Laudato Si' and the COP22 Seminar in Rome

Seminar participants

The Global Catholic Climate Movement (GCCM), represented by its global coordinator Tomás Insua, was delighted to participate in the recent seminar "Laudato Si' and the Path to COP22" with the presence of the Holy Father Pope Francis, Convened by Cardinal Turkson and Bishop Sánchez Sorondo at the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, the full day seminar on 28 September brought together over 40 distinguished scholars and leaders from various sectors to evaluate the impact of Laudato Si' and its implications for the upcoming COP22 climate summit of the U.N. in Morocco, November 7-18.

The Holy Father Pope Francis closed the seminar with some encouraging remarks in which he thanked the participants for their commitment to care for our common home and urged them to step up the level of ambition keeping in mind the future of our children.

Tomás Insua had the opportunity to deliver a GCCM brochure to Pope Francis with the latest updates of our movement's work, and informed him about the Season of Creation that we are currently celebrating together with our ecumenical partners. The Holy Father thanked our movement for the efforts pursued to bring Laudato Si' to life, and posed for a picture with the #LiveLaudatoSi wristband that GCCM produced for the recent World Youth Day in Krakow. Really inspiring!

Seminar participants included distinguished scholars as Prof. Jeffrey Sachs (Columbia University), Dr. Hoesung Lee (IPCC) and Stefano Zamagni (Università di Bologna), voices from the Global South as Cardinal Charles Bo (Myanmar) and Fr. Pedro Walpole (Philippines), and many friends and close partners of GCCM such as Bernd Nilles (CIDSE), Lorna Gold (Trócaire), Sr. Sheila Kinsey (USG/UISG), Andrea Stocchiero (FOCSIV), Fr. Seán McDonagh SSC (Columban Missionaries), and Anthony Annett (Religions for Peace).

Insightful conversations about Laudato Si' and COP22 took place throughout the day, building on the papers that were submitted by participants on the occasion of the seminar.

Link: http://catholicclimatemovement.global/laudato-si-cop22-seminar-with-pope-francis/