Catholic Charities launches solar energy project in response to Pope’s encyclical

Original content published by Rome Reports:

Fr. Patrick Keating is the Deputy CEO of Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens. He says the Laudato Si Corporation aims to provide sustainable and affordable housing to low-income seniors and families.

FR. PATRICK KEATING
Deputy CEO, Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens
“Laudato Si we formed, really, in response to Pope Francis’ encyclical of the same name, and both Bishop DiMarzio and Mr. Tim McManus, and myself, along with a larger delegation of individuals from Enterprise, the Buddhist community, met with Pope Francis in response to his call. And Laudato Si really is a very concrete way of us sustaining and caring for our common home, as Pope Francis calls us to.”

The project relies on solar energy from panels installed on the rooftops of affordable housing buildings owned and managed by Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens. The first four pilot buildings are located in some of New York City’s most underserved communities.

FR. PATRICK KEATING
Deputy CEO, Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens
“(We) established this new entity to be both a way of generating revenue for affordable housing, primarily for seniors and those of low income, but also ensuring that our buildings are sustainable, that our buildings are really caring for the environment.”

TIM MCMANUS
Senior VP, Catholic Charities Progress of Peoples Development Corporation
“We’re really working to make sure that we’re setting an example, a template for others, an approach that really works…. We can make affordable housing part of the solution, and contribute to solving the problems of global warming.”

If this model can be replicated, it could offer an effective response to climate change and contribute to building a sustainable future.

CT

Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens