National Catholic Reporter: Passionist provinces turn to solar energy to power ministry and care for creation

by Robert Alan Glover, OSV News

Two provinces of the Congregation of the Passion and a lay-run Catholic nonprofit have all taken the lead in switching to solar energy to power their work as part of their response to Pope Francis' encyclical Laudato Si', which teaches on the relationship between God, humans and the Earth in caring for creation.

The Passionist provinces are working with Catholic Energies, an initiative of the Washington-based Catholic Climate Covenant, which helps Catholic facility owners with starting solar energy projects.

"Converting to solar energy from traditional energy has been a big change for our order, and Catholic Energies has two priorities when working with its clients: the creation of clean energy and the saving of money," said Fr. Jim O'Shea, the provincial for the Passionists of St. Paul of the Cross Eastern Province headquartered in Jamaica, New York.

O'Shea professed his vows in 1985 and began doing community advocacy in 1997 in the Bedford-Stuyvesant area of Brooklyn, New York, where he helped secure more affordable housing and establish a Cristo Rey Network high school for low-income families in Brooklyn.

"The Catholic Climate Covenant was launched with help from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and helps to lead our church's response to address climate change," Dan Misleh, the founding executive director of Catholic Climate Covenant, told OSV News.

Among the organization's projects are a 2 megawatt ground array for Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington, offsetting 100% of its buildings' electrical usage, and rooftop projects that have allowed parishes to offset 90-100% of electrical usage.

Misleh also noted that Catholic Energies "seeks to assist Catholic facility owners with solar energy projects, and we also encourage Catholic clients to use their new solar array as a teachable moment, reminding their constituents of the need to care for God's creation — a core principle of Catholic social doctrine."

Mission Energy, a for-profit company, is the organization that manages the nonprofit Catholic Energies program.

Catholic Energies has converted three of the Passionist order's sites in New York, West Hartford, Connecticut, and — just since this past September — San Juan, Puerto Rico.

"We have worked closely with Catholic Energies, because they run the whole project," O'Shea said. "We contribute the land — or make it available to them — (for) potential construction, and provide the actual places to put the panels, which in this instance were our monastery's car port, the rooftop of our school and an open field."

Read the full article here: https://www.ncronline.org/earthbeat/science/passionist-provinces-turn-solar-energy-power-ministry-and-care-creation