Latest OMI JPIC News
What is the Season of Creation? August 27th, 2024
Pope Francis calls for a World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation
By: Bishop Michael Pfeifer, O.M.I, Bishop Emeritus of the Diocese of San Angelo
 |
 |
The Season of Creation is an ecumenical monthlong moment of prayerful reflection and celebration which began several years ago and calls us to renew our relationship with our Creator and all creation through celebration, conversion, and commitment together. During this Season we join together as sisters and brothers of a universal family in prayer and action to renew our appreciation, our commitment, and our care and activities to protect and bring new life to Mother Earth, our Common Home, as we thank our loving God for the beautiful gift of all creation.
The theme for this Season of Creation is “To Hope and Act with Creation” and it is also the theme designated by Pope Francis for the World Day of Prayer of Creation which takes place on September 1st , the first day of the annual Season of Creation, which will end on October 4th , the Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi. Francis is the Patron Saint of ecology and is beloved by many Christian and other denominations. Pope Francis in the statement Laudato Si calls Mother Earth, our Common Home, that we will pass on to the next generations. Pope Francis’ World Day of Prayer focuses on thanksgiving to our Heavenly Father for the beautiful gift of all of creation, and asking God’s continuing blessings on this wonderful gift.
The Laudato Si Movement points out that in accord with this year’s theme of Hope, the symbol is the first fruits of hope inspired by (Rom 8;19-25) which is to produce new life. The biblical image pictures the Earth as a mother groaning as in childbirth (Rom 8;22). Saint Francis understood this when he referred often to the Earth as our sister and our mother in his Canticle of Creatures. In so many ways the present moment we live sadly shows that we are not fully relating to the Earth as a gift from our Creator but most often as a resource to be used selfishly and not to protect, to enrich, and renew this wonderful gift. “Creation is groaning” (Rom 8;22) because of our selfishness and our unsustainable actions that harm her.
August 9 – Honoring Indigenous People for their Unique Contribution to Cultural Diversity August 9th, 2024
 (Image by Marcelo Trujillo, Pixabay) |
 (Image by Kiran Hania, Pixabay) |
Paris Olympics are Behind the Curve on DEI August 1st, 2024
(Editor’s Note: Fr. Seamus P. Finn, OMI, Director of USA JPIC and OIP shares a letter he received from the president of the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation reflecting on some controversial elements in the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics)
DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) has been an important part of the ICCR (Interfaith Center for Corporate Responsibility) mission in recent years. It has been indeed engaging to read different responses to the opening ceremony at the Olympics. I like Brian Grim’s reflection found here: https://bit.ly/3ykjvgT
I have given two presentations at the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation that seeks to bring the values and a religious message to the G20 meetings in recent years. They continue to labor in what some would say is a very secular and unreceptive audience, but they persist, and I like the direction they are leading us.
-Seamus P. Finn, OMI
Dear Seamus Finn,
A performance during the Opening Ceremony for the 2024 Paris Olympics triggered a backlash as many saw a sketch meant to promote diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) as being offensive and biased. Many took the sketch to be a parody of the Last Supper of Christ, which organizers denied being the intent.
Paris 2024 spokesperson Anne Descamps apologized on Sunday for those offended by the scene. “Clearly there was never an intention to show disrespect to any religious group. On the contrary, I think (with) Thomas Jolly [the ceremony’s artistic director], we really did try to celebrate community tolerance,” 
Descamps said. “… If people have taken any offense, we are, of course, really, really sorry.”
Jolly said that religious subversion had never been his intention. “We wanted to talk about diversity. Diversity means being together. We wanted to include everyone, as simple as that.”
However, rather than being avant-garde and inclusive, the Olympic organizers appear to be behind the curve when it comes to DEI — what they purportedly were trying to promote. The latest data show a significant surge in Fortune 500 companies including religion as part of their DEI initiatives, which helps them avoid such offensive and COSTLY mistakes (one Olympic sponsor has already withdrawn in reaction to the sketch). READ FULL LETTER
2024 Laudato Si Action Platform: Building a Future Together July 31st, 2024
The Laudato Si’ Action Platform (LSAP) is an action-oriented 7- year ecological conversion journey in the spirit of integral ecology intended to support and empower families, communities and institutions to achieve total sustainability.
In PART I of OMI JPIC’s Laudato Si Action Platform we view this as a fresh opportunity for each of us to commit to sustainability in the spirit of Laudato Si. In this resource we promote works from Oblates and allies as a step toward integral ecology.
In PART II of OMI JPIC’s Laudato Si Action Platform, we revisit the commitments we have taken on and ponder what other action steps we might add to our list.
 |
FEATURED PARTNER – Sisters of the Holy Cross Pope Francis reminds us, “All Christian communities have an important role to play in ecological education” (LS 214) and “Living our vocation to be protectors of God’s handiwork is essential to a life of virtue” (LS 217). We are continually motivated by the urgency of these global crises and the call for communities like our own to act and journey toward integral ecology. |
Laudato Si Action Platform – Partner Resources
Visit VIVAT’s website: www.vivatinternational.org
Watch this video about the one billion bamboo project of VIVAT members in the Philippines.
VIDEO: https://bit.ly/3A53fBb
This is an example of how the local communities address the impact of climate change (i.e., typhoons and floods in the Philippines) by planting one billion bamboo by 2030. This effort is for climate change mitigation and adaptation through a nature-based solution.
Additional Resources:
- Oblate Ecological Ministry (Godfrey, IL)
- Looking Ahead: OMI Commitments to Laudato Si (August 2023)
- Oblates Partner with Three Part Harmony Farm (Washington, DC)
- OMI JPIC Laudato Si Action Platform – PART I (August 2022)
- OMI JPIC Laudato Si Action Plan – Part II (July 2023)
- Laudato Si in Action at Oblate Parish (August 2020)
- Laudato Si themes to integrate in Justice & Peace work (May 2020)
Reflection on July Field Trip with OMI Novices July 25th, 2024
(By Sr. Maxine Pohlman, SSND, Director, La Vista Ecological Learning Center)
[L to R: Novice Elisha Chisanga, Novice Chandu Ponugumai, Brother Pat McGee, Father Paul Wightman, Novice Alvaro Chapa]
In the opening chapter of the encyclical Laudato Si, we learn about urgent environmental issues facing “our common home.” For our final field trip of the year we focused on one of these, biodiversity loss, learning that a unique Missionary Oblate of Mary Immaculate has quietly been promoting biodiversity health for many years, well before Laudato Si was published.
Father Paul Wightman, OMI, followed a youthful allurement to caving, and as a result has had a significant impact on biodiversity in southern Illinois. In his delightful and informative presentation Father Paul took us on a pictorial tour of Fogelpole cave, entertaining us with stories about his underground experiences through the years. With a twinkle in his eyes and a charming grin, Paul showed us what it is like when a person is allured by a special part of our rare and precious planet and gets serious about enjoying it.
Located near his hometown of Waterloo, Illinois, Fogelpole Cave is the largest and most biologically diverse cave in Illinois, and exploring it became his hobby. He took many students and scientists into the cave throughout his life. Because the owners were careful about providing access to the cave on their land, it has remained pristine to this day. The cave is home to threatened and endangered species; consequently, it is now part of the Illinois Nature Preserves System, preserved in perpetuity, contributing to the health of biodiversity forever!
[Father Paul with students inside Fogelpole Cave]
In addition, the 500 acres above the cave are also preserved and dedicated in the Illinois Nature Preserve System as the Paul Wightman Subterranean Nature Preserve. Because of this preservation, the water flowing into the cave remains free from pesticides and herbicides. In addition, volunteers have turned the farmland above the cave into a native prairie, providing habitat for many pollinators.
The Novices, Brother Pat McGee, and I were touched with the way Father Paul modestly shared his impactful caving career, and we felt inspired to contribute to the health of our rare and precious planet, each in our own special way.
