Bangladesh Church takes Pope’s encyclical in earnest ‎

The Catholic  Church in Bangladesh  is taking seriously Pope Francis’ encyclical “Laudato Si” on the care of creation, with its leaders urging their faithful to heed to the Holy Father’s call to change lifestyles and consumption patterns.  Archbishop Patrick D'Rozario of Dhaka, the president of the Catholic Bishops 'Conference of Bangladesh (CBCB), has issued a pastoral letter in Bengali language to be distributed in very 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 is calling on priests to spread the papal teachings on ecology among the faithful. 

Meanwhile, Benedict Alo D'Rozario, executive director of Caritas Bangladesh, issued a statement, calling on the faithful to “stop doing whatever harms the environment and God’s creation.”  What is more, "Each of us must read the archbishop’s pastoral letter, which talks about the pope’s encyclical,” Alo D’Rozario urged, calling for prayers that the Pope’s message be applied and that social justice be achieved.  To reach those goals, the Caritas executive director is suggesting planting and caring for trees, as well judicious use of water, energy and fuel.  

Caritas Bangladesh has already 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.  (Source: AsiaNews)