Asian Laudato Si’ Groups Unveil Strategic Roadmap in Phils
Seventeen delegates from Myanmar, South Korea, East Timor, Indonesia, and the Philippines gathered in Tagaytay City for a four-day retreat from Oct. 24–27, 2026. The meeting, hosted at the CBCP-Caritas Philippines Development Center south of Manila, brought together regional representatives of the Laudato Si’ Movement to compare grassroots strategies against interlocking ecological and political crises.
Isaura Barros, a 24-year-old executive board member of the movement in Timor-Leste, emphasized the urgency of the gathering. Smoke haze blown across maritime borders from Indonesian wildfires forced the Timor-Leste government to suspend all schools nationwide from Oct. 15–17 due to hazardous air quality.
Regional Bishops and Directors Chart a Course to 2030
Ecclesiastical leaders and movement directors framed the retreat around institutional collaboration and community resilience. Bishop Allwyn D’Silva, auxiliary bishop emeritus of Bombay and head of the Office of Human Development for the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences, addressed the delegates via video link. He pointed to escalating regional heat waves, flash floods, and unpredictable cold waves, thanking grassroots workers for raising ecological awareness.
During the sessions, Cheryl Dugan, the movement’s Asia-Pacific director, and Christina Leaño, associate director, unveiled a global strategic road map for 2027–2030. Built upon an 18-month listening process with grassroots communities, the plan uses the early Christian fish sign, the ichthys, to center ecological conversion. The framework intersects three core pillars: eco-spirituality rooted in catechesis, liturgy, and faith formation; sustainable and resilient communities; and prophetic advocacy pressing for fair public policies and an end to investment in fossil fuels. A fourth pillar focused on organizational strengthening supports the other three.
Yeb Saño, chair of the movement’s board, urged delegates to embrace decentralization. Saño, who led Greenpeace Southeast Asia from 2016 to 2025 and was once the Philippines’ chief climate negotiator at the United Nations, argued that structural flattening better serves the synodal spirit of a Church walking together.
Five Nations Encounter Distinct Grassroots Realities
The chapters confronting the regional secretariat operate under drastically divergent national conditions. In Myanmar, the movement functions within an active humanitarian conflict. Based primarily near Yangon, the local chapter successfully integrated care for creation into the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Myanmar’s socio-pastoral framework for 2026–2030. It also operates the BEES Network, providing interfaith ecological education alongside aid for displaced civilians.
South Korean members tackle urban and industrial emissions. Since 2020, the Seoul chapter has maintained a Friday climate action protest in Gwanghwamun Square, organized ecological Stations of the Cross, and challenged the operation of the Samcheok coal-fired power plant. Ahead of the 2027 World Youth Day in Seoul, the chapter is lobbying the country’s bishops and dioceses to transition local parishes to net-zero carbon emissions.
In Timor-Leste, a network born from a youth group started by Dircia Sarmento has achieved formal legal status.
Next Steps at the SVD Laudato Si’ Farm
Delegates concluded the retreat by visiting the SVD Laudato Si’ Farm in Tagaytay. The 5.8-hectare property, founded in 2020 by Father Samuel “Sam” Naceno-Agcaracar, SVD, functions as an active ecological education center, pilgrimage site, and ecotourism hub.
The network enters the upcoming funding and planning cycle with dual mandates: expanding youth leadership roles ahead of international gatherings and reinforcing the administrative capacity of national chapters across the Asia-Pacific secretariat.