Neste contexto, o Pe. José Manuel Pereira de Almeida, Vice-Reitor da UCP, insta a ouvir as palavras do Santo Padre e incentiva à ação: “O Papa Francisco afirma que «é muito nobre assumir o dever de cuidar da criação com pequenas ações diárias» (Laudato si’, 211) e dá vários exemplos de coisas muito simples que podemos assumir. A sugestão que fazemos para este Tempo da Criação é a de vermos quais são e acrescentemos mais duas ou três que estejam à nossa mão: não nos esqueçamos de as levar à prática!”

“Espera e age com a Criação” é a lição deste vídeo-mensagem, em sintonia com a mensagem do Papa para o Dia Mundial de Oração pelo Cuidado da Criação 2024. A vídeo-mensagem foi produzida pelo Dicastério para o Serviço do Desenvolvimento Humano Integral, responsável também pela iniciativa do O Tempo da Criação.

From September 1 to October 4, as part of the Time of Creation, Pope Francis calls for prayer for the cry of the Earth. He warns that the earth “has a fever and is sick, like any sick person”, and points out that “the poor suffer the most” from the consequences of environmental crises, urging us to listen to the pain of the victims and take action.

Caring for the planet is the September prayer topic on the Pope's Worldwide Prayer Network. The urgency of “confronting man-made environmental crises” requires responses that are not only ecological, but also social, economic and political. Inextricably linked, “the fight against poverty” and “the protection of nature” require a change in the habits of man, the architect of change.

An example of this are some of the actions that the Universidade Católica is carrying out this month, as part of its welcome to new students: from the creation of the Laudato Si' Garden and the improvement of living conditions in the Zambujal neighborhood and at Casa São Francisco de Assis, to the volunteer work of the new students at the Faculty of Human Sciences at Cais Lisboa Centre, to the now traditional “Restolho”, the picking of potatoes by CATÓLICA-LISBON freshmen.

Other initiatives, such as the Pact for Water Management, the O Futuro project, with the aim of creating and maintaining native urban forests, as well as the RADIANT project, which aims to strengthen dialogue between producers, consumers and researchers on the cultivation and consumption of underutilized crops in Europe, are equally important, reflecting social responsibility as one of the pillars of Universidade Católica Portuguesa.

In this context, Fr. José Manuel Pereira de Almeida, Vice-Rector of UCP, urges us to listen to the Holy Father's words and encourages us to take action: “Pope Francis says that ‘it is very noble to take on the duty of caring for creation with small daily actions’ (Laudato si', 211) and gives several examples of very simple things we can do. Our suggestion for this Time of Creation is to see what they are and add two or three more that are at hand: let's not forget to put them into practice!”

“Wait and act with Creation” is the lesson of this video message, in line with the Pope's message for the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation 2024. The video-message was produced by the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, which is also responsible for the Time of Creation initiative.

Watch the Video Message and Act with the Creation: