Georgetown Hosts Dialogue on Pope Francis’ New Document on Environment

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An In-Person and Online Public Dialogue on
Caring for the Environment and Each Other: Pope Francis’ Follow-up to Laudato Si’

Thursday, October 12, 2023
6:00 – 7:00 pm EDT

RSVP

In 2015 Pope Francis issued Laudato Si’, a major encyclical on the environment offering a hopeful vision that challenged us all to better care for “our common home.” On October 4, 2023, Pope Francis will release Laudate Deum, an unprecedented follow-up document to highlight the urgent need for a more sustained response to the ecological crisis in light of the climate crisis and developments in the last eight years.

Laudato Si’ challenged the world to understand that we’re connected with each other, with the natural environment, and with those who will come after us, and that ecological crises are moral challenges that affect the poor and vulnerable most of all. Pope Francis called for all of us to hear both the “cry of the earth and the cry of the poor” and to ask with humility: “What kind of world do we want to leave to those who come after us, to children who are now growing up?” He offered a vision defined by the conviction that “…we need one another, that we have a shared responsibility for others and the world, and that being good and decent are worth it.”

Five exceptional leaders will discuss the renewed challenges and new questions posed by Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation Laudate Deum:

Five exceptional leaders will discuss the renewed challenges and new questions posed by Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation Laudate Deum:

  • Jose Aguto is the executive director of Catholic Climate Covenant. He has previously worked at the Friends Committee on National Legislation, the National Congress of American Indians, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s American Indian Environmental Office; and he served in the 10th Mountain Division of the U.S. Army.
  • Sharon Lavigne is the 2021 Goldman Prize for North America recipient and the 2022 Laetare Medal recipient from the University of Notre Dame. She leads Rise St. James, a faith-based grassroots organization that fights for environmental justice in St. James Parish, Louisiana.
  • John Mundell is the director of the Laudato Si’ Action Platform, a project of the Vatican Dicastery for Integral Human Development. He also runs his own environmental consulting firm which is part of the Focolare Movement’s Economy of Communion, a business network that focuses on addressing economic inequality.
  • Riley Talbot (C’24), a Georgetown student studying government, theology, and environmental studies, will open the gathering. Riley is also a policy and outreach associate with Catholic Climate Covenant.
  • Christiana Zenner is an associate professor of theology, science, and ethics in the department of theology at Fordham University. Her research and teaching have focused on issues of fresh water ethics, environmental justice, and Catholic social teaching.

Kim Daniels, director of the Initiative and member of the Vatican Dicastery for Communication, will moderate the discussion.

A Plea from the Pope: A Free Webinar Hosted by the UCC

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As the feast day of Francis of Assisi is celebrated on October 4th, Pope Francis will release the “second part” of his encyclical on the climate crisis and inequality The new edition of the encyclical will provide an update to confronting “the senseless war on our common home.” A multi-faith panel of climate leaders will reflect upon Pope Francis’s plea for climate action. On Wednesday, Oct. 11, at 11:00 a.m. Mountain Time (1:00 p.m. Eastern Time) the United Church of Christ is hosting a free webinar to reflect on the pope’s encyclical, which follows up and updates Laudato Si.

Panelists will include:

-Dan Misleh, Founder, Catholic Climate Covenant
-Rev. Susan Hendershot, President, Interfaith Power & Light
-Joelle Novey, Director, Interfaith Power & Light (DC.MD.NoVA)
-Imam Saffet Catovic, Director, United Nations Operations for Justice For All

Even if you cannot make the webinar at its scheduled time, still sign-up, and we will send you a link to a recording of it.

This monthly installment of Creation Justice Webinars is co-hosted by the Rev. Dr. Brooks Berndt who serves as the Minister of Environmental Justice for the United Church of Christ and the Rev. Michael Malcom who serves as the Executive Director for Alabama Interfaith Power & Light and the People’s Justice Council.

Register here

National IPL President Susan Hendershot Joins Intefaith Coalition Seeking to Keep Government Funded

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WASHINGTON, DC – On September 26, 53 organizations representing people of faith across religious traditions and denominations delivered a letter to the U.S. Congress urging bipartisan action to keep the government operational or risk severe consequences on the most vulnerable members of society. Congress has until September 30, 2023 to pass a continuing resolution to avert a shutdown of the government’s most basic operations.

The signatories, which include NETWORK, the Friends Committee on National Legislation, Interfaith Power & Light and the Franciscan Action Network, called on lawmakers to fund the government and work in a bipartisan manner to pass a stop-gap funding measure without harmful provisions. The complete letter and list of signatories is available below.

Here is a statement from Rev. Susan Hendershot, President of Interfaith Power & Light

 “As our beloved communities face growing threats from climate change through rising temperatures, wildfires, smoke hazards and rising sea levels, a government shutdown would further place our neighbors in harm’s way. People of faith fought to pass the historic clean energy investments in the Inflation Reduction Act because we know acting on climate will create a more just world for all. It is a moral imperative that Congress protect these important programs to ensure a safe, equitable and clean future for generations to come.”

Read Full Piece from NETWORK  Lobby for Catholic Social Justice