Submitted by Sr Susan fcJ
A wonderful screening of The Letter – the Laudato Sì film, took place on 15 February in Kimmage Parish Hall. The inputs from Eric Conroy, George Lee and Jane Mellett CiM (photo, right to left) were varied and came from their own lived experiences in working for our environment.
Eric Conroy spoke of his involvement with An Taisce and how this organisation influences children’s study of ecology through their educational programmes. Eric liked the way this film was introduced and didn’t ‘use a sledgehammer’ to get its message across such as the migrant issue and the harm to the coral reefs. He congratulated Pope Francis on his use of symbols and his explanation of how the encyclical originated.
George Lee spoke similarly of the general tone of the film that it ‘did not shove the message down our throats’. George, who works as a journalist for RTE, has attended many of the COP meetings and mentioned that he did not like many of the things about them but that he has seen” the breadth of humanity” at them. At the same time, he has noticed a change of attitude. There are no longer the ‘climate deniers’ and even the Arabs are accepting that climate change is happening! One of the agreements that has come from the last COP was the setting up of the Loss and Damage Fund.
Jane Mellett who works for Trócaire and is a member of the FCJ Companions in Mission group in Dublin, has seen this film several times but still finds something new that she hadn’t found before. While walking from Italy to Poland for the COP 24, through some of the coal-mining villages, she realised that the real destination would be moving ‘the minds and hearts of people’. This film is a support for people working at the grassroots level for the Laudato Si’ Movement. She has been involved with the ‘Fridays for Future’ organisation which is now in its fourth year.
Some Quotes from this meeting:
- Changing the system is difficult, Each one needs to ‘work our socks off ‘to make changes.
- Now we know, we do have a responsibility.
- We can’t turn away.
- A powerful movie, We will be poorer if we don’t make changes.
- EU is leading as it hopes to reduce Carbon Emissions by 25% in 2030.
- “The Lord has done great things for me, Holy is God’s name.” Lk. 1:49
Best Wishes to all who are screening this film in other parts of the world!
Find out more about The Letter at the film website theletterfilm.org or watch the film on YouTube Originals, or even host a screening in your local area!
