Audience hears "Moral voice" of Pope Francis in Laudato Si' film

L-R: former Irish President Mary Robinson, film director Nicolas Brown; Bianca Pitt from She Changes Climate, with Lorna Gold, Executive Director of the Laudato Si' Movement

On Monday evening The Laudato Si' Movement hosted a special screening in London of 'The Letter - A Message for Our Earth' at the Gate cinema in Notting Hill Gate, as part of London Climate Action Week. It was followed by a panel discussion including Mary Robinson, former Irish President, former UN envoy and member of The Elders; film director Nicolas Brown; and Lorna Gold, Executive Director of the Laudato Si' Movement.

The film title refers to the landmark 2015 encyclical letter 'Laudato Si'. The content documents the journey to Rome of a small group from Senegal, the Amazon, India, and Hawaii, to discuss with Pope Francis solutions to environmental crises from perspectives of the poor, indigenous, youth, and wildlife. Accompanied by Lorna Gold, they heard Pope Francis identify the problem of, "the arrogance of the power of a few people," and call for communities to work together to build sustainability and tackle the actions of those who fail to value the natural world.

The screening was warmly cheered and several in the audience expressed being moved by the personal stories, alongside the latest information about the planetary climate and biodiversity emergencies and the toll on nature and on people. Pope Francis was described as a "moral voice for the world."

Mary Robinson said: "I feel very encouraged by that film". She said, "politicians are not taking on the big polluters," and "we need to shake up the system before COP30 in Brazil." She agreed with Pope Francis that, "there's a lot we can do when we come together." She called for the connection of movements and praised the leadership given by Pope Francis. A former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, she reminded that Article 29 of the UN's Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that, "everyone has duties to the community."

Lorna Gold highlighted the growth of the Laudato Si' Movement over the past decade, with 70 chapters and 40,000 trained Laudato Si' animators internationally. Referring back to the film, she said, "we took away from our meeting with Pope Francis the need to work together," adding that, "I have already met Pope Leo, who has signalled his support."

Nicholas Brown hoped viewers would find the film positive and a call to action. "It is important to encourage young people not to lose hope," he said. And the film might do more than that. Towards the end of the film, when the group visit Assisi and reflected on their experience, Cacique Dadá, an indigenous leader in a part of the Brazilian Amazon that is under threat from logging, said that now, "to kill me they will have to think twice!"

LINKS

Laudato Si' Movement: https://laudatosimovement.org/

See the official trailer here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3EBHebH17Y

Watch The Letter online here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rps9bs85BII