Pope Francis released the Apostolic Exhortation Laudate Deum on October 4, 2023 in order to tackle the climate crisis. The exhortation is intended as a follow-up document to Laudato Si’, published eight years earlier, because – as Pope Francis observed – “with the passage of time… our responses have not been adequate, while the world in which we live is collapsing and may be nearing the breaking point” (LD, 2). Such urgency invites us to reinforce the advocacy and to make this agenda central to our institutional commitments and activities.
The Religious Educators’ Association of the Philippines (REAP) and the University of Santo Tomas, through its Center for Theology, Religious Studies and Ethics (UST-CTRSE), and the Institute of Religion (UST-IR), are holding a Symposium on “The Significance of Laudate Deum in the Context of South and Southeast Asia Today.” The event will be done Online via Zoom on the morning of February 29, 2024 (Thursday), 9:00 AM to 12:00 noon. It aims to provide a forum that will discuss the relevance and embodiment of Laudate Deum in South and Southeast Asia.
Prof. Antonio Levy Ingles, Jr. of the Philosophy and Theology Department of the College of St. Benilde, Manila, and Fr. Joby Tharamangalam, O.P., Prior of St. Thomas Priory in Goa, India, will deliver the main lectures. Mr. Chot Velasquez, President of Aksyon Kalikasan Organization, and Ms. Patricia Joy Mobilla of UST-IR will respond to the first and second lectures respectively.
The event is also offered as an activity of the Center for Dialogue with Cultures and Religions in Asia (CDCRA) of UST-CTRSE, hence the participation of Fr. Joby Tharamangalam, OP of the Dominican Province of India. The discussion aims to look into how Pope Francis’ agenda for integral ecology is received and has shaped the cultures of South and Southeast Asia, particularly India and the Philippines.
Dominican Students and members of the Dominican Family in the Asia-Pacific Region, along with Theology professors and students, religious education instructors, environment advocates, and other interested parties, are invited to participate in the discussion.
For questions, please send an email to ctrse@ust.edu.ph or call + 632 3406-1611 loc. 8659. Those interested in joining are asked to register either through the QR Code on the poster, or through this link: https://bit.ly/Laudate-Deum_Manila.
