For Caritas India, Laudato si’ provides the country with an opportunity for growth and development
New Delhi (AsiaNews) – Fr Frederick D'Souza, executive director of Caritas India, spoke to AsiaNews about Pope Francis’ Laudato si’ encyclical two months after its publication.
"Although India's economy has doubled since 2008, the growing disparity between rich and poor is appalling. In fact, India is still home to a third of the world’s poor,” he said. In view of this, “The encyclical addresses this concern very well, and we believe it can be a tool to solve at least half of the problems with which we live."
“The encyclical is a very pragmatic document,” the priest noted. It “lists many fundamental questions about justice for the poor and the environment. The fact that it was written by the pope gives an advantage over many other research presented in the past by scientists and academics.
“Our hope is that the suggestions presented in Laudato si’ can find room in people’s hearts, thanks to the personal influence that Francis has on them, regardless of faith."
For Caritas India, the encyclical "is also an opportunity to encourage people to take action and support our cause. They can support us in many ways: young people can become volunteers, Church leaders can give moral support, governments can favour and boost cooperation in nation building, and the media can tell our stories.”
The Catholic charity has focused on two main areas: development and disaster management. “Many of the issues and suggestions made by Pope Francis (like his call for integral ecology, a covenant between humanity and environment, justice) are already part of Caritas India’s mission,” Fr D’Souza noted. “For this reason, the document is an opportunity to show people that our work is consistent and in peace with nature, and that in the long run it pays more than other systems."
One important example is the work done with farmers, who have one of the highest suicide rates in the country. “Presently, our Natural Resource Management team is involved with more than 43,000 small farmers across India with zero suicide rate,” he explained.
The team that deals with health has also had great success: cancer in Kerala, HIV/AIDS in Gujarat, malaria control in the northeast of India and now in Odisha, and a training course for health workers in Bihar.
In addition to its successful activities, Caritas India is planning new things to meet the challenges mentioned by Pope Francis.
"With the help of volunteers, we are organising various events to circulate the encyclical as much as possible,” Fr D’Souza said. Similarly, “We are also discussing the possibility of preparing a couple of TV shows. Meanwhile, our programme team is planning to measure the work done by Caritas India in the last ten years.”
Last but not least, the charity wants to "promote a campaign for reforestation by planting a million trees across India. Every million trees can potentially cut carbon emission by 6.2 million kilograms.”
At the same time, "we are planning to create a team of volunteers to promote solar energy, hoping to attract funding from private companies and the government."
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