BY ISN STAFF | June 19, 2025

With clarity and moral urgency, the morning presentations of the third day of the Jesuit Integral Ecology Assembly reminded participants that the work of integral ecology must center communities most acutely impacted by climate change and that our faith demands both solidarity and action.

The Juneteenth worship team lead the delegates of the Jesuit Integral Ecology Assembly in a morning prayer service.

The day began with a moving Juneteenth prayer service led by Angela Swain, Ph.D. Grounding the day in the theme of building inclusive movements led by impacted communities, Swain exhorted:

“When we truly know we are God’s people and we truly recognize the human dignity of everybody gathered in this room….And the narratives and histories of the people we represent… and we know that the land we are on is sacred ground….We the people can speak up for clean water. We the people can plant gardens in our communities…We the people can act.”

Chad Raphael, Ph.D., of Santa Clara University, explored what today’s ecological advocates can learn from the rise of the U.S. Environmental Justice movement in the politically hostile environment of the 1980s. Framing our current moment as a new “dark age” marked by political denial, funding cuts, and erasure of environmental protections, Raphael highlighted how past movements succeeded despite similar adversity. He called for today’s leaders to draw from the same deep wells of grief and hope, emphasizing that hope is not passive optimism but a courageous, active commitment to justice even when success is uncertain.

Raphael offered four key lessons from the environmental justice movement:

1. Build an Inclusive Movement – Build an inclusive movement. Build solidarity. Build ties across different races, genders, and classes.
2. Appeal to Common Values – Framing ecological justice in terms of health, dignity, and foundational American ideals.
3. Build Grassroots-Led Networks – Emphasizing community organizing and accountability from the ground up, not top-down change.
4. Practice Community-Led Research and Lawyering – Where academic, legal, and policy strategies are guided by and serve community needs.

Shamyra Lavigne-Davey of RISE St. James delivered a searing and deeply personal presentation about environmental racism and resistance in Louisiana’s infamous “Cancer Alley.” Representing the faith-based grassroots organization fighting petrochemical expansion in St. James Parish, Lavigne-Davey shared how Black communities—especially in the 4th and 5th districts—face cancer risks over 700 times the national average due to the concentration of more than 180 petrochemical facilities along the Mississippi River corridor.

Shamyra Lavigne-Davey shares her and her community’s story of resistance in Louisiana’s infamous “Cancer Alley.”

Through images and stories from residents, she chronicled the health toll of toxins like ethylene oxide, benzene, and formaldehyde, and the community’s enduring fight, despite state agencies continuing to approve permits and courts reversing previous victories. Even after securing a major legal win against Formosa Plastics in 2022, the battle continues as environmental regulations are rolled back and emissions remain dangerously underreported. Lavigne-Davey emphasized that this fight is rooted not just in policy but in love for community, memory of those lost, and a fierce belief in justice.

April Martinez of Our Lady of Guadalupe (OLG), a Jesuit parish in Barrio Logan, San Diego, shared a powerful testimony of how a majority-Latino Catholic community is responding in a neighborhood surrounded by industry and freeways.

Rosie Sandoval

Rooted in Pope Francis’s call to synodality and co-responsibility, OLG has embraced a mission where every baptized person—especially youth and laity—plays a vital role in the Church’s response to injustice. Martinez highlighted the formation of the OLG Laudato Si’ Youth Group, launched during Lent 2022, as a tangible expression of ecological conversion and faith in action.

”I recently reconnected with my faith, and it has been such an honor to serve [the parish],” shared Rosie Sandoval, the Youth Group leader. “This isn’t about simply learning but spreading it and mobilizing our cry for planet earth.” From organizing prayerful immigration processions and supporting migrant shelters, to vigil actions against corporate polluters like Mitsubishi, to pilgrimages to the State Capitol to advocate for climate justice, the parish models a holistic approach to care for creation that is spiritual, communal, and courageous.