• Cardinal Peter Turkson solicits enrolment in Laudato Si’ Action Platform
• Lagos Archdiocese translates prayer in local languages
By Neta Nwosu
Catholics worldwide have begun a 40-day prayer campaign, based on the Laudato Si’ goals, for communities joining the Laudato Si’ platform. Cardinal Peter Turkson, Prefect, The Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development on behalf of His Holiness, Pope Francis invited all Catholic faithfuls on September 24, 2021, to commence a global 40-day Laudato Si’ Action Platform (LSAP) prayer and promotion campaign on October 4, the feast of St. Francis of Assisi , the patron saint of ecology. In a correspondence, addressed to His Eminences and Excellencies, Heads of Episcopal Communities and Religious Congregations, Parents and Community Leaders, Teachers and Managers in the Education and associate sector, leaders in healthcare, business and agriculture, leaders of groups, movement and organizations and all brothers, sisters and friends in Christ, and signed by Cardinal Turkson, he invited all Catholics and their respective communities to join the Laudato Si’ platform.
The Prefect wrote, “The platform will create a space for the universal Church and beyond to respond to the global emergency we are facing. Through it we can learn and grow together as we take decisive action to build a better future in the spirit of Laudato Si’. This is all the more urgent given the latest IPCC Report in August which issued a “Code Red” warning for all humanity. “On October 4, the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, the saintly patron of ecology, we will begin a 40-day LSAP prayer and promotion campaign. I am happy to announce that the enrolment of participants in the platform will begin on 14 November, 2021, the Global Day of Prayer for the Poor. I warmly invite all of you to join the LSAP and actively promote it.” According to the Prefect of The Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, Pope Francis at the close of the Laudato Si’ Special Anniversary Year on May 25, 2021, launched the Laudato Si’ Action Platform, a seven-year journey of ecological conversion in action (https://laudatosiactionplatform. org).
The letter further read, “We are invited to embark on this journey together, namely with the seven sectors of: Families, Parishes and Dioceses; educational institutions (Schools and Universities, et al); hospitals and healthcare centres; economy (businesses, cooperatives, farms etal); organizations and groups (ecological communities, movements, NGOs, communication centres, foundations et al); religious orders (communities, provinces, orders). “The seven-year journey of the LSAP is inspired by the integral ecological vision of the encyclical and is guided by the seven Laudato SI’ Goals: (Cry of the Earth, Cry of the Poor, Ecological Economics, Simple Lifestyles, Ecological Education, Ecological Spirituality and Community Engagements with Participatory Action. Based on these set goals, specific prayers are being said on particular days of the week for distinct sector in this order: Monday – Families; Tuesday –Economy; Wednesday – Hospitals; Thursday – Educational Institutions; Friday – Groups and Organizations; Saturday- Religious Orders; and Sunday – Parishes and Dioceses. The 40-day prayer campaign will come to a close on Sunday, November 14. Laudato Si’ is Pope Francis’ encyclical on the care and preservation of the environment and the world we live in.
The prayer campeign has been adapted by the Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos, as Most Rev (Dr.) Alfred Adewale Martins, Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, an ecological convert, has set up a Lagos Archdiocese Ecology and LSAP Work Group, made up of Priests and lay faithful that cut across the various focal groups of the seven LSI goals and more. Very Rev. Fr. Julius Olaitan, Dean, Lagos Island Deanery and Parish Priest, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Victoria Island, Lagos and Dame Marie Fatayi-Williams, Coordinator, Network of Young Catholic Carers for the Environment (NYCCEN) are the arrow heads of this Work Group. Since the release of the letter and prayer to the work group members, they have commenced various programmes aimed at further implementing the Laudato Si goals. According to Dame Fatayi-Williams, the Daily Prayers have been translated into two major Nigerian languages, namely; Yoruba and Hausa, as she disclosed that the Igbo version is still being expected. “We have been pushing it out to laity, Church organizations; CWON,
