CADIS visiting Padua for the screening of 'The Letter'

On Sunday 5 November, CADIS International took part in the screening of the film ‘The Letter: a message for the Earth’, organised by the Federazione Mornese Padova APS, Salesian FMA alumni and the Parish of San Camillo de Lellis in Padua.

This is the fourth stage of CADIS‘ journey through the film inspired by Pope Francis’ Encyclical ‘Laudato Si’", a letter to every person on earth, an invitation to act now to preserve our common home, increasingly threatened by climate change. After Rome, Bangkok and Messina, CADIS brought its testimony to Padua.

Once again, the testimony of the four voices of the earth provoked reflection and emotion among the more than 50 people present at the screening at the Don Bosco Cinema in Padua. And so the cries of young people, indigenous peoples, the poor and nature were united in one heartfelt appeal: climate change affects everyone, in every part of the world, and we can no longer ignore it.
 

After the screening Fr. Aris Miranda, MI, Executive Director of CADIS International, animated the reflection from personal and work experiences with CADIS, recounting how climate change really does affect entire communities around the world. It is often thought that extreme weather phenomena, as well as disasters at the hands of man, only affect the poorest people, on the margins, with the least means. The reality is that the global events of recent times, from COVID-19 to wars to environmental disasters, do not look at the GDP of the population or specific places on the globe, but affect everywhere.

The difference lies in the ability to prevent natural and other disasters, or to respond with the necessary means to re-establish the pre-disaster situation. And it is precisely this vision that CADIS has been pursuing for almost ten years: the fullness of life in an eCon-resilient community.

Many participants shared their feelings about the film ‘The Letter’, and the overall perception was that we need to become more aware of what each of us can really do to reverse climate change.

‘We need to take more and more ownership of climate change, especially to give a voice to those who are unheard. It is not simply demonstrating, taking to the streets, but becoming aware of what is happening.’ So says one of the first speakers in the hall.

A lady attempts a provocation to the audience present: ‘I was impressed by the film, but now it is up to the young people. A film like this should be shown in schools. Young people must become aware. It is very important to help those in need, but we have to change perspective, it is not enough to repair but to act deeper.’

There was then a reflection with a note on the globality of the phenomena: ‘We are really called upon to change our mentality. Looking at the floods of these days and of the past months in Italy, we have witnessed a great rush of solidarity on the part of the population, which literally got its hands dirty to help. When it happens in faraway places, we immediately think that those populations do not have the means or the capacity to overcome the crisis and we try to participate in this way, but empathy alone is not enough.’ The reflection continues with a criticism of typical Western thinking: ‘If they do not have the means, it is not simply “their fault”. We should first of all review our culture, economy and means, and make the necessary changes, because today there is a lot of sensitivity in rebuilding in an intelligent way. And we in our older age can also contribute by making different judgments, and these days we have proof of that.’

A young voice rises, taken up: ‘I agree with taking the film to schools, but at the same time it is not only the responsibility of young people; it is everyone's responsibility because not all young people have the power to make decisions and, often, they do not have the space to act. Furthermore, we know that young people are not the majority of the world's population. I think it is important to come together in dialogue and joint action.’

Someone, at this point, feels compelled to confront the public with their responsibility: ‘Young people suffer from this situation, they are not indifferent. We have left this heavy legacy to them. We have to act alongside them, not just urge them to change.’

P. Aris Miranda then concluded: ‘We must feel the guilt. We must act for ecological conversion. I am convinced that this is the way forward today. We all want our houses in order. And so our common house must also be in order. As early as Genesis, the Lord put everything in order: the sun and the earth, the water and the forests and so on. To put our common house in order, we have to start from our everyday life, and we can do this through small daily gestures. We have to start with our hearts and our decisions. It is everyone's fight and we must take this battle to defend the earth to heart. If not for us, then for future generations.’