‘We Are Still In’

On the third anniversary of the release of Pope Francis’ encyclical, Laudato Si, the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana, along with close to 600 United States Catholic institutions have declared “We Are Still In,” regarding the Paris Climate Accord.

The sisters and other religious Congregations of women and men, along with dioceses, health care institutions, universities, parishes and schools, recently signed the Catholic Climate Declaration, which according to Catholic Climate Covenant (CCC), “affirms the Paris Agreement and supports actions to meet its goals.”

The declaration is a direct response to President Trump’s action to withdraw the United States from the agreement. The declaration was organized by CCC, which partners with 17 national Catholic institutions, including the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). The “We Are Still In” campaign was organized one year ago and includes not only Catholic institutions, but also mayors, governors, businesses and more.

Other institutions that signed the declaration from the state of Indiana included the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, the National Black Catholic Clergy Caucus (Indianapolis), Sacred Heart Franciscan Friary (Indianapolis), Our Lady of Victory Missionary Sisters (Huntington), Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College, the University of Notre Dame, Holy Cross International Justice Office (Notre Dame), Sisters of Holy Cross (Notre Dame), Holy Family Friary (Oldenburg), the Sisters of Saint Francis of Oldenburg and Oldenburg Academy.

According to CCC, throughout the remainder of summer and heading to the Global Climate Action Summit, which will take place in September, CCC will “gather commitments from signers to the declaration and share those during the event.”

During the sisters’ General Chapter meeting in 2016, they established the Justice Coordinating Commission (JCC). From that group, the Climate Change Task Force (CCTF) was birthed, and for the past year, both groups have addressed the issue of climate change for the Sisters of Providence.

This summer, the task force intends to present to the public its Providence Climate Agreement. Look for more information regarding this agreement in an upcoming blog.