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Laudato Si’ Schools

Laudato Si’ Schools is a framework based on Laudato Si’ to be integrated in the strategic plan of Catholic schools.

This framework is developed with support and encouragement from the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development and the Federation of Asian Bishop’s Conferences (FABC) Office of Education and Faith Formation. In partnership with these organizations, Living Laudato Si’ plans to hold a Laudato Si’ Schools in Asia Summit.

The creation of the framework is guided by the words of Pope Francis’ encylical, where he exhorts that “Good education plants seeds when we are young, and these continue to bear fruit throughout life.” (Laudato Si’ 213) and that “Environmental education should facilitate making the leap towards the transcendent which gives ecological ethics its deepest meaning.” (Laudato Si’ 210).

Ecological education can take place in a variety of settings: at school, in families, in the media, in catechesis and elsewhere. Good education plants seeds when we are young, and these continue to bear fruit throughout life. Here, though, I would stress the great importance of the family, which is “the place in which life – the gift of God – can be properly welcomed and protected against the many attacks to which it is exposed, and can develop in accordance with what constitutes authentic human growth.
Laudato Si’ 213

The framework is composed of Seven Eco-Actions anchored from passages in the encyclical as a guide for schools and universities to promote and practice Laudato Si’ as a lifestyle.

Seven Eco-Actions

Seven Actions

Integral Ecological Education for our Common Home

Eco-action #1

Transition to Clean and Sustainable Energy

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“There is an urgent need to develop policies so that, in the next few years, the emission of carbon dioxide and other highly polluting gases can be drastically reduced, for example, substituting for fossil fuels and developing sources of renewable energy.”
Laudato Si’ 26

Eco-action #2

Responsible Water Utilization

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“But water continues to be wasted, not only in the developed world but also in developing countries which possess it in abundance. This shows that the problem of water is partly an educational and cultural issue, since there is little awareness of the seriousness of such behaviour within a context of great inequality.” Laudato Si’ 30

Eco-action #3

Ecological Solid Waste Management

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“We have not yet managed to adopt a circular model of production capable of preserving resources for present and future generations, while limiting as much as possible the use of non-renewable resources, moderating their consumption, maximizing their efficient use, reusing and recycling them. A serious consideration of this issue would be one way of counteracting the throwaway culture which affects the entire planet, but it must be said that only limited progress has been made in this regard.” Laudato Si’ 22

Eco-action #4

Greening Institutional Management Systems, Divest-Invest, and Campus as a Natural Environment

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“If everything is related, then the health of a society’s institutions has consequences for the environment and the quality of human life… In this sense, social ecology is necessarily institutional, and gradually extends to the whole of society, from the primary social group, the family, to the wider local, national and international communities. Within each social stratum, and between them, institutions develop to regulate human relationships.” Laudato Si’ 142
“The natural environment is a collective good, the patrimony of all humanity and the responsibility of everyone. If we make something our own, it is only to administer it for the good of all. If we do not, we burden our consciences with the weight of having denied the existence of others.” Laudato Si’ 95

Eco-action #5

Integrated Ecological Curriculum and Environmental Sustainability Research

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“Environmental education should facilitate making the leap towards the transcendent which gives ecological ethics its deepest meaning. It needs educators capable of developing an ethics of ecology, and helping people, through effective pedagogy, to grow in solidarity, responsibility and compassionate care.” Laudato Si’ 210
“Greater investment needs to be made in research aimed at understanding more fully the functioning of ecosystems and adequately analyzing the different variables associated with any significant modification of the environment. Because all creatures are connected, each must be cherished with love and respect, for all of us as living creatures are dependent on one another. Each area is responsible for the care of this family.” Laudato Si’ 42

Eco-action #6

Integrated Ecological Spirituality and Transformative Lifestyle

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“In calling to mind the figure of Saint Francis of Assisi, we come to realize that a healthy relationship with creation is one dimension of overall personal conversion, which entails the recognition of our errors, sins, faults and failures, and leads to heartfelt repentance and desire to change.” Laudato Si’ 218
“A change in lifestyle could bring healthy pressure to bear on those who wield political, economic and social power. This is what consumer movements accomplish by boycotting certain products. They prove successful in changing the way businesses operate, forcing them to consider their environmental footprint and their patterns of production.” Laudato Si’ 206
“…avoiding the use of plastic and paper, reducing water consumption, separating refuse, cooking only what can reasonably be consumed, showing care for other living beings, using public transport or car-pooling, planting trees, turning off unnecessary lights,… Reusing something instead of immediately discarding it.” Laudato Si’ 211

Eco-action #7

Policy Advocacy, Campaigns, and Solidarity

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“Disregard for the duty to cultivate and maintain a proper relationship with my neighbour, for whose care and custody I am responsible, ruins my relationship with my own self, with others, with God and with the earth. When all these relationships are neglected, when justice no longer dwells in the land, the Bible tells us that life itself is endangered.” Laudato Si’ 70

Seven Actions

Integral Ecological Education for our Common Home

ls 1

Eco-action #1

Transition to Clean and Sustainable Energy

“There is an urgent need to develop policies so that, in the next few years, the emission of carbon dioxide and other highly polluting gases can be drastically reduced, for example, substituting for fossil fuels and developing sources of renewable energy.”
Laudato Si’ 26

ls 2

Eco-action #2

Responsible Water Utilization

“But water continues to be wasted, not only in the developed world but also in developing countries which possess it in abundance. This shows that the problem of water is partly an educational and cultural issue, since there is little awareness of the seriousness of such behaviour within a context of great inequality.” Laudato Si’ 30
ls 3

Eco-action #3

Ecological Solid Waste Management

“We have not yet managed to adopt a circular model of production capable of preserving resources for present and future generations, while limiting as much as possible the use of non-renewable resources, moderating their consumption, maximizing their efficient use, reusing and recycling them. A serious consideration of this issue would be one way of counteracting the throwaway culture which affects the entire planet, but it must be said that only limited progress has been made in this regard.” Laudato Si’ 22
ls 4

Eco-action #4

Greening Institutional Management Systems, Divest-Invest, and Campus as a Natural Environment

“If everything is related, then the health of a society’s institutions has consequences for the environment and the quality of human life… In this sense, social ecology is necessarily institutional, and gradually extends to the whole of society, from the primary social group, the family, to the wider local, national and international communities. Within each social stratum, and between them, institutions develop to regulate human relationships.” Laudato Si’ 142
“The natural environment is a collective good, the patrimony of all humanity and the responsibility of everyone. If we make something our own, it is only to administer it for the good of all. If we do not, we burden our consciences with the weight of having denied the existence of others.” Laudato Si’ 95
ls 5

Eco-action #5

Integrated Ecological Curriculum and Environmental Sustainability Research

“Environmental education should facilitate making the leap towards the transcendent which gives ecological ethics its deepest meaning. It needs educators capable of developing an ethics of ecology, and helping people, through effective pedagogy, to grow in solidarity, responsibility and compassionate care.” Laudato Si’ 210
“Greater investment needs to be made in research aimed at understanding more fully the functioning of ecosystems and adequately analyzing the different variables associated with any significant modification of the environment. Because all creatures are connected, each must be cherished with love and respect, for all of us as living creatures are dependent on one another. Each area is responsible for the care of this family.” Laudato Si’ 42
ls 6

Eco-action #6

Integrated Ecological Spirituality and Transformative Lifestyle

“In calling to mind the figure of Saint Francis of Assisi, we come to realize that a healthy relationship with creation is one dimension of overall personal conversion, which entails the recognition of our errors, sins, faults and failures, and leads to heartfelt repentance and desire to change.” Laudato Si’ 218
“A change in lifestyle could bring healthy pressure to bear on those who wield political, economic and social power. This is what consumer movements accomplish by boycotting certain products. They prove successful in changing the way businesses operate, forcing them to consider their environmental footprint and their patterns of production.” Laudato Si’ 206
“…avoiding the use of plastic and paper, reducing water consumption, separating refuse, cooking only what can reasonably be consumed, showing care for other living beings, using public transport or car-pooling, planting trees, turning off unnecessary lights,… Reusing something instead of immediately discarding it.” Laudato Si’ 211
ls 7

Eco-action #7

Policy Advocacy, Campaigns, and Solidarity

“Disregard for the duty to cultivate and maintain a proper relationship with my neighbour, for whose care and custody I am responsible, ruins my relationship with my own self, with others, with God and with the earth. When all these relationships are neglected, when justice no longer dwells in the land, the Bible tells us that life itself is endangered.” Laudato Si’ 70
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#LS211

Nine (9) doable and effective ways on how to show our love and care to our common home