Laudato Sí Action

We, the Sisters of Christian Charity and Companions of Pauline in the United States, do herein commit ourselves, our ministries and our resources to a seven-year journey to live the “Laudato Sí Goals” as expressed in the Laudato Sí Action Platform promulgated by the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development. We find these goals to be consistent with our mission to “receive and give God’s love for the life of the world”.
We have heard the cry of Earth and the cry of the poor, from the words of our founder, Blessed Pauline von Mallinckrodt (1817-1881), through Chapter statements over the years, to the present urgent call of our Holy Father, Pope Francis, in his encyclical Laudato Sí. We recognize Earth as a gift from our Creator, which is not to be exploited,but cared for and whose resources are to be shared among all people, especially the poor.
In 1849, Mother Pauline founded the Sisters of Christian Charity in response to the call of the Gospel and the cry of the poor in her own time. Today, we are aware of our own responsibility to respond to that cry as we hear it from our suffering earth and from those who bear the greatest burden from climate change. We also believe this call is an important aspect of living our vow of poverty as stated in the SCC Constitutions: “Love for the poor is inherent in Christ-like love. . . . We show this love by recognizing the dignity of the poor, by sacrificing to alleviate their condition, by sharing in their anguish and sorrow, and by being sincerely concerned with their well-being” (Article 24).

The seven Laudato Sí Action Platform goals challenge us to pursue eco-education, eco-spirituality, eco-economics and advocacy for earth, as well as a simple lifestyle that requires a conversion of heart.
We commit to this journey of living the “Laudato Sí Goals” along with other religious congregations and people of faith as we strive to be healers for our wounded world.