Vatican praises Philippine
diocese for the first to adopt solar energy
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| Renewable sources of energy |
The Vatican has lauded the Philippine Church, particularly
Maasin Diocese, for its response to the Pope’s encyclical Laudato Si' on the
care of creation.
By Robin Gomes
A Philippine diocese has been commended by the Vatican for
becoming the first diocese in the entire Catholic Church to adopt renewable
energy.
Maasin Diocese
“The Diocese of Maasin, in the Philippines, has become the
first diocese in the world to equip all parishes with solar panels,” notes a
document on integral ecology that Vatican officials released last week to mark
the 5th anniversary of Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato
si’.
Released on June 18, the document entitled, “Journeying for
the care of the common home - five years after Laudato si’”, offers
not only reflections and guidelines on how to maintain a healthy relationship
with creation in the spirit of the encyclical, but also cites many initiatives
and good practices already underway across the Catholic world.
It dedicated an entire paragraph to the efforts of the
Philippine Church.
Maasin Diocese in Leyte province has installed solar panels
in 42 churches to generate electricity in its fight against global warming and
abuse of the environment.
WeGen-Maasin partnership
In this regard, the Vatican document cited WeGen Laudato Si’
(WGLS), a Philippine-based next-generation technology company inspired by the
Pope’s encyclical, which is partnering with Maasin Diocese in going for solar
energy in a big way.
“I am surprised to know that our humble effort to implement
something to preserve our Mother Earth, heeding the call of Pope Francis’ Laudato
si’ Encyclical letter, got recognition and affirmation at a high
level,” Bishop Precioso Cantillas of Maasin said regarding the Vatican
citation.
He said he is hoping that they will reach a level where they
“can contribute more significantly to the restoration and preservation of our
environment”.
The project started as a dream in 2017 to mark the golden
jubilee celebration of his diocese.
“The dream project intends to cover 50 diocesan buildings
and schools and around 40 parish churches, including 50 laity members whose
properties, such as businesses and homes, will be invited to join,” the bishop
said.
Cost-effective clean energy
Bishop Cantillas pointed out that the installation of solar
panels in the cathedral and school buildings has saved the diocese more than
US$2,000 in electricity bills per month.
According to WeGen, the lifespan of the solar panels was up
to 25 years and that the diocese could recover its investment in seven
years.
“With those solar panels in place for 25 years, some 1,875
metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions are avoided,” a WeGen representative
told reporters.
Bishops' Conference
Speaking about good practices in terms of renewable energy,
the Vatican document also commended the Episcopal Commission on the Laity of
the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, that signed a memorandum
with WeGen “to promote the use of and access to renewable energy, especially
solar energy” in Church institutions and in the poorest communities in the
Philippines.
“In this context, through this project,” the document notes,
“information and communication campaigns are also promoted to spread the
teaching of Pope Francis and Laudato si’.”
On its website, WeGen explains that it was “formed
specifically to work closely with the Catholic Church and other religious
communities in the country”. They also “encourage various sectors of
society to shift from using conventional sources of energy to clean, renewable
energy from the sun”.
“The Diocese of Maasin was able not only to cut their power
bills, but also to show the world what pursuit of the care for our common home,
as embodied by Pope Francis' Laudato si’', looks like,” WeGen wrote
in a post on Facebook.
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