The Laudato Si’ Movement, was present at the ecclesial Assembly of Latin America and the Caribbean, held from November 21 to 28, 2021 in Mexico City, the first continental assembly in history, bringing together laity, religious, and clergy; youth and adults, from Canada to Argentina.
From the Laudato Si’ Movement, several representatives participated, such as Ariana Diaz, the coordinator of the Costa Rica Chapter and also a member of the Continental Council and representative of Mesoamerica and the Caribbean.
The young theologian, who participated as an observer press, was in charge of making the Laudato Si’ Movement known among the participants, building relationships that can serve the action of the future.
“I participated in the press conferences and was able to raise some questions of interest to the movement, such as how we can work from the Church to create coherence, particularly on the issues of integral ecology,” she mentioned.
From the Assembly’s discernment groups, “12 challenges” emerged, which will be followed up locally during 2022. Three of these challenges speak directly to integral ecology.
On the one hand, “to listen to the cry of the poor, the excluded and the discarded;” then “to reform the formative itineraries of the seminaries including themes such as integral ecology, native peoples, inculturation and interculturality and the social philosophy of the Church;” and the last one “to reaffirm and give priority to an integral ecology in our communities, based on the four dreams of “Dear Amazonia”.
As an initiative of LSM and 14 other church organizations such as CLAR, CIEC, Churches and Mining, REMAM, SIGNIS ALC, REPAM among others, it was considered urgent to strengthen the commitment to care for the common home, so a letter was sent to the participants of the Assembly.
It was “a way of thanking the Assembly members for addressing the theme of Laudato Si’, because people showed a lot of interest. And also to demand that our themes can be more explicitly included in the conclusions of the assembly,” said Ariana Diaz.
The coordinator of the Costa Rica Chapter concluded by indicating that “we still have a long way to go, but we are taking steps”. Although the different Churches in Latin America and the Caribbean have different processes regarding the approach to Laudato Si’, “we have the hope and faith that the seed is sown.”
