ACCPU Commits to Journey with Entire Church to Attain Ecological Conversion

 by Valerian Kkonde

ACCPU

 

Responding to the Cry of the Earth is a call to protect our common home for the well-being of all living creatures as we equitably address the climate crisis, biodiversity loss, and ecological sustainability. Photo by Valerian Kkonde/ ACCPU

 

As Pope Francis’ landmark Encyclical - Laudato Si’- continues to inspire the world to take concrete actions to care for our common home, the Association of Catholic Communication Practitioners in Uganda (ACCPU) has decided to journey with the entire Catholic Church to devise means of attaining ecological conversion.

 

ACCPU made this commitment by enrolling with Laudato Si’ Action Platform on December 20, 2025. The Laudato Si’ Action Platform is the fruit of a unique collaboration between the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, nearly 200 Catholic organizations, and individuals from around the world.

 

This collaboration aims at accomplishing the mission of implementing Catholic teaching about caring for the environment. Laudato Si’ Action Platform prompts us to ponder essential questions like: How do we navigate conversations on environmental stewardship with those who view the world differently? How can I incorporate prayer into my sustainability practice? Where do I begin if I want to make a change?

 

In the Laudato Si’ Action Platform Annual Report 2025, H.E. Cardinal Michael Czerny, S.J. the Prefect, Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development called upon the faithful to remain focused on the journey to care for our common home.

 

“Let us continue walking together in faith. The Platform’s quiet strength lies in its resilience and adaptability to work in loving partnership to promote ecological conversion through attentive listening, sharing, and determined action, despite many global and local crises and challenges. These commitments go far beyond mere symbolic gestures—they are signs of a Church alive, credible, and courageous.”

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“I would like to invite everyone to tackle this journey together…Only in this way we will be able to create the future we want: a more inclusive, fraternal, peaceful, and sustainable world.” -Pope Francis in Laudato Si’

 

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On her part, Sr. Alessandro Smerilli F.M.A. urged the people to “continue this pilgrimage, listening to the cry of the Earth and the cry of the poor, as we put the Gospel into action with courage and grace in every corner of the world.”

 

Sr. Alessandra Smerilli, is Secretary, Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development.

 

ACCPU brings together individuals and groups of Catholic communicators in Uganda with a Vision of a united fraternity of Catholic communicators living and promoting Catholic values. Our Mission is to unite Catholic communication practitioners in Uganda for the promotion of evangelisation and integral human development.

 

ACCPU’s active members write, produce, manage and distribute media content in all forms. Members include both those working with the Catholic Church -founded media institutions and those working in the secular media. As Catholic communicators, the media of social communication, in all its expressions, is used for the glory of God and peace to all humanity.

 

 

Improving guardianship of natural areas is crucial to safeguarding Earth's ecosystems. Climate change is an increasingly serious driver of biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation.  Photo by Valerian Kkonde/ ACCPU

 

In this Encyclical, Pope Francis warns against the exploitation and destruction of the environment and invites every citizen of the world to view the environment as "a collective good, the heritage of all humanity, and the responsibility of all." Touched by this invitation, ACCPU took a decision to use the means of social communication, at our disposal, to respond to the ecological crisis.

 

The Laudato Si’ Action Platform has seven Goals which guide the actions of members. These include: response to the cry of the earth, response to the cry of the poor, ecological economics and adoption of sustainable lifestyles. Others are ecological education, ecological spirituality and community resilience and empowerment. These Goals call for a spiritual and cultural revolution to realize integral ecology.

 

A new Certificate of Commitment has been introduced to honour those institutions —parishes, schools, dioceses, and religious communities—“that persevere, in love and action, as living witnesses of care for our common home.”

 

The Association of Catholic Communication Practitioners in Uganda has decided to embark on fundraising for funds to be able to implement its plan. ACCPU plans to hold trainings for Catholic communicators on reporting about climate change so that they are equipped with knowledge and skills to open discussions with their audiences on this critical global challenge.

 

The trainings will be held on the Ecclesiastical Province level and twenty five communicators will be trained in every Province. We have four Ecclesiastical Provinces in Uganda. This will lead to a network of one hundred communicators equipped to address the ecological crisis in light of Laudato Si’ and the teaching of the Church. Equipped to combat climate change across the country, they will acquire a deeply felt duty to inform their audiences about a shift that is already overturning their lives.

 

 The communicators will also be able to hold government and other powerful actors to account. They will as well enable Christian communities know that we have a responsibility toward creation, and must assert this responsibility in the public sphere as well as in our daily lifestyle.

Given the prevailing circumstances, with many climate deniers and misuse of the media, it is crucial to provide correct information about Climate Change so as to counter mis/disinformation and indifference.

 

Most importantly, Catholic communicators will be guided on the Encyclical Laudato Si’ so that they can understand, appreciate its spirit and live it.

 

ACCPU will as well put in place an online magazine or platform. This will not only be a platform for our stories on climate change but will enable ACCPU to put to the fore front the Catholic Church’s teachings and social doctrine on the matters of environmental justice and the common good.

 

We further intend to bring on board radio programs depending on the availability of funds. Radio was the first social network.  Now, we plan to use social media to deepen audience relationships. We plan to increase engagement on-air and online, building loyalty and getting more people to listen for longer. Social media converts followers into listeners.

 

Social media plays a vital role in transforming people’s life styles. It has many positive implications, including promoting awareness of specific causes, advertising businesses and helping foster friendships between individuals who may have never met without social networking.

 

Laudato Si’ Action Platform Goals that speak to us most include: response to the cry of the earth, response to the cry of the poor, adoption of sustainable lifestyles, ecological education and community resilience and empowerment.

 

 

 

Witness to Martyrdom. It was under this tree in Munyonyo, in 1886, that the decision to sentence the future Uganda Martyrs to death was made. Photo by Valerian Kkonde/ ACCPU

The state of the environment in Uganda meets the urgent call for action made by Pope Francis. It requires a concerted effort to implement the desired action for change. It is with this in mind that the Association of Catholic Communication Practitioners in Uganda has decided to organize trainings for Catholic communicators to ensure that they appropriately respond the environmental crisis.

 

Uganda has mostly a tropical climate characterised by stable rainfall patterns. However, the effects of climate change have turned the seasons around with the country experiencing shorter or longer rains and harsher droughts- especially in the Eastern and North-Eastern Uganda.

 

According to the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), Uganda has experienced a significant decline in forest cover, with encroachment for agriculture, wood fuel, production, and other development pressures contributing to this loss.  The country is experiencing the effects of climate change, including changing rainfall patterns, increased droughts, and extreme weather events, impacting livelihoods and ecosystems.

 

The unsustainable exploitation of natural resources, including land and water, is leading to degradation and reduced ecosystem services. Environmental degradation is impacting the ability of ecosystems to provide essential services, contributing to poverty and hindering sustainable development.

 

NEMA also affirms that the state of our environment will determine the level of our prosperity now and for future generations. Over-exploitation of our natural resources is increasingly leading to environmental degradation and contributing to reduced ecosystem services and disasters. Reduced ecosystem services in turn contribute to poverty.

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“As stewards of God’s creation, we are called to act swiftly, with faith and prophecy, to protect the gift He entrusted to us”. Pope Leo XIV

 

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NEMA is the principal agency responsible for environmental management, coordinating, monitoring, and supervising all activities related to the environment. They also play a key role in developing environmental policies, laws, regulations, and standards, guiding the government on sound environmental practices. 

 

Raising public awareness about environmental issues and promoting responsible environmental practices is crucial for achieving sustainable development. This is what ACCPU intends to do through this project to ensure that its members commit to act and to take personal and collective care.

 

Teaching on creation, ecology, and the poor are grounded in the Church’s deep history. In recent years St. John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI and especially Pope Francis, have added a sense of urgency to their call for Catholics to act on climate change. This is how we have planned our response to the call to care for creation and care for the poor.