AFRICA/KENYA - Laudato Sì Week: Environmental protection requires a change of heart

Friday, 28 May 2021 laudato sì ecology human rights

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Kisumu (Agenzia Fides) - "It is not enough to plant trees if there is no change in mentality", said Archbishop Philip Arnold Anyolo, Archbishop of the diocese of Kisumu and president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Kenya (KCCB), on the occasion of the conclusion of the Laudato Sì Week.
At one of the tree plantings organized by Caritas Kisumu in collaboration with the government, civil societies and and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) for the conclusion of the Special Year, on the sixth anniversary of the document of Pope Francis, the Archbishop stressed that "real charity is not what that oneive" and "caring for creation is a work of charity".
Bishop Anyolo, addressing Christians and all people of good will, encouraged them to take care of creation so that the "future generation can have a safe place" and also that people know that environmental conversion is part of the Christian call and of the Church's social teachings: "creation requires the change of heart of each and every one".
The president of the KCCB also called on the Kenyan government to continue to work with the Church to raise people's awareness of creation.
As part of the event, in which a thousand trees were planted in the parish of St. Paul's Mbaga of the archdiocese, Archbishop Anthony Muheria of Nyeri invited the participants to follow the example of the Kenyan activist Wangari Maathai, the first African woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize and actively campaigned for environmental protection.
The director of the Caritas office in the Diocese of Kisumu, Rev. Samuel Nyattaya, said that last year's fundraising campaign as part of the fasting campaign bought 5,000 plants that were planted on the mission's premises and elsewhere in the diocese.
Archbishop Anyolo distributed some copies of the encyclical Laudato Sì to the representatives of the various organizations present and the director of Caritas promised to continue the initiatives and encouraged them to fulfill the Pope's request. "Surprisingly, it was the first time for many that they had heard of Laudato Sì", revealed Fr. Nyattaya. (AP) (Agenzia Fides, 28/5/2021)