Laudato Si’ Action Plan Newsletter for April 2026, No. 14
Welcome to the fourteenth 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.
Preparing for our Updated Laudato Si’ Action Plan
This year, we look to revise and update our province’s action plan. We wish to include in this new report the progress made by the various Carmelite ministries and communities since they first submitted their individual plans last year.
If you or a member of your ministry or community submitted a plan that was included in our province’s report, we ask that you review it, continue to take steps to fulfill your goals, and begin to consider how you will update your plan later this year. We will be looking for updates by October 4, which is the Feast of St. Francis.
You may also wish to add new goals to pursue in 2027 and beyond. Remember, these action plans are meant to be dynamic, not static, documents.
If your community or ministry did not have an opportunity to submit an action plan last year, you may do so this year and you will be included in the updated provincial report, which we plan to publish in late October.
You can find the current PCM Province’s Laudato Si’ Action Plan and all of the 14 issues of the Laudato Si’ Action Newsletter hier. Please send questions and comments to me, Dennis Kalob, Laudato Si’ Action Plan Coordinator: LSCoordinator@Carmelites.net.
Finally, I would be happy to visit your community or ministry and speak with you in-person about your Laudato Si’ efforts. Just let me know! I already have plans to be in the Chicago/Darien area in May.
Thank you most sincerely for all that you have done and will continue to do to live the values and vision found in Laudato Si’!
IMPORTANT. JUST RELEASED.
Click on the article and read about this urgent call of the bishops. In the article you can find the full text of the Manifesto of the churches of the global south for our common home.
Earth Day is April 22! See below for important information and resources! Here is a special message from our dear friends at Catholic Climate Covenant:
We are excited to share with you the 2026 Earth Day program, “Energizing Our Faith.” The program guides participants through prayers, readings, a short video, individual reflections and group discussions, and a suggested advocacy activity (on energy affordability), all designed to energize our faith so that we are filled with the fullness of God and moved to build a more sustainable world.
Click on the button below, fill out the form, and you will receive an email with the links to the 2026 Earth Day program. This includes a Facilitator Guide, Participant Guide, and EDITABLE flyer.
This FREE one-hour program may be used to celebrate the 56th anniversary of Earth Day (April 22nd) and/or the 11th anniversary of Laudato Si' (Laudato Si’ Week is May 17-24, 2026) or at any time that fits your community’s schedule. It can be used by families, parish groups, religious communities, and anyone seeking to understand how the call for eco-conversion energizes our faith and spurs us to take action to protect God’s creation and our neighbors. The program also introduces the newly improved and expanded Catholic Energies!
If you have questions about the 2026 Earth Day program, please contact paz@catholicclimatecovenant.org.
Laudato Si’ Week, May 17-24: From Hope to Action
Please consider how your community or ministry might celebrate the week. Ideas can be found in the material from Catholic Climate Covenant, which was announced above. For some additional resources, click hier.
Heilige Stunden für den Frieden
This announcement was included in the previous issue of the newsletter, but the escalating violence in the world makes this all the more relevant today. Let us pray and act with urgency for peace.
Der Präsident des USCCB, Erzbischof Paul Coakley, hat Bischöfe und Priester in den gesamten USA eingeladen, eine Heilige Stunde für den Frieden abzuhalten. Für weitere Informationen klicken Sie bitte hier.
“Viele Menschen fühlen sich heute ohnmächtig angesichts von Gewalt, Ungerechtigkeit und sozialen Unruhen”, sagt Erzbischof Coakley. “Denen, die sich so fühlen, möchte ich klar sagen: Ihre Treue zählt. Eure Gebete sind wichtig. Eure Taten der Liebe und der Gerechtigkeit zählen.”
Immigrants and Refugees
Let us continue to act in solidarity with our immigrant and refugee sisters and brothers who continue to be terrorized by federal authorities during these extraordinary times.
Empfohlene Lektüre: “Eine katholische Anleitung zum Widerstand gegen die ICE-Razzia,” von Kevin Clarke, Amerika Zeitschrift, 29. Januar 2026.
Here is an excerpt from the Pastoral Message on Mass Detention and Mass Deportations in El Paso by the Most Reverend Mark J. Seitz, Bishop of El Paso, March 15, 2026:
“I must make clear, the current national campaign of mass detention and deportations is a grave moral evil, one which must be opposed, with prayer, peaceful action and acts of solidarity with those affected. In these acts, we touch the wounds of Jesus Christ, and in this solidarity, we carry forward the hope of the Resurrection. God is on the side of justice, and as we journey towards Easter, we know that God is fashioning a new humanity that reflects God’s blessings for all people.”
“I exhort all the faithful of the Catholic Church, and all men and women of good will, not to give in to narratives that discriminate against and cause unnecessary suffering to our migrant and refugee brothers and sisters. With charity and clarity we are all called to live in solidarity and fraternity, to build bridges that bring us ever closer together, to avoid walls of ignominy and to learn to give our lives as Jesus Christ gave his for the salvation of all.”