This season we commemorate the 10th anniversary of Pope Francis’s encyclical, Laudato Si’: On Care for Our Common Home, which was published May 24th and delivered to the world on June 18th. 

To mark the occasion, the Mercy Justice Team has drafted a letter to members of Congress and officials in the Trump Administration that quotes from Laudato Si’ and urges them to reverse course on harmful environmental policies. Forty-six congregations of women religious and other faith-based organizations have signed on. 

Please consider making copies of the letter and delivering it to the local offices of your members of Congress next week when lawmakers are home for the Memorial Day break. We’d love to see photos of your visit! Send pictures to justice@sistersofmercy.org. 

While an in-person drop-in would be most impactful, you also may send a message to your legislators and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin in the box to the right (or below on your mobile device). Please personalize your message by adding your own concerns and experiences.

The Justice Team plans to join the Catholic Climate Covenant in dropping off copies of Laudato Si’ to Catholic members of Congress in their Washington, D.C. offices in late June. 

BACKGROUND 

The Trump Administration has issued dozens of executive orders that, among other things, have resulted in closing offices that address the disproportionate burden of pollution on low-income communities of color, fast-tracking approvals for mining and energy projects on public land, and blocking solar and wind projects. Other orders are pulling funding for anything that has to do with climate change, from engagement with other countries to research to renewable energy investments. 

Some members of Congress are moving toward enshrining some of these measures into law, while others remain silent as they focus on other disruptions to the federal government.