Dr Lorna Gold from Trócaire provided ECI with this update:
On the 3rd November Mary Robinson launched Fr.Sean McDonagh’s edited book of essays on Laudato Si – an Irish Response to a packed audience in Trinity Chapel. Over 200 people participated, many from religious orders around the country. The first edition of the book has sold out and was reviewed in the Irish Times last week. Mary Robinson presented Pope Francis with a copy of the book signed by the 11 authors the following week.
On the 14th November, an ecumenical group from the Irish Council of Churches representing 8 denominations came together in the Lutheran Church in Dublin for a workshop on climate justice. The workshop, which was supported by Christian Aid and Trócaire aimed to came up with suggested ‘affirmations’ on climate justice which can be put forward to the ICC meeting.
On the 15th November, the staff of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference held a full day in-service on Laudato Sí. The aim was to understand the Encyclical and its relevance to the work of the whole bishops conference. The event went very well and was supported by Trócaire, Eco-Congregation Ireland and others. The ideas and proposals developed on the day will be brought forward by the Working Group of the bishops on Laudato Sí.
On the 16th November, two important events took place in Trinity College to mark the visit of Rev. Fletcher Harper, CEO of Green Faith, to Ireland. In the afternoon there was a workshop on divestment from fossil fuels and the launch of the new Trócaire/GCCM resource ‘Ethical Investments in an Era of Climate Change’. This resource is a handy guide for faith-based organisations on how to kick off a process of review to align investments to a climate changed world. It is available online at the link above. Lorna Gold, the author, is available to come and give presentations on this in the new year to interested groups. You can book her at [email protected]. Around 40 people attended the seminar, including financial sector representatives and religious bursars.
On the evening of 16th, Trócaire, in collaboration with the Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice, co-hosted a seminar on Laudato Sí and Ambitious Climate Action in Ireland. Around 100 people attended the seminar, which was truly inspiring and demonstrated that these issues are alive and well in Ireland!
On the 18th November, the dioceses of Cashel and Emly and Killaloe, in partnership with the Cloghjordan EcoVillage, held a seminar on Laudato Sí. The event was very well attended – with the two local bishops and almost 100 participants (in a room that was designed for 50!). The energy for local action on Laudato Sí and the great leadership of the bishops was evident.
The twitter account @LaudatoSi_IRE is now live! Please follow it to hear and share your news about what is happening to bring Laudato Si to life!