Events (update)

Churches and religions in Ukraine working to protect Creation

For the second year in a row, the Catholic University of Lviv, Ukraine, has organized an Ecumenical Social Week, taking its cue from Pope Francis' Laudato si'. Following last year's edition dedicated to "Hearing the Cry of the Earth. Integral Ecology in Action," the university's Institute of Ecumenical Studies has chosen for this year's event the theme "Promoting the Common Good: Toward Sustainable Development." Work will begin on October 5, 2021.

Events

Program of the

14th Ecumenical Social Week

International Forum

October 5-9, 2021, online

 Registration - https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe1xT3LmBgk_ykrS4tyJ2f1SjCuPQX2A2f9ioJN-WyrnBV5XA/viewform

Contact: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .ua, Iryna Kitura, project coordinator

The Fourteenth edition of the annual Ecumenical Social Week will accommodate an international conference «Promoting the Common Good: Towards Sustainable Development of Society»that will reflect on sustainable development through the lenses of the notion of the common good, which is one of the central concepts of the Catholic social thought and known across different religious communities as well. Some of the questions that ESW would like to address: How can civil society, the state, business, the Church, religious organizations, mass media, and educators cooperate in reaching the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)? How are the SDGs interconnected, and how can improvements/problems in one field cause  the progress/decline in others, pointing to the need for integral human development? 

May we work together to advance towards a new horizon of love and peace, of fraternity and solidarity, of mutual support and acceptance.” Pope Francis

CRISES IN NATURE AND DISPLACEMENT

Climate change contributes to large-scale human migration as it results in a scarcity of essential resources, increased frequency of extreme weather events, and so-called slow onset events. Weather-related crises have triggered more than twice as much displacement as conflict and violence in the last decade, according to UNHCR and the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC).

The current development model sees humanity as the owner and ruler of nature, which may be exploited without limits. This modus operandi widens inequalities and intensifies social exclusion. Although the environmental crisis affects everyone, it has a greater impact on vulnerable populations, whether in terms of limited access to clean water, food scarcity, agricultural products spoilage, or violent conflict. The degradation of the ecosystem is also a social degradation, and is a significant push factor in human migration patterns.

The building of a healthier and more welcoming and therefore more equal world depends on effective public policies that offer responses to the many aspects of the climate crisis, including migration. Coordinated action is needed to ensure that environmental challenges are recognized and addressed in a way that protects peoples’ rights, reflects their needs and aspirations, and provides for a sustainable future.

The Catholic Church feels care for  the earth and all those who have been displaced due to the climate crisis. This bulletin presents some good examples.

Nuclear Energy: Risks, Safety and Ethics and How is COVID-19 linked to the Chernobyl Phenomenon?

On Thursday, May 20, another online event was held within the project The 14^th Ecumenical Social Week. This time we discussed the nuclear energy, its ecological and ethic dimensions for Ukraine and the world. The event was initiated by the Institute of Ecumenical Studies of the Ukrainian Catholic University.

The experts, who participated: Serhii Plokhii, Professor of the History of Ukraine at Harvard University, Director of the Ukrainian Research Institute at Harvard University; Vitalii Demianiuk, Chairman of the Supervisory Board at the NT-Engineering company, Ukrainian engineer, entrepreneur, public activist, philanthropist; Oleh Pokalchuk, social psychologist and Volodymyr Sheremeta, Head of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church Ecobureau.

The event was moderated by Oksana Kulakovska, Director of the Analytical Center and the Kyiv Center of UCU.

“Pope Francis accentuates that we should apply the interdisciplinary approach to the environmental issue. And our Ecumenical Social Week strives to do this. The today meeting is a vivid example of this approach. When a scholar, an engineer, a historian, a theologian and a psychologist sit at the same “virtual table” and learn from each other and give us, the participants, chance to learn and to investigate the issue of the nuclear energy from different points of view” - Pavlo Smytsnyuk, the director of the Institute of Ecumenical Studies of UCU, addressed the audience.