Fr. Jean Herick Jasmin, OMI, Director of the General Service of JPIC, wrote the following letter to the Oblate JPIC coordinators and animators around the world.

Dear Oblate JPIC coordinators and animators,

Receive our greetings in Jesus and Mary Immaculate, hoping that everything is moving ahead well in your pastoral work in this time of much challenge and hope.

We come once again to reaffirm our support for your missionary efforts in favor of Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Creation. We also want to share with you that as part of our Congregation’s response to the call of Laudato Si, we officially registered in the Laudato Si’ Action Platform (LSAP) last November 14, 2021. This Platform is our public statement in the Church that we, as a Congregation, commit to work towards achieving the goals of integral ecology in our life and mission.

Over the last two years, we have been stimulating awareness and action in our Congregation towards participation in the movement of integral ecology, inspired by Pope Francis’ encyclical letter. On August 22, 2020, our Superior General Fr. Louis Lougen, OMI wrote his Letter to the Congregation with a call to wake up and get involved in the concerted action on behalf of the poor who are the most affected by the destruction of the environment. He said that “this is a challenge for all our communities and Units because the cry of the poor and the destruction of the environment go hand-in-hand (…). Many Oblates and collaborators around the world are already acting to care for our common home in many prophetic initiatives, and for this I thank you”.

In response to this call, the General Mission Committee and the General Service of JPIC launched a series of webinars aimed at generating interest in Pope Francis’ landmark encyclical Laudato si and the various practical ways in which Oblate communities have responded and could still respond. On August 28, 2021, we wrote to report on our actions in this regard and referred our Oblate Units to the Laudato si’ Action Platform, which brings together institutions, communities, and families together in learning and growing together in love for God, for each other, and for our common home. We attached to that letter various other useful resources to get things going.

We encourage all the Units that have already started some programs in the spirit of Laudato Si, to freely continue with these projects, aided by regular evaluation. We request that Unit coordinators or animators communicate to us what is being done in communities, institutions, or in the whole Unit itself, so that we can have a global sense of our initiatives, share it on the Platform, and from there work on what else is needed to enhance collaboration. Information can be sent to us at [email protected]. For now, we know about urban gardens and sustainable farms, efforts at using sustainable energy sources, recycling programs, Scripture-based group studies and reflection, and degree programs in the area of the use of natural resources and its impact on the poor.

The Laudato si’ Action Platform’s website, https://laudatosiactionplatform.org/, provides essential information and resources that you may find useful in your animation. At the end of this letter you will find the password to our section on the Platform, to allow you to upload documents you wish to share. Do not hesitate to contact the undersigned for further information you may need.

Moreover, in the next few weeks, the Dontenwill Mission and Ministry Grants will open applications for 2023.  The grants will especially welcome programs and projects along the line of Laudato si’ animation.  We look forward to receiving outstanding proposals for funding.

We entrust under the gaze of the Mater Boni Consilii to illuminate our path in these processes of Laudato Si for the good of our synodal Church.

Fraternally,

Fr. Jean Herick Jasmin, OMI
Director OMI/JPIC, Rome.