CatholicNews.ie: ‘Laudato Si” invites all to Mallow for a biodiversity conference

With the backdrop of recent environmental crises like flooding in Spain and fires in Los Angeles, what does care for creation mean for parish communities in Ireland?  How can faith communities be witnesses of hope to our neighbours? The Laudato Si Working Group of the Bishops’ Conference invites everyone to join them in Mallow, Springfort Hall Hotel, Co Cork on Saturday, 25 January 2025, from 10.00am to 4.00pm for a conference entitled: Seeds of Hope; Returning Biodiversity to our Parishes.

Key speakers include Bishop Martin Hayes of Kilmore and the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference Laudato Si’ coordinator, Nellie McLaughlin RSM, an environmental activist, author and founding member of Green Sod Land Trust Ireland and Kate Chandler, Communities and Engagement Pollinator Officer for the National Biodiversity Data Centre.  The speakers have been actively involved in supporting communities around Ireland engage with the call in Laudato Si’ to care for creation.

Workshops in the afternoon will offer a range of areas to delve deeper into, from ‘Returning to Nature in Killaloe Diocese’ with the Clare biodiversity officer Barry O’Loughlin and ‘Mapping your church grounds’ with Niamh Ní Dhúill from Oideachas an Dúlra.  Sister Betty Baker will explore the rich menu of eco-spirituality that can encourage and sustain this journey, and Siobhan from the Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice will speak on “The Parish as Oasis”.

The presence of varied groups active in the sector will encourage participants in the building up of their parish as a hub of support for biodiversity and that can then inspire others with these seeds of hope. As this year marks the 10th anniversary of Laudato Si’, this event is an opportunity for parish communities to learn about care for creation and take actions that bear witness to the hope they are called to create in this Jubilee year.

Laudato Si’ is a bestselling encyclical letter of Pope Francis, published in 2015, which expresses Church teaching on care for our common home in an accessible way to all people of all ages, and that reminds each of us that we collectively hold a responsibility to be guardians of creation in the interest of future generations of humanity.

To register, please email: maria.murphy@trocaire.org.  Suggested donation of €10 on the day.

Le chéile, is féidir linn síolta an dóchais a chur agus a chothú. Together, we can sow and nurture the seeds of hope.

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