July 22, 2015 – Excerpted from Put Out Into the Deep, Bishop DiMarzio’s column in The Tablet:

My dear brothers and sisters in the Lord,

As I read the latest Encyclical of our Holy Father, Pope Francis, “Laudato Si’, On Care for Our Common Home,” I could not help but remember my own grandfather, who coincidentally was named Francesco. I learned from my grandfather the essentials of human ecology at a time perhaps when it did not even have a name. He taught me respect for the environment; never waste water, always make sure that the lights are turned off, recycle everything that we use, make a compost heap in the garden, make sure that nothing is wasted.

Even in the days when he had a coal stove in the kitchen and a coal furnace in his basement, he always sifted the ashes to find any leftover pieces of coal which could be reused so as not to be wasteful. I am not sure if this was all a product of the Depression or just a concern for the environment.

Read the full text of the Bishop’s column on The Tablet website.