Two seminars on Pope Francis’s Laudato Si (Praise Be: On Care for Our Common Home) encyclical will take place in September in Cork and Kerry. These events are being organized by the Earth Initiative – a collaboration between The Cork Social and Health Education Project and Páirc a Tobair Mercy Earth Community.
The seminars will offer an opportunity to reflect on the encyclical’s significance and message. They will be conducted by Donal Dorr DD, author of many books on aspects of justice and spirituality, in particular Option for the Poor and for the Earth: Catholic Social Teaching.
Laudato Si deals with Climate Justice and the Earth. It is intended to be a major wake-up call to Christians and to people of other religions or no religion. But will it make any real difference to our world? Will it help to galvanize us as individuals, and the politicians we elect, to take effective action to meet the huge ecological problems that threaten our whole way of life, and which are already severely affecting the poorest people in developing countries? The impact of the encyclical will depend on how well we get to know it and how we respond to its call.
The first seminar will take place in SMA Community Centre, Wilton, Cork on Wednesday 16th September from 10am to 4pm and the second in John Paul II Pastoral Centre, Rock Road, Killarney, on Monday 28th September from 6pm to 10pm.
The seminars will involve three talks by Fr. Dorr about the encyclical, each one followed by discussion and sharing in the group:
(1) In the first part there will be a talk outlining the ecological spirituality presented in the encyclical, reflecting on its strong points and noting aspects which could be developed further. There will be a chance for some discussion in the group after this talk, including some sharing of participants’ own experiences of ways in which the gifts of nature nourish the spirit.
(2) A second talk will focus on the ecological problems which the encyclical mentions. During the discussion in the group after this talk there can also be some sharing of participants’ own knowledge and experience of these and other environmental problems.
(3) The third talk will look at the practical actions which the encyclical proposes as ways to enrich our own ecological spirituality and to respond to the problems. During the discussion in the group after this talk there can again be some sharing of participants’ own experiences and suggestions for finding energy and commitment to develop a sustainable way of living.
Pre-registration is essential for these events
Booking Cork Seminar: The Social and Health Education Project, Village Chambers, Station Road, Ballincollig, Co. Cork. Phone: 021-4666180 e-mail: [email protected]
Booking Kerry Seminar: JP II Pastoral Centre, Rock Rd., Killarney
Phone: Phone 064-6632644 e-mail: [email protected]