Catholic youth, creation care team leader, talk Covenant on TV

Several young adult and creation care leaders in Boston recently had the opportunity to sit down with the hosts of the Catholic TV show This is the Day, highlighting their experiences as Catholic environmentalists. 

EJ Acworth is a junior at St. John’s Prep, and Emily Mbi Ojong is a junior at Fontbonne Academy. The two told Bishop Robert P. Reed and Jay Fadden some of the concerns that they have as young Catholic environmentalists. 

“I'm very passionate about climate change,” Mbi Ojong explained. “... And most who are affected by these natural disasters are the poor and the vulnerable who do not have the resources to address these disasters. And as a Catholic, I believe that we have to care for those who cannot care for themselves. So, I believe that through environmental justice, I can hopefully help those who need the help the most.”

Acworth explained that he became more concerned about climate change — ultimately joining youth and young adult efforts at the Covenant — when he noticed environmental changes in the world around him that weren’t for the better. 

“What inspired me was I spend a lot of time in the Adirondacks of New York State,” Acworth said. “It's a beautiful place. But if you take a drive around, you can see the effects of acid rain there, which is caused by air pollution … And so that's probably my earliest memory of something that made me want to get involved.”

Mbi Ojong said that the key to solving climate change might be in the work of youth and young adults. 

“We are going to be the next generation and these issues are not going to get any better unless we do something now,” Mbi Ojong explained. “So I feel like as the generation of today, we need to do something to prevent future generations from facing the consequences of the carbon emissions that are happening right now.”

For Acworth, climate change isn’t a political issue — it impacts everyone. 

“...It affects all of us, everyone on God's planet, and therefore, we're all responsible for it,” Acworth said.

Another Covenant-associated local leader, Fran Ludwig, co-chair of the Boston Catholic Climate Movement, joined This is the Day host Victoria Sechrist to talk about the importance of creation care teams and how they work. 

“We have been working with many parishes in the archdiocese especially, and trying to help them put together what we call creation care teams,” Ludwig told Sechrist. “People who are really concerned, who try to raise the issue within their parish, within their liturgies, within their holy hospitality, looking at trying to reduce waste. Just being mindful of the way we live, basically. How does the material that you use, anything that you buy at the grocery store, where does it come from? Who made it? What's it made out of? And then what are you going to do with it after you're finished using it?”

Ludwig told Sechrist that creation care teams are a combination of something “that is a little bit new, but a little bit old” in the Catholic Church. 

“When you think of St. Francis of Assisi, he was the ultimate environmentalist,” Ludwig said. 

Ludwig touched on the topic of clothes and fashion, and the impact the fashion industry has on the environment. 

“Try to think about all the ways in which we impact the environment and the ways in which we impact people around the world,” Ludwig said. “All you have to do is look at the tags in your clothes. Where do they come from? From all over the world. And who made them? And what were their working conditions? … we're just trying to encourage people to be more mindful and to think about the impact on other people, even if you can't see those other people. I mean, that's very Catholic, isn't it?”