2015-10-28 15:20:00

Bangladesh church’s response to Laudato si


Catholic priests, religious, teachers and social activists from seven dioceses in Bangladesh met at a workshop held in Dhaka on Oct. 27 in response to Pope Francis' encyclical on the environment, Laudato si',

"We can't do much on our own for climate change because our resources are limited," explained Bishop Gervas Rozario of Rajshahi, chairman of the bishops' conference's Justice and Peace Commission, which staged the meeting. "So we are promoting awareness among our faithful, and encouraging them to reach and engage with people at various levels in their respective communities for climate change dialogue and action."

Bishop Rozario, who is also president of Caritas Bangladesh, the church's social services agency, said the world is "facing disaster. Yet we can save the world if we can take care of our planet as mother and sister, as Pope Francis has suggested," the bishop said.

Climate analysts fear that vast areas of Bangladesh's coastline could vanish as sea levels rise — one of the commonly predicted consequences of a warming planet.

Archbishop Patrick D'Rozario of Dhaka, the president of the Catholic Bishops 'Conference of Bangladesh (CBCB), had issued a pastoral letter in Bengali language to be distributed in every parish, providing a brief explanation of the main points in ‘Laudato si’’.   Besides urging Catholics to follow the Pope’s guidelines in the encyclical, Archbishop D’Rozario had called  on priests to spread the papal teachings on ecology among the faithful. 

Caritas Bangladesh also launched various projects to care for and protect the environment, like selling high quality seeds to poor farmers to improve their living conditions.   It also supports the most vulnerable groups, like children and the homeless, by handing out warm clothes in winter months and battling alcoholism among tribals through its rehabilitation programmes.  (UCAN)








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