Global Day of Prayer for the Environment on Sept. 1
In keeping with Pope Francis’ encyclical on the environment, the Philippine Roman Catholic Church will observe the Global Day of Prayer for the Environment on Tuesday, Sept. 1.
Dubbed “World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation,” prayer services will be observed in all Catholic churches across the country in unity with the Holy Father’s encyclical “Laudato Si.”
Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio G. Cardinal Tagle will lead the observance with a Holy Mass at 2 p.m. at the Manila Cathedral in Intramuros, Manila.
The event coincides with the opening of the archdiocese’s celebration of the Season of Creation, a month-long observance marked with various activities that highlight the need to preserve the environment held in parishes and schools such as exhibits, a forum on the papal encyclical, ecology quiz bees, and storytelling on environmental protection.
Signature campaign Tagle also appealed for support for a global campaign that aims to gather one million signatures ahead of a gathering of world leaders in Paris, France this November on environmental issues.
An initiative of the Global Catholic Climate Movement, which represents more than 100 Catholic organizations working for climate justice across the world, the petition calls on leaders to sign the commitment to limit global temperature to less than the dangerous threshold of 1.5 degrees centigrade.
Petitioners are also asking for aid for the world’s poorest nations to help them cope with the ill-effects of climate change.
No to coal mining In related news, local church officials in Antique are mobilizing parishioners for a prayer rally on Sept. 1 against coal mining operations in the province.
“The prayer rally will be an assembly of students, lay people, the clergy, the religious, and various civil society organizations in the capital town of San Jose. It is our way of calling on the government to protect the province’s remaining resources,” said Fr. Edione Febrero, Antique’s diocesan social action director.