Laudato Si': A Prophetic Challenge for the 21st Century
Wednesday, February 24, 2016
7:00 Lecture, Roski Dining Hall, University Hall 8:30 Reception in the Atrium
Fr. Sean McDonagh, SSC, a member of the Irish region of the Columban missionary priests, is one of the many experts Pope Francis consulted while shaping his environmental encyclical on the care for our common home, Laudato Si’.
He is an internationally recognized eco-theologian, author, lecturer, and consultant to Catholic Church leadership, the World Council of Churches, governments and civil society organizations. He works to raise awareness on the connections between justice and peace issues, environmental sustainability and faith. He is an outspoken critic of policies that allow for the systematic degradation of the environment, linking them to global poverty and the increased suffering of the poor.
Fr. McDonagh is the author of numerous articles and eleven books and volumes including Climate Change: The Challenge to All of Us (2006), Dying for Water (2003), Passion for the Earth (1995), Greening the Church (1990), and To Care for the Earth (1985). He highlights the causes and consequences of issues such as global warming, genetically engineered food, water pollution, the nuclear industry and loss of biodiversity. He is a patron of Christian Ecology Link and writes a weekly column in The Universe Catholic newspaper. Fr. Sean McDonagh was invited speakers by Pope Francis at the Vatican conference on climate change.
In July of 2015, Fr. Sean McDonagh, SSC was invited to present at the high-level Vatican conference, "People and planet first: the imperative to change course" organized by the Pontifical Council "Justice and "Peace" and CIDSE, an international network of Catholic non-governmental development organizations. He presented alongside Cardinal Kodwo Appiah Turkson, president of the Pontifical Council of Justice and Peace, and Naomi Klein among others.