On November 3rd, the International Union of Superiors General (UISG) presented a new statement, Sisters for the Environment: Integrating Voices from the Margins, marking the UN summits COP27 and COP15 on climate and biodiversity.
H.E. Chiara Porro, Australia's Ambassador to the Holy See, spoke of the importance of the work religious women are doing in Oceania, facilitating, integrating and empowering Indigenous voices. She highlighted the work of Adele Howard rsm in the project "Doing Theology From The Existential Peripheries", a work of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, as a key example. Ambassador Porro (r) meets with Sr Adele Howard rsm (l) at the Australian Embassy to the Holy See
Watch Ambassador Porro's presentation (below). It commences at 32:11 and concludes at 43:42
Read the article "Sisters advocating for environment on behalf of the ignored and excluded" in Vatican News
On 12 October 2022 at the Pontifical Urban University, Rome, a conference was held at which the results of a 12-month research exercise in listening to the sensus fidei fidelium in the existential peripheries of the six global regions (Oceania, Asia, Europe, Africa, North America, Latin America) were presented by the six Regional Coordinators. It was the response of Pope Francis “[to encounter] faces, meeting eyes, sharing each individual’s history” (Homily, 10 October 2021), making ourselves a Church that “immerses herself in today’s problems and needs, bandaging wounds and healing broken hearts” (Address, 9 October 2021).
The conference was live-streamed and archived on the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development (DPIHD) website.
About the Conference
Three speakers set the scene for the presentations given by the Regional Coordinators:
The six Regional Coordinators in turn then presented the details of the listening exercises they had conducted in their regions and the learnings that resulted. Each Region had been assigned a particular theme by the Dicastery to highlight in their report.
Following the presentations, Mons. Armand Matteo, Secretary, Doctrinal Section, Dicastery for the Doctrine of Faith responded, giving “A First Rereading of the Research. What kind of theology do we need?" Planned interventions were also given. The conference concluded with the presentation of the web pages, Food for Thought materials and details of regional events. The vote of thanks was given by Sr Alessandra Smarelli FMA, Secretary, Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development Watch the Conference (3:43:01): Find out More: The website for the project is: https://migrants-refugees.va/ choose ‘Themes’ then ‘Theology from the Existential Peripheries’. Then there is a dropdown menu: About: https://migrants-refugees.va/theology-from-the-peripheries/ Bibliography: https://migrants-refugees.va/bibliography/ This is where you will find each region’s literature review Food for Thought: https://migrants-refugees.va/resource-center/food-for-thought/ This is where you will find the videos and guidebooks. Publications: https://migrants-refugees.va/resource-center/publications/ This is where you will find each region’s Final Report - Read the Final Report for the Oceania Region which can be downloaded here Project Team and Collaborators: https://migrants-refugees.va/project-team-collaborators/ Contact: https://migrants-refugees.va/contact-new/ How to contact the Project Director |