Loyola University Chicago Celebrates Laudato Si’ with Environmental Event

BY ISN STAFF | September 3, 2015

CHICAGO, IL – Loyola University Chicago will host a day-long colloquium dedicated to exploring and reacting to Pope Francis’s encyclical on the environment, Laudato Si’, on Wednesday, September 9 at the University’s Lake Shore Campus. The event, “Caring for our Common Home: Conversations on Ecology and Justice,” precedes Pope Francis’s September visit to the United States and celebrates Loyola’s continued commitment to sustainability.

The day’s events include academic paper presentations, symposia, town halls, and a teach-in, which will feature performances, an Ignatian reflection, student and community involvement, and more. Faculty scholars from across departments and disciplines will speak on topics throughout the day related to ecology, public policy, globalization, global health, humanitarian care, public theology, consumer behavior, and the current role and future of sustainability at Loyola.

“The intersectionality of our Jesuit heritage and sustainability is lived out through continued faculty research and practices across our campuses, but we don’t often gather to discuss it,” says Michael Murphy, Ph.D., director of Loyola’s Catholic studies program. “This event gives attendees the opportunity to converse about what we are doing as a community locally and globally, what action can still be taken, and how we can encourage one another to be better stewards of our common home.

The morning session will feature six academic responses on a number of subject areas, including “The Human Roots of the Ecological Crisis” and “Ecological Education and Spirituality.” The event will cumulate outdoors with a teach-in, a time for academic and community dialogue, featuring breakout groups and a series of student- and faculty-led artistic performances and spoken word reflective of the issues discussed throughout the day.

 “Loyola students are highly engaged on the topic of sustainability and understand the importance of taking action at all levels—from engaging in on-campus discourse to volunteering in our community gardens—and we look forward to the dialogue they will bring to the teach-in,” says Murphy.

During the afternoon, the University will host two town halls, with one serving as an intercampus and interdisciplinary open conversation about the Pope’s encyclical. A second session will focus on plans for renewed integration of the teaching, research, and engagement on climate science and adaptation that will help the University achieve its goal to reduce its carbon emissions over the next 10 years. Following the presentation, an open discussion will be held on the topic.

For the full schedule of events, speakers, and additional details, visit: LUC.edu/ccih.