Pope Francis is using Laudato Si Week as a springboard to urge people to take more responsibility for helping to heal the environment.

“Yesterday, #LaudatoSiWeek began,” the pontiff said in a Monday tweet. “I invite everyone to collaborate in the care of our common home. There is such a need to put our capabilities and creativity together!” 

Laudato Si Week is May 21-28 this year. 

It has been eight years since Pope Francis released his encyclical "Laudato Si: On Care for Our Common Home.” The encyclical discusses the environmental concerns facing the planet and also touches on the Church's teachings on creation, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) said in a statement about the roots of the celebration. 

In the encyclical, Pope Francis calls for everyone in the world, not just Catholics, to recognize the environmental threats – such as global warming – and to do their part to preserve the planet. The encyclical is divided into six chapters. Its themes include “The State of Our Common Home," "The Gospel of Creation," and "The Human Causes of the Ecological Crisis," the USCCB said in its release.

“Both the science community and the faith community are very clear: the planet is in crisis and its life support system [is] in peril," Hoesung Lee, chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, said in a Catholic News Agency report about the week. "The stakes have never been higher, and we should be the source of the solution to this crisis.” 

As part of Laudato Si Week events this year, Catholic organizations worldwide will screen "The Letter,” a film that showcases a journey of frontline leaders to Rome. The film includes discussions with Pope Francis about his Laudato Si encyclical and offers a glimpse into his personal history. It reveals stories about events that shed light on his experiences, The Letter Film’s website said. 

Cardinal Michael F. Czerny spoke about the significance of the film.

“The film and the personal stories powerfully show that the ecological crisis has arrived and is happening now,” Czerny said, according to the Catholic News Agency. “The time is over for speculation, for skepticism and denial, for irresponsible populism. Apocalyptic floods, mega-droughts, disastrous heatwaves, and catastrophic cyclones and hurricanes have become the new normal in recent years; they continue today; tomorrow, they will get worse.”