Laudato Sí and Laudate Deum: Responding to the Pope's Call to Environmental Action

We invite you to be part of a new discussion group that will examine the ecological, theological,
liturgical, moral, and spiritual richness of Pope Francis’s 2015 encyclical letter, “Laudato Sí: On
Care of our Common Home,” and his follow-up 2023 apostolic exhortation, “Laudate Deum: To
All People Of Good Will On The Climate Crisis.” Laudato Sí and Laudate Deum are two of the
most ambitious and revolutionary papal statements in history outlining the most critical
environmental and social issues that we collectively face.

This half-day retreat serves as an introductory meeting for this group. We will begin with a showing and follow-up discussion of the documentary film, “The Letter,” directed by Emmy-winning director Nicholas Brown and premiered at the Vatican in October 2022. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rps9bs85BII&;t=89s) The letter of the title is Laudato Sí and the film documents a diverse group of climate activists, Indigenous people, scientists, and other persons of faith who are brought to Rome by the Pope to discuss how people at the grassroots level can work together to bring about change. The documentary will provide a common foundation for our future meetings, when we will read through and discuss both Laudato Sí and Laudate Deum, as well as a selection of other related works looking at the environment through a Christian and Ignatian lens.