The Laudato Si’ encyclical written by Pope Francis is touching many hearts worldwide. This is also the case in Honduras, where the Laudato Si’ Movement chapter has had a strong turnout and has been very active since its founding in 2021.
In a new episode of Guardians of the Earth, we spoke with Linethe Santos, Animator of Animadores, who, from Tegucigalpa, told us how in this country many people changed their lifestyle thanks to Laudato Si’.
Linethe, who grew up in a quiet village in the Honduran countryside, began by telling her life story and the way she felt an affinity to care for and protect the environment from an early age. At the age of 18 she entered university to study environmental engineering and her bond with creation intensified even more. “I’ve always had this very close relationship with the protection of my common home,” she recounts.
The arrival of Laudato Si’ Movement in her life also encouraged her because there she was able to connect with another essential part of her life: her faith. “There I met many people with my same interests, of all ages and different realities, but in the end we are united by the love of what Jesus commands of us: to love each other and to care for and protect all that surrounds us, his work and creation,” she says.
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The chapter is currently carrying out multiple activities such as reforestations, cleanups, training and partnerships with multiple civil society organizations, in addition to having a strong activity in social networks to disseminate information and call for action. Linethe mentions the importance of “organizations knowing that the Catholic Church is involved in environmental issues.”
She also said that they carried out an environmental education course in conjunction with another organization: “You have to know with a scientific basis, because God in his infinite perfection has left us everything in writing,” she said.
The population that makes up the chapter is very diverse: young people, adults, families, people close to the Church and others who are not so close, but “each animator brings identity to the movement and in sharing there is a living grace to benefit from.”
Linethe invites people to discover their own ecological conversion, which “has its own rhythm.” From the chapter, members are to “accompany each one’s journey of inner conversion.” In turn, she tells other members: “Don’t give up! Sometimes it is very tiring, we feel that we are not moving forward but we have a protective Father, and his Love helps us to continue with hope.”
To learn more about the chapter, follow them on their social media:@laudatosihonduras.