Fr. Prosper Atukwatse, C.S.C welcomed guests at the Laudato Si Green Festival hosted by his school emphasizing that the late Pope Francis, in his encyclical Laudato Si’, emphasized the urgent need for humanity to care for our common home highlighting three important areas.

First Awareness

First is awareness. All of us must recognize that caring for our common home is our shared responsibility. At Holy Cross Lake View, we have conducted radio programes and organized a Green March from Holy Cross Parish to raise awareness about environmental protection. We have only one home, and therefore each of us has a responsibility to protect it.

Second is Recycling

Second is recycling. We must make better use of materials that can be recycled, particularly plastics, rather than allowing them to pollute our environment.

Third planting and protecting trees

Third is planting and protecting trees. Trees are essential to the health of our environment, and we must actively contribute to restoring and protecting our forests.

Pope Francis

Pope Francis also reminded us of the serious consequences of harming nature. When human beings wrong one another, forgiveness is possible. When we sin against God, we can seek and receive forgiveness. But when we damage the environment, nature does not simply forgive us. The effects of environmental destruction, whether in Uganda or elsewhere in the world, are already visible. The consequences of pollution, deforestation and climate change remind us that nature has its limits.

That is why we are gathered here today: to remind one another that caring for our common home is a shared responsibility.

At Holy Cross Lake View, we are also championing green energy. This year, we began using cleaner energy sources for cooking, including gas, because we want to reduce the cutting of trees for firewood. We are also promoting alternative technologies such as energy-saving stoves, solar energy and other clean-energy solutions. We appreciate the Government of the Republic of Uganda for making these alternatives increasingly accessible.

As the world and our environment cry out for our attention, their cry must become our cry. We must all take responsibility for protecting our common home.

On behalf of the students, staff, administration, parents and Board of Governors, I warmly welcome you and thank you for honoring us with your presence today. In a special way, we thank our Chief Guest, Honorable Justin Kasule Lumumba, for accepting our invitation and joining us on this important occasion. Let us give him a warm round of applause. We also sincerely appreciate all our partners who have supported us in making this Green Festival possible. Your commitment to environmental stewardship is greatly valued. We thank our Provincial, who also serves as Chairperson of the Board of Directors, for honoring our invitation and serving as the main celebrant of the Green Mass. Let us appreciate him with a round of applause.We also thank the Holy Cross Anchors Choir for the beautiful voices and music that enriched our Mass. Let us give them a well-deserved round of applause.

Laudato Youth Initiative

Finally, we recognize the Laudato Youth Initiative for mentoring and nurturing our Laudato Si Club at Holy Cross Lake View S.S.S that is at the fore front of this event and for mentoring our Laudato Si Clubs and supporting other environmental clubs across Uganda. Your work reminds us that caring for our common home transcends location, age and religious background as desired by Pope Francis in Laudato Si. It is a responsibility that belongs to everyone, the young and the old alike.

May God bless you all for your commitment to protecting our common home.

Education for Service. Ave Crux Spes Unica, United for Climate Action. For God and My Country

God bless Holy Cross Lake View Senior Secondary School, and God bless Uganda.