On 4 October 2023, Pope Francis released Laudate Deum: the apostolic exhortation on the climate crisis. Writing eight years after the publication of Laudato Si’ - the landmark encyclical letter on the care for our common home, in which he invited all people of good will to “a new dialogue about how we are shaping the future of our planet” (Laudato Si’, 14), Pope Francis issued a serious warning to humanity:
“Eight years have passed since I published the Encyclical Letter Laudato Si’, when I wanted to share with all of you, my brothers and sisters of our suffering planet, my heartfelt concerns about the care of our common home. Yet, with the passage of time, I have realized that our responses have not been adequate, while the world in which we live is collapsing and may be nearing the breaking point.” (Laudate Deum, 2)
Francis’ words appear even more relevant today! On 5th June – the World Environment Day, the report of the European Commission’s Copernicus Climate Change Service stated that May 2024 was the hottest May in recorded history! Commenting on this report, António Guterres, the United Nations Secretary General remarked: “We are at a moment of truth (…) We need an exit ramp off the highway to climate hell”.
It is in this context of unprecedented threat to life and human civilization that the online international conference: “Laudate Deum: A Last Call for the Planet” will take place.
The conference will seek to understand and respond to the climate crisis with the help of a distinguished and international panel of scientists, activists, scholars, faith leaders and youth and indigenous leaders. The event is jointly hosted by the Pontifical Salesian University in Rome and “Partnerships For Change” in San Francisco. The welcome will be offered by the Rector Magnificus of UPS, Fr Andrea Bozzolo, followed by introductory addresses of Jackie Miller, contact person of "Partnerships For Change", and Fr Joshtrom Isaac Kureethadam, SDB, Coordinator of the Ecology and Creation Sector of the Dicastery for the Service of Integral Human Development and lecturer at UPS.
Moderated from South Africa by Lindlyn Moma, Head of Advocacy for the Laudato Si' Movement, the various guest speakers will animate a multi-voice multidisciplinary debate, leading up to the final conclusions which will be offered jointly from Rome by Prem Xalxo, Coordinator of the Joint Diploma in Integral Ecology, and from New York, by Erin Lothes, Director of the Laudato Si' Animators Programme.
Here is the link to the Conference Programme: https://bit.ly/3KT59XH
The Conference is Open to all on Zoom (Meeting ID: 765 205 3630) or YouTube
