Assisi (Italy). On 20 September 2025, during a Round Table held in Assisi on the occasion of the cultural event Cortile di Francesco, the “Call to responsibility for the ecological transition: From debates to dialogues, from saying to doing”, an appeal signed by 40 Catholic organizations, including some representatives of the Salesian Family, was launched: Sister Ruth Del Pilar Mora, General Councilor for the Missions of the Institute of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians; Italo Canaletti, World Councilor Association of Salesian Cooperators Italy Region – Middle East – Malta; Fr. Rafael Bejarano, General Councilor for Salesian Youth Ministry of Don Bosco.
The initiative, promoted by the Laudato Si’ Movement, together with the Sacred Convent of Saint Francis, the Franciscan families, and the Diocese of Assisi, the Bishop of Gubbio, the realities of the Italian Episcopal Conference, the Catholic world, takes place during the Season of Creation, within the 800th anniversary of the Canticle of the Creatures of Saint Francis of Assisi, the 10th anniversary of the Encyclical Laudato Si’ and in the year in which the Jubilee of Hope is celebrated.
“Today, more than ever, we are called to move from saying to doing, from debates to dialogues, from declarations to daily choices. Concrete gestures and living communities are needed to build a just future. There will only be a real transition with participation” is the appeal at the heart of the document.
“In the 800th anniversary of the Canticle of Creatures we are called to taste the beauty of nature and feel part of it”, affirmed Fra Marco Moroni, custodian of the Sacred Convent of Assisi, during his presentation. “The dialogue is born to explore creative and innovative solutions, making mild and courageous choices. In a world of conflict, being strong in kindness and capable of listening is a prophetic style that builds bridges and breaks down walls.”
The term “dialogue” was also underlined by Cecilia Dall’Oglio, Head of Italy and Global Movement Advisor of the Laudato Si Movement‘, who took up the words of Pope Leo XIV at his first Urbi et Orbi Blessing. “You help us also, then each other to build bridges, with dialogue, with encounter, uniting us all to be one people always at peace. Thanks to Pope Francis!”
The document calls for the ecological transition, “which is achieved with community processes, with the exercise of citizenship, walking together in dialogue and responsibility”, with the implementation of processes such as Renewable and Solidarity Energy Communities (RESRB), “not only as a technical project, but as communities in solidarity, capable of reducing dependence on fossil fuels and building stronger relationships, a new culture of integral care.”
Another fundamental aspect of the Call is the belief that, “The dimension from which it is possible to start to move the souls of every woman and man of good will is that of ecological spirituality, the heart of conversion.”
A spirituality that puts concretely and personally “in motion” to make its own contribution – personal and collective – starting from its own “courtyard”. “Today, starting from spirituality, we live the clear invitation to look deeply and say a convinced and concrete yes. A yes that begins up close, in my courtyard, in our community, in the places of daily life. It is there that a different energy is cultivated: renewable and democratic, made up of communities that share and help each other through mutual listening.”
It is a Call that challenges everyone. “In conclusion, in a time crossed by urgencies and hopes, ecological conversion reveals itself as an act of justice, a path of care, a spiritual challenge. It is a shared task, a responsibility that challenges women and men of good will.”
The document ends with these words, “We cultivate seeds of hope, in the certainty that every choice counts, that every gesture of care is a fragment of a new world that is born here and now. Change starts with us. And it doesn’t end with us. Change begins in my backyard.”
It is the conviction that also animates the Institute of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians which, with the resolution of General Chapter XXIV, has undertaken the commitment to implement a concrete and continuous path of conversion to integral ecology, taking on the seven objectives of Laudato si’ online, in the spirit of the preventive system.
Along these lines, the Institute has joined the Laudato Si’ Platform of Initiatives, launched by the Vatican on 25 May 2021, on which it has already published more than 40 Action Plans that have come from the FMA Communities and the Educating Communities.
Furthermore, in addition to the good ecological practices carried out with young people on a daily basis in the provincial realities, various FMA and other members of the Salesian Family, after having followed the formation program, have become Laudato Si’ Animators and are committed to animating the Laudato Si’ Clubs with various initiatives involving the Educating Communities.
The invitation of the signers is to read this new Call and share it, to make it known to their community, parish, association, to respond to it “with meekness and determination, creativity and perseverance, inspired by Saint Francis, patron Saint of Italy, and his Canticle of the Creatures”. (Complete Text)
