', and offers a glimpse into his personal history, uncovering untold stories that shed light on his experiences, according to The Letter Film.
“Both the science community and the faith community are very clear: the planet is in crisis and its life support system [is] in peril," said Hoesung Lee, chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, according to Catholic News Agency. "The stakes have never been higher, and we should be the source of the solution to this crisis."
“The film and the personal stories powerfully show that the ecological crisis has arrived and is happening now,” said Cardinal Czerny about "The Letter", Catholic News Agency reported. “The time is over for speculation, for skepticism and denial, for irresponsible populism. Apocalyptic floods, mega-droughts, disastrous heatwaves, and catastrophic cyclones and hurricanes have become the new normal in recent years; they continue today; tomorrow, they will get worse.”