Cosmology & Eco Justice

Kathleen Glennon and I [Carmel Bracken] are currently creating a set of rituals around sustainability. Central to the rituals is a definition of sustainability by John Ehrenfeld who sees sustainability as “the possibility that humans and other life will flourish on the Earth forever.” This echoes the work of Thomas Berry around the full flourishing of all of life.

We plan to create between 6 and 8 rituals (maybe more) around different themes. Some of the ones currently being worked on are:
1. Flourishing.
2. Everything we do makes a difference.
3. Enough is a feast
4. Mindful consuming.
5. Reconnecting to home –There is no away.
6. I come from a fireball- I am enough.

I [Margaret Twomey] have continued with emailing the provinces disseminating information and encouraging the signing of petitions.

A petition asking people to express their concern to the government at the granting of a licence to BioAtlantis Ltd. for the mechanical harvesting of kelp in Bantry Bay off the south-west coast of Ireland. This would be the biggest operation of its kind in the British Isles. The licence has been granted without any proper assessment of its impact and without proper consultation with the local community.
•A petition to pressure the EU to come up with appropriate guidelines governing endrocrine disruptors which are hormone-disrupting chemicals that can cause cancerous tumors, birth defects and other serious development disorders, as well as adversely affecting the environment. The EU is tending to bow to pressure from the chemical industry which has been leaning heavily on it for years.
Also a request to add names to an Official EU Citizens' Initiative against the renewing of the licence to Monsanto’s continued use of the chemical glyphosate.
Continuing the pressure to pass a ban on EU wide bee-killing pesticides.
One of the key requests was to ask people to make submissions to the Citizens Assembly upcoming meeting where climate change and how Ireland can make an impact and live up to its commitments post-Paris will be discussed. How the State can make Ireland a Leader in tackling climate change is the fifth of five topics the Assembly has been tasked with exploring and making recommendations on, to the Houses of Parliament.
•Disseminating information from the Global Catholic Climate Movement particularly regarding Laudato Si'

Reminders/updates have been issued on the Season of Creation and on the most recent work on the SDGs.

Locally and personally I am linking up with the Methodist community in my area and giving a talk for the season of creation tying in the work of the Church organisation eco-Congregation Ireland. The Methodist community in Clonakilty was the first parish it the country to receive the award of being an eco-congregation from the organisation.

Collated report from the Congregation.

Messages to: Carmel Bracken rsm & Margaret Twomey rsm