Listen to the Cry of the Earth
and the Cry of the Poor
One way that Catholics can continue to respond positively to Laudato Si’ is by sharing rides to Sunday Mass, school, and parish events. Some parishes attract parishioners from as many differrent towns while others have more tightly clustered parishioners. There are many opportunities in each parish for folks to carpool to church or school, and thus reduce their consumption of fossil fuels. Carpooling to church can also serve as an extra way for parishioners to get to know each other and ease parking issues. Carpooling will save money, and improve the quality of our air.
There are tips and guidance on carpooling through MassRIDES, Mass Energy, and MassCommute. Additionally, parishes and parish organizations can develop carpool lists and databases to link parishioners interested in carpooling.
Did you know? In 2014 alone, U.S. drivers wasted billions of hours and up 3 billion gallons of fuel sitting in traffic. That translates into almost 60 billion pounds of greenhouse gases put into the atmosphere just by traffic congestion! (Department of Energy)