Bridge-Building conference on ethics

A first-of-its-kind meeting of nearly 500 moral theologians and ethicists got underway here July 26 with the surprise support of Pope Francis, who in a letter to the event praised its focus on discerning how academics can better respond to the shifting global geopolitical environment.

Aug 01, 2018

By Joshua J. McElwee
A first-of-its-kind meeting of nearly 500 moral theologians and ethicists got underway here July 26 with the surprise support of Pope Francis, who in a letter to the event praised its focus on discerning how academics can better respond to the shifting global geopolitical environment.

In a three-page note read aloud at the beginning of the "A Critical Time for Bridge-Building: Catholic Theological Ethics Today" conference, the pontiff said he had "appreciated this effort of yours" since meeting with the event's organizers at the Vatican earlier in the year.

The theme for the event, said Francis, is "one to which I myself have often called attention: the need to build bridges, not walls."

"I keep repeating this in the lively hope that people everywhere will pay attention to this need that is increasingly acknowledged, albeit at times resisted by fear and forms of regression," he said. "We are called to recognize every sign and mobilize all our energy in order to remove the walls of division and build bridges of fraternity everywhere in the world."

Particularly, the theologians at the July 26-29 conference would be addressing those  contentious issues such as climate change and the treatment of migrants and refugees, the pope said that in today's "complex and demanding" geopolitical environment "there is need for individuals and institutions capable of assuming a renewed leadership."

"There is no need, on the other hand, for hurling slogans that often remain empty, or for antagonism between parties jockeying for the front position," said Francis. "We require a leadership that can help to find and put into practice a more just way for all of us to live in this world as sharers in a common destiny."

The Sarajevo conference was hosted by Catholic Theological Ethics in the World Church, a network of academics that began in 2002 and now includes some 1,000 members. Participants from about 80 countries are taking part in the four-day event, which will unfold with plenary talks, panel discussions, and a slew of breakout sessions.

In his letter, Francis praised the network for the way it has connected academics from various continents.

Citing his December 2017 apostolic constitution Veritatis gaudium ("The Joy of Truth"), which updated norms for pontifical universities and faculties, the pontiff noted that in that document he had mentioned "the urgent need for networking between those institutions worldwide that cultivate and promote ecclesiastical studies."

"I encourage you, as men and women working in the field of theological ethics, to be passionate for such dialogue and networking," Francis told the conference.

"This approach can inspire analyses that will be all the more insightful and attentive to the complexity of human reality," he continued. "You yourselves will learn ever better how to be faithful to the word of God which challenges us in history, and to show solidarity with the world, which you are not called to judge but rather to offer new paths, accompany journeys, bind hurts and shore up weakness."

 Jesuit Fr. James Keenan, one of three co-chairs of the event stressed the following:

"In a world where nationalistic popularism tears apart any global cooperation, where the abandonment of the Paris accord mirrors the abandonment of migrants and refugees, where civility is sacrificed by the banality of self-interest and the common is trampled underfoot, we need to be globally connected and active, abandoning the domination of the global north and looking beyond local interests. We can do it. We have the capacity, the resources and the commitment to do So."

(This article first appeared on NCRonline.org, the Website of National Catholic Reporter, and is being used with permission)

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