The World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation marks the official opening of the ecumenical Season of Creation. Running from September 1 to October 4, the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, patron saint of ecology, this year’s theme for the Season of Creation is, “They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.”
Pope Leo XIV issued a specific Papal Message for the Day emphasizing that the wounds of war extend far beyond the battlefield to deeply harm nature and vulnerable communities.
In the September 1 statement, Fr. Konteh linked care for creation to peace, drawing on the teaching of Pope Leo XIV that peace among people and peace with creation are inseparable.
The President of the Regional Union of Priests of West Africa (URPAO/RUPWA) noted that war, violence, greed and the irresponsible exploitation of natural resources harm both human life and the environment on which communities depend.
The Caritas Freetown Executive Director also recalled the legacy of Pope Francis, whose Encyclical Letter on care for our common home, Laudato Si, emphasized that the earth is “our common home” and that creation is interconnected.
“Environmental destruction is not only a scientific or political issue; it is also a moral and spiritual crisis,” Fr. Konteh said, underscoring the need for what he described as an ecological conversion in how people relate to creation.
He said observed that Sierra Leone’s ecological crisis is becoming increasingly visible through flooding, deforestation, coastal erosion, improper waste disposal, polluted waterways, destructive mining practices and the loss of natural habitats.
Fr. Konteh expressed concern that the poorest and most vulnerable communities often bear the greatest consequences of environmental degradation despite contributing the least to the crisis.
He called on the public to dispose of waste responsibly, reduce the use of single-use plastics, protect waterways, drainage systems, forests and coastal areas, and plant and nurture trees.
Fr. Konteh also encouraged environmentally responsible agricultural and mining practices, conservation of water and energy, stronger disaster preparedness and community resilience, as well as education of children and young people on their responsibility to care for what the statement described as “our common home.”