At the time of the fifth anniversary of Laudato Si, the second encyclical of Pope Francis “On Care for Our Common Home,” the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) wrote:

At the completion of the Laudato Si’ Fifth-Anniversary Year, the Vatican has launched a seven-year journey to sustainability in the spirit of Pope Francis’s landmark encyclical. It is a call to the universal church: families, parishes and dioceses, educational institutions, health care centers, the economy, organizations and groups, and religious orders to take concrete steps toward a sustainable future in the spirit of Laudato Si’.

By using this website, https://laudatosi.com/watch, you can chose to read the encyclical online, to download it or to order it as a paperback.

A key concept of the encyclical is “integral ecology.” This is how one online site put it simply and well: “Integral Ecology, a concept recently popularized by Pope Francis in the encyclical Laudato Si in 2015, refers to an integrated and holistic approach to political, social, economic, and environmental problems.” 

The graphic above which is being used by those engaged in the 7-year journey towards a sustainable lifestyle, manifests the meaning and goals of integral ecology colorfully and with imagery that may help us retain the goals on the way ahead.

Hopefully, your faith community, or organizations devoted to issues of social and environmental justice in which you participate, may keep you abreast of this journey as the years go on. National Catholic Reporter, https://ncronline.org, Global Sisters Report, https://www.globalsistersreport.org/, and Earthbeat, https://www.ncronline.org/earthbeat, report on the Laudato Si journey regularly.  

Happy travels!