This is a brief course that will retrace the steps taken by the Church with respect to Human Development, from the 1960s to today, in order to understand the true meaning of Integral Ecology, how everything is connected and what each person can do to save the planet and to move “from the culture of waste to the culture of care.” Also, it addresses how to integrate Integral Ecology into Salesian Educational Pastoral Projects (PEPS), both local and provincial, through concrete actions.
The sessions will be organized online, on the ZOOM platform, for small groups who request them and according to the number of registrations. The meetings are intended primarily for: educators involved in the Provinces, Provincial Commissions, Youth Ministry Managers, formation houses, groups involved in ecology...
To book, please write to Dr. Emanuela Chiang (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.), a member of the Youth Ministry Sector, in charge of animating, coordinating and creating ecological awareness in all the Provinces and in the different areas of the Salesian mission.
Already from the responses received to the questionnaires addressed to the Salesian houses, in fact, the need and the desire of many communities to receive information, formation and concrete suggestions on how to orient behavior towards greater sustainability and responsibility has clearly emerged.
In addition to this, the main results that emerged from that survey are:
- The houses that answered (333) generally show an openness to the theme of integral ecology, more from a practical point of view than from the point of view of theoretical study or documents. Some are already very active and could serve as a driving force for others, or at least as an example.
- In some cases the commitment of the houses corresponds to a commitment of the province to which they belong, but in other cases it does not. It will be important to foster synergies, coordination and provide clear indications from the Central Office to the provinces and from the latter to the works.
- Here, too, we confirm the importance of providing practical support for the inclusion of the theme in the provincial and local PEPS. For this reason, the topic was included in the course proposed, especially to consolidate the theoretical foundations and the motivations to act, and thus make people understand the importance of having a structural vision of the topic, and not only of carrying out extemporaneous or isolated interventions or projects.
- The most active and convinced works are those in countries where the effects of climate change are stronger. It is therefore very important to support the works already committed or willing to commit themselves in countries where the fragility of the territory and society is greater.
- It will be important to foster the synergies and collaborations that can arise in each country with dioceses, movements such as the Laudato Sì Movement and other organizations that pursue the same goals, to multiply the impact and act in a synodal way.
- We are also working on a positioning of the Congregation with regard to Integral Ecology and this will be of support to the provinces and therefore also to the houses.
