In May of 2015, Pope Francis penned an Encyclical Letter about the necessity to care for creation, which he calls our common home. The Letter is entitled Laudato Si’ taken from a the canticle to creation by St. Francis of Assisi.
Next week, on the Feast of St. Francis, October 4, Pope Francis will update his work with a new Apostolic Exhortation entitled Laudate Deum. All of this seems providential timing for the announcement of a Climate Summit which we will hold here in Seattle in July.
In recognition of the growing threat of climate change and our responsibility to care for the common good, the Catholic Archdiocese of Seattle and Seattle University will convene a three-day climate conference July 9-11, 2024.
Together for Our Common Home is a climate action summit that will bring together business and non-profit leaders, educators and students, researchers, faith leaders, indigenous communities, elected officials and community leaders to learn from each other to take real action to care for our common home.
The three-day gathering will feature a lineup of inspirational and influential speakers who will share the latest environmental breakthroughs, tackle the tough issues facing sustainability, make the connection between the Earth and the poorest among us, and challenge people to authentically care for our common home and for each other.
The event will kick-off with an evening address from Cardinal Michael Czerny at St. James Cathedral. A Jesuit, Cardinal Czerny has worked to promote social justice in Canada, Latin America, Africa, and Rome and has issued calls to be “responsible citizens and protect our Common Home.” Cardinal Czerny presently serves as the Prefect for the Dicastery of Integral Human Development at the Holy See in Rome.
The conference will include two days of engaging presentations emceed by Anne Thompson Chief Environmental Affairs correspondent for NBC News. Speakers include Mary Kipp at Puget Sound Energy and Kara Hurst at Amazon. More speakers are in development.
Myself and Eduardo Peñalver, president of Seattle University are deeply aligned on the need for a climate summit. I worked on this concept for the conference after beginning a similar event in Alaska before being transferred to Seattle and am please to partner with Seattle University for this summit.
In the spirit of good stewardship of our common home, we hope to bring about a necessary ecological conversion, which leads to greater efforts to work together for the good of creation. Now is the time to hear and respond to the cry of the Earth, the cry of the poor and the cry of our youth.
President Peñalver said: “Our students, faculty and staff, alumni and community deserve nothing less than our full commitment to the future of our planet. This collaboration with the Archdiocese of Seattle is a part of our deep commitment to the earth.”
We are currently securing additional speakers, corporate sponsors and organizing logistics. For more information, or to offer you support, please contact:
- Patrick Barredo, Director of Social Outreach and Advocacy, St. James Cathedral, pbarredo@stjames-cathedral.org, 206.382.4515
- Joe Orlando, Ed.D., Special Assistant to the Provost for Special Initiatives at Seattle University,
206.296.5917, jorlando@seattleu.edu 206.382.4515,
More information can be found here.
