Newly Updated Values to Guide the Laudato Si’ Movement

We’re excited to share that Laudato Si’ Movement has refreshed its set of core values. In 2023, our board of directors recommended that our values be renewed to include more references to Laudato Si’ and to be more concise. A redrafting process that included feedback from members of the secretariat, Global Membership Council, and board has now concluded.

We’ve distilled the previous ten values down to five, making them clearer and more focused.  Some updates were also made to better reflect the heart of our mission and strengthen our shared understanding of each value. You can explore these updated values by clicking the link below.

Download a PDF of the updated values

We pray this new version might serve to deepen our ministry and integral approach to caring for our common home. Through the guidance of the Holy Spirit may they help us respond to the calling to be “together into universal communion.” (LS 76) 

Laudato Si’ Movement’s values

1. Grounded in Faith and Hope

Our Catholic faith impels us to act. Laudato Si’ inspires our mission. As followers of Jesus Christ, our attitudes and actions are guided by the Scriptures and Catholic Social Teaching. We serve the Church by lifting up the integrity of creation and recognizing the value of caring for God’s creation in our Christian lives.

We live in Gospel hope for “we know that things can change” (LS 13) and “injustice is not invincible” (LS 74). We rejoice in this ministry as an expression of God’s love in our life and for all creation. We entrust our efforts to the Holy Spirit and Mary Queen of Creation.

2. Committed to Ecological Conversion

We commit to “ecological conversion,” (LS 5, 217, 220) the ongoing transformation of our hearts toward greater love with our Creator and creation. We take time to listen to God’s message in creation “with awe and wonder” (LS 11) and compassionately respond to creation’s cry. We reflect on our words and actions, humbly acknowledge where we are falling short, and practice new ways of living simply and in solidarity with creation. 

We embrace contemplation and action: practicing a slow-paced “ecological spirituality” of reflection and prayer, while also urging ambitious action to match the scale of the ecological and climate crises.

3. Caring for one another

We are called to love one another as Christ has loved us (cf. John 13:34-35). Therefore, we cultivate a “culture of care” (LS 231) for one another, ourselves, and all living beings that share our common home, especially the “most vulnerable” (LS 48, 64), including future generations.  We honor each other’s gifts and limitations. We celebrate our relationships.

We tangibly show love for one another when we act in ways that promote the common good. As such, caring for each other embodies a synodal process whereby we journey together in communion with the universal Church, as people of God, on a journey of ecological conversion and care for our common home.

4. Embracing an Integral and Prophetic Approach

“Everything is connected” (LS 91). As we heed to “the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor” (LS 49), we embrace a worldview of “integral ecology” (LS 137-162), which understands ecological, cultural, social, political, and economic issues as intertwined.  We commit to the protection of all human life, from womb to tomb, and in solidarity with communities that carry an unjust burden of the ecological crisis. We also embrace all species as signs of God’s love and members of the flourishing family of creation.

We understand that ambitious action for ecological and climate justice is part of living out the “priestly, prophetical, and kingly functions of Christ” (Lumen Gentium 31), so as to continue Christ’s ministry in the world in which we see “God reflected in all that exists” (LS 87). Our prophetic action encourages us to challenge structures of sin and call for “radical change” (LS 171), while being open to dialogue. Our work is always nonviolent and nonpartisan.

5. Cultivating Unity in Diversity 

We are nourished by the rich diversity of creation and in the Church, striving for unity in caring for our common home while honoring the unique gifts each individual or organization brings. We live a “spirituality of global solidarity” (LS 240), which unites us for globally-coordinated action that is adapted to local contexts and expertise. We open space for collaboration between organizations and individuals across borders and regions. 

We are both in the Church and in the world. We serve alongside the whole Catholic family, while building bridges with other Christians, other faith communities, and social and environmental movements as a single human family, acknowledging that the love for creation “calls us together into universal communion” (LS 76).