Free, online Laudato Si' conference: you're invited!

Creighton University and the Catholic Climate Covenant want to help you keep Laudato Si' momentum growing in the US Catholic Church

Catholics in the United States who care about faithfully protecting creation are invited to attend what may very well be a watershed moment for the US Catholic Church. “Laudato Si’ and the U.S. Catholic Church: A Conference Series on Our Common Home,” or "LSUS," is now accepting registration for the July 13-15, 2021 free, virtual gathering.

Co-sponsored by the Catholic Climate Covenant and Creighton University, the event will offer both inspiration and practical takeaways to help one and all better assist their local parishes and dioceses engage eco- and climate issues.

The LSUS conference opens July 13th with keynote addresses by His Eminence Blase Cardinal Cupich, Archbishop of Chicago, and Maureen Day, PhD, Assistant Professor of Religion and Society at the Franciscan School of Theology. Together, they will assess why the U.S. Catholic response to Laudato Si’ has not been commensurate with the urgency and gravity of the climate crisis.

On July 14-15, the conference continues, featuring interactive breakout sessions in eight areas of the U.S. Catholic Church working to more faithfully incorporate Laudato Si’.

These sessions include a session focused on advocacy, communications and the media, working with college and universities, the development and operational insights of Creation Care Teams in parishes and dioceses, and a session dedicated to environmental justice.

Priests and parish leaders will also appreciate the sessions offered on homiletics, Catholic schools and working with youth and young adults.

Check out the schedule here.

Each of these breakout sessions will share the strategies, plans, and resources being developed with members of their working group. Presentations will be followed by discussion with conference participants.

For now, planners and presenters have one message: You won’t want to miss these critical discussions!

The conference concludes July 15 with a closing address by Sister Ilia Delio, OSF, PhD, Josephine C. Connelly Endowed Chair in Theology at Villanova University. Sister Delio will consider Catholic spiritual and theological insights that can enliven a more faithful commitment to care for our common home.

The conference is free, but registration is required, and a donation is encouraged to offset costs that include Spanish language interpretation.

Laudato Si’ and the U.S. Catholic Church: A Conference Series on Our Common Home” is a biennial conference series co-sponsored by the Catholic Climate Covenant, its twenty Catholic partners, and Creighton University. Its purpose is to convene, equip, and inspire Catholics who can more deeply integrate Laudato Si’ and its climate change teaching into the U.S. Church.

The first convening was held at Creighton in June 2019 and the presentations were published in the Journal of Moral Theology.

Register for this year's conference here.

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About the Blog

Catholic Ecology posts my regular column in the Rhode Island Catholic, as well as scientific and theological commentary about the latest eco-news, both within and outside of the Catholic Church. What is contained herein is but one person's attempt to teach and defend the Church's teachings - ecological and otherwise. As such, I offer all contents of this blog for approval of the bishops of the Church. It is my hope that nothing herein will lead anyone astray from truth.