Interfaith CincinnatiInterfaith Cincinnati
Sponsored by Creighton University and Catholic Climate Covenant
“Laudato Si’ and the U.S. Catholic Church: A Conference Series on Our Common Home” is a biennial conference series 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. The second gathering will be held virtually July 13-15, 2021. In partnership with Creighton, the 2021 conference expresses Catholic Climate Covenant’s leading role coordinating U.S. Catholic enactment of the Vatican “Laudato Si’ Action Platform.”
The 2021 conference will open on July 13 with a keynote event featuring His Eminence Blase Cardinal Cupich, Archbishop of Chicago, and Maureen Day, PhD, Assistant Professor of Religion and Society at the Franciscan School of Theology. The event, “A Bold Embrace of Laudato Si’ By The U.S. Catholic Church,” 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 will feature interactive breakout sessions facilitated by teams of ministry leaders working to more faithfully incorporate Laudato Si’ into eight areas of the U.S. Catholic Church:
Each ministry leadership team will share the strategies, plans, and resources being developed with members of their working group. Presentations will be followed by discussion with conference participants.
The conference will conclude on July 15 with a closing address by Sister Ilia Delio, OSF, PhD, Josephine C. Connelly Endowed Chair in Theology at Villanova University. The address, “Can the Earth Be Healed? Insights from Teilhard de Chardin, SJ,” will consider Catholic spiritual and theological insights that can enliven a more faithful commitment to care for our common home.
The 2021 virtual gathering will be free and open to the public but registration is required. At the time of registration, attendees are encouraged to make a freewill donation to help offset conference costs that include Spanish language translations.