Plastic pollution (Credit: Pexels)
This week we join in special prayer for the health of Pope Francis, who underwent colon surgery last Sunday. His recovery is proceeding normally, as reported by the Holy See Press Office, “after breakfast, he read the newspapers and walked a little,” on the morning of Tuesday, July 6.
The Jesuit community mourned the death of Father Stan Swamy, an 84-year-old priest who had been imprisoned for nine months on terrorism charges for his commitment to tribal peoples.
Father Swamy, from Mumbai, India, was committed to indigenous rights in the state of Jharkhand and was arrested on October 8, 2020, by the Indian Anti-Terrorism Agency (NIA). Today he is a new eco martyr who will guide our mission from heaven. In prayer for his eternal rest.
An illustration of the climate emergency and the urgent need to end fossil fuel extraction manifested itself in the Gulf of Mexico last Friday. A fire was sparked by an underwater gas pipeline that exploded, sending flames to the surface of the water “resembling molten lava”.
This July 7 marks International Soil Conservation Day, a date that originated in 1963 when U.S. scientist Hugh Hammond Bennett, director of the Soil Conservation Service, passed away.
He succeeded in changing the mentality of farmers, encouraging soil conservation through the use of new techniques and forms of cultivation, which protected soils and preserved their fertility. What will you do to conserve and care for the soil this week?
How to take action for the planet in July
As the month begins, the #PlasticFreeJuly campaign began on social networks. What is it about? It’s about trying to live, for a month, with as little plastic as possible, especially by eliminating single-use plastics.
Are you up for it? It is a challenge that seems difficult, but we assure you that you can live peacefully avoiding plastics. The solution is to look for sustainable alternatives to eliminate it more and more from our lives. Campaign in your social networks as well! Check out more information at plasticfreejuly.org.
Read more about these issues:
- El Celam expresa al Papa Francisco su “oración y cercanía” tras la operación de colón
- Francisco continúa su recuperación tras la operación
- Jailed Indian Jesuit Stan Swamy dies, awaiting bail
- Fallece el padre Swamy, el jesuita indio “mártir de la justicia”
- Fury in India over death of 84-year-old political prisoner Stan Swamy
- ‘This Is Our Future’ Without Climate Action, Advocates Warn After Pipeline Causes Fire in Gulf of Mexico
- Día Internacional de la Conservación del Suelo 2021
- Julio sin plástico: ¿de qué se trata esta iniciativa que toma fuerza?
- Julio sin plástico 2021