CEE Attends Laudato Si Conference in Italy
Last week, Director of Strategic Initiatives Samira Siddique and Visiting Scholar Dr. Erin Lothes attended “Raising Hope for Climate Justice“ in Castel Gandolfo, Italy. The gathering, organized by the Laudato Si’ Movement with support from the Vatican, marked ten years since the publication of Pope Francis’ seminal encyclical Laudato Si’: On Care For Our Common Home. The international conference brought together faith leaders, activists and policymakers to mobilize moral leadership on the climate crisis.
Pope Leo XIV addressed participants, asking:
God will ask us if we have cultivated and cared for the world that He created, for the benefit of all and for future generations, and if we have taken care of our brothers and sisters. What will be our answer?
He called for a shift “from collecting data to caring; and from environmental discourse to an ecological conversion that transforms both personal and communal lifestyles.” These themes align closely with the Center’s ongoing engagement in the Global Ethical Stocktake, an international initiative to galvanize moral and ethical climate action at COP30 and beyond.
A centerpiece of the conference was a block of 20,000-year-old ice, broken off of a glacier in Greenland due to climate change. The Pope blessed the ice during the opening session: “May it awaken our hearts, cleanse our indifference, soothe our grief and renew our hope.” It slowly melted throughout the conference, serving as a stark reminder of what’s at stake.
While in Italy, Samira took part as an observer/rapporteur in a self-organized dialogue for the Global Ethical Stocktake, co-organized by Laudato Si’ Movement, GreenFaith, and the Women’s Faith and Climate Network. Participants and speakers included Minister Marina Silva, Mary Robinson, Bill McKibben, Kumi Naidoo, Rev Fletcher Harper, Iyad Abumoghli, and many more.
Images courtesy of the Vatican.