Next year the Church celebrates the 10th anniversary of Laudato Sí, Pope Francis’ encyclical letter addressed to all people, to “every person living on this planet” to “care for our common home.”
This was the spark that brought approximately 90 people from throughout Canada and the United States to Olive Branch, MS (just south of Memphis), October 7-10, to discuss two seemingly diverse themes: climate change and nuclear weapons. Hosted by the Priests of the Sacred Heart (Dehonians), the “Dehonian Conference on the Dual Threats of Climate Change and Nuclear Weapons,” featured presentations by Archbishop John Wester of Santa Fe and Sr. Kathleen Storms, SSND. Participants included Dehonian priests and brothers, coworkers, parishioners, students, seminarians and others with a connection to the religious order.
According to the presenters, two of the greatest threats to our “common home” are climate change and nuclear weapons.
“Climate change is a normal process, but what we are experiencing now is climate disruption,” said Sr. Kathleen. “Disruption gets to the roots of our existence; it creates extinction.”
As she spoke, Florida was bracing for Hurricane Milton, the second of two significant hurricanes with devastating harm in just a few weeks’ time.
Speaking on the second topic, the archbishop noted that he was profoundly impacted by a visit to Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 2017. When he returned to Santa Fe, he was acutely aware that much of the work of developing and testing atomic bombs took place in New Mexico. He has since become a staunch advocate for universal, verifiable nuclear disarmament.
In 2022, Archbishop Wester published a pastoral letter titled, “Living in the Light of Christ’s Peace: A Conversation Toward Nuclear Disarmament.”
In the years since, he has continued to keep the issue in the public eye through letters, speeches and regular “pilgrimages of peace” to Japan on the anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
One of the challenges of any conference is turning it into something more than just an isolated moment in time. In small and large-group discussions, participants identified “next steps” to be taken personally and locally to better care “for our common home.”
A final message was approved, which outlines the work of the gathering and the commitments to which it pledges.
READ MORE on the province website
PHOTOS from the conference
FINAL MESSAGE from conference
OPENING ADDRESS from Fr. Gustave Lulendo, SCJ in French and in English
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