Protect Our Common Home

California has been blessed with great beauty. Through all creation, God is revealed. Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si’ calls us to rediscover in awe and wonder the beauty of creation. At the same time, we must respond to the cry of the earth in its suffering of our mistreatment of the natural world. On the fourth anniversary of Laudato Si’ we, the Bishops of California, are publishing this Pastoral Statement with a two-fold vision: to animate and energize the implementation of what we are called to do as we face the current crises in California and to offer a dynamic teaching tool that evangelizes our Catholic faith community and beyond to respond. In the context of our Catholic teaching on the theology of creation, we invite the people of California to reflect on ways we can more faithfully and effectively care for creation in thanksgiving to God for this great gift.

  Pastoral Statement by the California Conference of Catholic Bishops On the fourth anniversary of Laudato Si’: On Care for Our Common Home

One-third of the parishes, offices and facilities of the Diocese of Monterey have gone solar, and the counties of Monterey, San Benito and Santa Cruz now draw on 100 percent carbon and nuclear-free energy largely thanks to efforts of local Catholics.

The Diocese of Stockton, in the heart of California’s Central Valley and facing immense environmental challenges, has joined the Catholic Climate Covenant as well as other Catholic and faith groups in filing an amicus brief in support of the Clean

In Laudato Si, a letter addressed to all the people of the world, Pope Francis presents a clear and compelling case for placing people at the center of a renewed commitment to caring for the planet.