Laudato Si’ Action Plan Newsletter for May 2026, No. 15
Welcome to the fifteenth edition of the Laudato Si’ Action Plan Newsletter of the Carmelite PCM Province. This electronic newsletter is intended to inform the members and partners of this province on our collective commitment to living the values of Laudato Si’ –hearing and responding to the cries of the earth and the cries of the poor. It is prepared by Laudato Si’ Action Plan Coordinator, Dennis Kalob.
Laudato Si’ Week, May 17-24: From Hope to Action
One Week. One Action. A Global Catholic Response.
This year, Catholic individuals, religious communities, parishes, schools and other ministries are asked to identify ONE action that they are willing to take during this special week. It could be a tree planting, a meat-less day (or week), a day of public transit rather than the car, hosting a prayer service or study group on creation care…the potential actions are endless and do not need to be complicated. It can be a small one-off action or the launch of a longer-term effort.
What I would ask of each of you is to consider taking an action (as an individual or community or ministry) and carry it through that week. Then send me an email informing me of the action, so I may make a record of it. This information will be shared with the province and with the global Laudato Si’ Action Platform.
Won’t you please consider engaging in a special act of caring during Laudato Si’ Week?
Thank you!
Dennis Kalob
Laudato Si’ Action Plan Coordinator
LSCoordinator@carmelites.net
***** SOME WORDS ABOUT WAR *****
Number of deaths worldwide from war, 2025: 240,000+ (excluding indirect deaths due to destroyed infrastructure, hunger, etc.)
Number of people displaced by war has been escalating and is now over 120 million.
In 2024, global military spending reached $2.7 trillion; 37% spent by the U.S.
Military spending continues to increase. War is a very profitable business.
The U.S. Defense Department is among the world’s top greenhouse gas emitters.
Laudato Si’ calls all of us to hear the cries of the earth and the cries of the poor. War represents the loudest possible cries! It is severely destructive of the natural world and the poor are almost always the most victimized by it. Just the preparation for war takes money away from efforts that can house, feed, educate and care for the most vulnerable. Much is said about “just wars.” The truth is, however, few (some say none) are ever truly justified, though those with great power and privilege try to convince us otherwise…constantly.
In a Pentagon prayer service (March 25, 2026), U.S. Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth, prayed for “overwhelming violence of action against those who deserve no mercy.” Hegseth has repeatedly exalted violence and has done so in the name of Christianity.
But let us give the last word to our Pope.
Below is an excerpt from the homily given by His Holiness, Pope Leo XIV, on April 11, 2026, at the Global Prayer Vigil for Peace.
Enough of the idolatry of self and money! Enough of the display of power! Enough of war! True strength is shown in serving life. With evangelical simplicity, Saint John XXIII once wrote: “The benefits of peace will be felt everywhere, by individuals, by families, by nations, by the whole human race.” And echoing the incisive words of Pius XII, he added: “Nothing is lost by peace; everything may be lost by war” (Encyclical Letter Pacem in Terris, 116).
Let us, therefore, unite the moral and spiritual strength of the millions and billions of men and women, young and old, who today choose to believe in peace, caring for the wounds and repairing the damage left behind by the madness of war. I receive countless letters from children in areas of conflict. In reading them, one perceives, through the lens of innocence, all the horror and inhumanity of actions that some adults boast of with pride. Let us listen to the voices of children!
Dear brothers and sisters, there are certainly binding responsibilities that fall to the leaders of nations. To them we cry out: Stop! It is time for peace! Sit at the table of dialogue and mediation, not at the table where rearmament is planned and deadly actions are decided! Yet there is a no less significant responsibility that falls to all of us—men and women from all over the world. We are an immense multitude that rejects war not only in word, but also in deed. Prayer calls us to leave behind whatever violence remains in our hearts and minds. Let us turn to a Kingdom of peace that is built up day by day—in our homes, schools, neighborhoods, and civil and religious communities. A Kingdom that counters polemics and resignation through friendship and a culture of encounter. Let us believe once again in love, moderation and good politics. We must form ourselves and get personally involved, each following our own calling. Everyone has a place in the mosaic of peace!