The campus organizations will hold a meeting to talk about Pope Francis’ letter in late September.
We CAN: Climate Action Now as Moral Imperative
If you have been following the news about climate change over the past few months, you have probably heard about Pope Francis’s Encyclical on the Environment. In his letter, the Pope appeals for the whole of the human family to unite in protecting our common home. Echoing the pastoral statement of a Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference, Pope Francis recognizes that “Everyone’s talents and involvement are needed to redress the damage caused by human abuse of God’s creation” (quoted on p. 13).
In the spirit of this historical encyclical, and in conjunction with the Pope’s visit to U.S. later this month, United Campus Ministry and OU Climate Action Now are calling area residents, people of moral conviction and people of faith, to join together in dialogue about the Pope’s letter. We aim to discuss what we’re doing already as individuals and communities, and what we might do more of and better together on this universally important issue.
We will start with short speeches by a speaker from the Catholic Committee of Appalachia, a group working for strong support of the Pope’s encyclical from the region’s 26 bishops, an atheist called to action by moral commitment and representatives of other faiths and moral outlooks. But the heart of the meeting will be small-group conversations aimed at action. We will ask ourselves, what do our convictions tell us to do with our knowledge about climate disruption. What must we do about climate right now? What can we do together right now?
This meeting will take place 7-9 p.m., on Wednesday, Sept. 30, in Grover East 205.
If you would like to get involved, or for more information, please contact Evan Young or Austin Babrow, babrow@ohio.edu or 740-597-2783.
Austin Babrow is a professor at Ohio University.
