Sr. Kathleen Deignan Institute for Earth and Spirit Welcomes Leadership of Sisters of the Congregation of Notre Dame to Iona University

October 25, 2024

Friday, October 25th saw the delegation of Sisters welcomed to the Atrium reception area of the LaPenta School of Business accompanied by our traditional Iona welcome - the skirl of bagpipes. Our guests were led in procession to the spacious Dean’s Conference Room for the presentations and discussions that would fill the morning.

Several speakers offered in-person endorsements and congratulations: Rachana Umashankar, Religious Studies Chair &(who also presented a musical welcome on the harp), Dr. Brian Brown a co-founder of the Thomas Berry Forum for Ecological Dialogue and others.We had the pleasure to welcome the newest member of the Institute - Fr. Vaughn Fayle, OFM , where he is very busy teaching Music, Philosophy and Religious Studies.Dan Potoki, former student of Kathleen, spoke movingly of his time at Iona under the guidance of Kathleen (who introduced him to the woman he would marry); his time spent with the CIA and FBI combatting human trafficking; his links with the Hynes Institute and Columbia University and his conviction he is committed to works of Mercy in the world inspired by his family - his two youngest accompanied Dan - and his time at Iona. Student Connor Murray spoke briefly of his student perspective as he navigates his undergrad time here at Iona, as a founder of the Iona GreenFaith Circle,and his opportunity to travel this coming summer to Assisi for the annual Thomas Berry environment gathering.

Dr. James Robinson read aloud a powerful letter of endorsement for the work of the Institute from President Seamus Carey. Jim offered an overview of his perspective as he assumes his new responsibilities as Director of the Deignan Institute this semester. Dean Joseph Stabile of Arts and Sciences spoke of the contributions of the Institute to the mission of Iona across multiple decades, especially how essential these teachings are to the success of the Columba Cornerstone curriculum. We heard from student Layne McDonald and her connections with Sr. Kathleen at the Deignan Institute where she is assisting Sr. Kathleen with her soon to be published Book of Hours for Thomas Berry. Layne is on the Rowing Team and credits her family for her sense of the natural world. She is a Biology major and heard about the Institute during a presentation we made in Jim Robinson’s class on Religion and the Natural World.We also heard from several students who are part of the Food Recovery Network and the Iona GreenFaith Circle, newly formed. Marie Pace shared her enthusiasm for the work of Kathleen, having observed the movements over her 24 years at Iona. Dr. Elena Procario Foley, who holds the Endowed Chair in Jewish-Catholic Studies, recalled her alliance with Kathleen on Catholic identity efforts at Iona when they were colleagues at Religious Studies engagements on these issues. In the spirit of Marguerite Bourgeois and Edmund Rice, Elena notes that 30% of Iona students are Pell Grant recipients – they need significant financial aid to maintain their places at the University. Dr. Christina Carlson, also a product of CND education on Staten Island, made a point of highlighting the CND emphasis on the importance of education to foster the status of women. New faculty were represented by Dr. Sharon Williams by way of Drew University and now in the Iona department of Religious Studies who offered that her introduction to Kathleen came via their shared love of sacred music in the Psalms.Sharon has been bringing Iona students to Ghana, Jamaica and United Nations events.

The assembly moved to luncheon in the La Penta Atrium which included informal discussion with students.

The Afternoon continued with a series of video testimonials from former students and Iona colleagues all celebrating their connections to Kathleen and the Institute. Kathleen thanked her sister, Ann, for her regular and deep generosity toward the Institute, sponsoring multiple students with her financial assistance.Kathleen mentioned that Sr. Libby Osgood, CND, was indispensable to the completion of the very successful Teilhard de Chardin, A Book of Hours, (2023) Orbis Books.Brian Brown and Br. Kevin Cawley gave witness to their partnership as co-founders of the Thomas Berry Forum for Ecological Dialogue in the Institute. Kevin made remarks linking his work with Edmund Rice International at the United Nations in the work of care of Earth as an essential feature of fostering the ideals of Laudato si in that space. Kathleen reported on her links to Fr. Vaughn projects in Malawi when she offered a recent presentation online to 90+ seminarians.Dr. Christina Carlson noted here that she has joined with Edmund Rice Education Beyond Borders at their recent convening in India.

SR. Ona Bessette, CND Superior, thanked all for their commitment to the mission of the Institute and their faithfulness to the inspiration of Kathleen over four decades at Iona.Sr. Ona enthused over the efforts to expand the reach to be more mobile and available as was evident in the reports on works in Africa. The Sisters have communities in Cameroon, for example. Other collaborations might be forthcoming as religious open the potential of the teachings of Laudato si for the wider church.

The day concluded with several video testimonies selected from a wide array on offer. The concluding video from Chris O’Connor closed with his astonishing announcement that he would match any gift to come from the CND visitors up to one hundred thousand dollars.The 2 p.m. hour having arrived, the celebration then adjourned.

A few Photos from the Day (Kevin Cawley)

Thomas Berry Contemplative Ecologists Circle October 17, 2024
Thomas Berry Evening Thoughts: Chapter Nine, Legal Conditions for Earth Survival

Our Circle was privileged to host Dr. Brian Brown, a student of Thomas Berry at Fordham University, who earned his doctorate in history of religions, He is co-founder of the Thomas Berry Forum for Ecological Dialogue , Iona University, New York where he has taught for decades in religious studies. He also holds a juris doctor, focusing on Earth jurisprudence in both Berry’s work and in Indigenous American traditions. Brian retired from the Iona faculty in 2020. His most recent book is Earth’s Journey Into Hope: Reflections on Thomas Berry’s Great Work, published by Orbis Books, 2024. 

A brief narrative of the presentation, derived from notes of Kevin Cawley, is given here. The video provides a full transcript of Dr. Brown’s text for those who wish to avail of that service when viewing the video.

Brian spoke of law as order and law as justice. He suggested that there exists within the human construct of law a fundamental ambiguity between law as order and law as justice, understood broadly as doing what is right across the broad expanse of human cultural experience Brian went on emphasizing that law provides clarity and codification of values for a community. He highlighted the importance of law's creative response to changing circumstances and its transformative capacities. Brian also critiqued the transformation of American law, which increasingly aligned with commercial and industrial interests, leading to the rise of corporate control. By the middle of the 19th century the legal system had been reshaped to the advantage of men of commerce and industry at the expense of farmers, workers and consumers.

As new fact patterns emerged. new clarifications were needed. and new additional regulations would require further promulgations. As environmental protection, laws and regulations were essentially interpreted and applied by administrative agencies, their original status derived from Congress . Later, it became abundantly clear just how complex and technical each of those environmental statutes would become. This tendency for a court to defer to agency expertise was given definitive status in the 1984 case Chevron, U.S.A. vs. The National Resources Defense Council. In that case it was established that when there is ambiguity in the meaning of an environmental law or regulation, a reviewing court must give deference

But in June of this year 2024, that order tightened its hold over earth's air. water, and biodiversity through the insidious manipulation by the conservative majority of the US Supreme Court. In the case of Lopez Enterprises, V Raimondo. those justices notable for their rulings in favor of corporate interest s overturned the chef. the chevron deference, principle. environmental protections and other public safety matters were substantially weakened by the effective removal critical technical expertise from the decision-making process.

The Roberts court, notable for their rulings in favor of corporate interests overturned the Chevron Deference principle. Thus, environmental protections and other public safety matters were substantially weakened by the effective removal of critical technical expertise from the decision-making process. This injudicious assertion by the Roberts Court is particularly pernicious. as it harms law’s movement towards ecological justice through Earth's exposure in its most pressing vulnerabilities. In Berry’s thought , he vests all beings with the nobility. the right to contribute its role within the unfolding creativity of the cosmic process. Law draws its most powerful protective animation from its fundamental origin within the universe itself whence all rights derive. Here Thomas Berry's insights for an Earth jurisprudence are most instructive with his insistence that the universe is not a collection of objects, but a communion of subjects. He vests all beings with the nobility, their rights within the unfolding creativity of the cosmic process.

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Deignan Institute Delegation Attends Oren Lyons Tribute on Indigenous Peoples Day

Sr. Kathleen Deignan, Dr James Robinson, and Br. Kevin Cawley represented Iona at the Thomas Berry Foundation, Center for Earth Ethics and Union Theological Seminary on October 14 for a special ceremony honoring Chief Oren Lyons with the 2024 Thomas Berry Award. The Thomas Berry Forum for Ecological Dialogue at Iona University received the Thomas Berry Award in 2019

Sr. Kathleen and Br. Kevin were joined by Dr. Brian Brown, Emeritus Professor of Religious Studies at Iona who received special recognition on the occasion of the publication of his latest book, Earth’s Journey into Hope: Reflections on Thomas Berry’s Great Work.

On Monday, October 14, Indigenous Peoples’ Day, the Thomas Berry Foundation honored Oren Lyons, a Faithkeeper of the Turtle Clan of the Onondaga Nation of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, with the 2024 Thomas Berry Award. The ceremony, co-sponsored by Union Theological Seminary and the Center for Earth Ethics, was held in Union’s James Chapel

The Thomas Berry Foundation confers this award to individuals who have dedicated their lives to service to the Earth. The 25 recipients of this award, first presented in 1998, include acclaimed musicians, professors, spiritual leaders and leaders of international foundations.

Rev. Dr. Serene Jones, president of Union, welcomed everyone and thanked Chief Lyons for his “tireless and courageous work to advance justice for Indigenous communities and for the environment over the course of an incredible lifetime.” CEE Executive Director Karenna Gore honed in on Lyons’ significance for the Indigenous, environmental and climate justice movements. Remembering a prophetic speech that Lyons delivered more than 20 years ago (which he would later read in the program), she commended him for “speaking with such clarity…which reflects not only what an extraordinary person he is, but the depth of the tradition that he carries.”

John Grim and Mary Evelyn Tucker, representing the Foundation and the Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology, presented the award. Lyons had known Berry (1914-2009), a Catholic priest and ecology advocate, since the 1970s, when Lyons began speaking about environmental concerns and Indigenous values. In her remarks, Tucker remarked, “Their mutual appreciation was so great that Berry once said of Chief Lyons, ‘Oren Lyons was undoubtedly one of the persons who would come into my mind immediately as a model of what a human being might be.’”

The need to work for peace, equality and harmony among all people, and between people and the Earth animates Lyons. “Leaders of peace must step forward and take the responsibility for a terrible paradigm change in the direction of current lifestyles in Western and materialistic societies,” he said. “The human species has become the most voracious and abusive consumer of Earth’s resources. We have tipped a balance against the future of our children, and we have tipped the balance against the future of our species.” (Photo of Oren Lyons: Allegra Lovejoy)

Hope Amid Our Planetary Crisis: Is there still hope to avert a looming planetary crisis?

Facilitators: Br. Kevin Cawley, CFC and Sr. Kathleen Deignan, CND will share their ‘hope amid the planetary crisis’ based on science, Laudato Sí and the reflections of Thomas Berry.

Ninety-Minute Session hosted by Br. Tino D’Abreu, CFC, with 100+ participants online in 16 countries.

English Version

Spanish Version

Deignan Institute For Earth And Spirit Celebrates Season of Creation

Each year from September 1 to October 4, the Christian family unites for this worldwide celebration of prayer and action to protect our common home. It is a special season where we celebrate God as Creator and acknowledge Creation as the divine continuing act that summons us as collaborators to love and care for the gift of all that is created. The times we live in show that we are not relating to the Earth as a gift from our Creator, but rather too often as a resource to be used. And yet, there is hope and the expectation for a better future. To hope in a biblical context does not mean to stand still and quiet, but rather groaning, crying, and actively striving for new life amidst the struggles.

On October 1, At noon, a group of about 70 students assembled at the Ginkgo tree on the New Rochelle campus. They were greeted by the beautiful music of Dr. Rachana Umashankar’s harp. Fr. Gerard Mulvey offered the opening prayer. Reflections on St. Francis, Pope Francis, indigenous wisdom, eco-spirituality, GreenFaith, and the Ginkgo Tree were offered by Dr. Jim Robinson, Sr. Kathleen Deignan, Br. Kevin Cawley, Prof. Liam Myers, and Connor Murray. Br Kevin made note of the extraordinary specimen of Ginkgo that has been growing on this ground for nearly 250 years. Sr. Kathleen Deignan then offered a blessing of the animals for the pets of a number of students

Following these remarks and prayers, the assembly processed across North Avenue with the icon of St. Francis held aloft, to conclude the celebration with the planting of a tree in front of Murphy Center. Facilities workers , under the direction of Peter Heslin, had prepared the ground and maneuvered the root ball carefully for the planting. Multiple students then stepped forward to grab shovels and complete the work of planting the new addition, adding compost made from cafeteria food scraps. Our planting was a Ruby Falls weeping redbud. This small tree is native to N. America and will grace the gentle slope to the left of the Murphy Center entrance.

Thank you to all participants and thank you to the planners and those who contributed their expertise to a successful marking of how to carry forward our care for our common home. Deignan Institute for Earth and Spirit offers special thanks to the office of Facilities Management and Office of Mission and Ministry for their financial support.

Evening Thoughts Chapter 8 : Global Warming

Guest: Rev. Chelsea MacMillan

Chelsea is an organizer, ordained minister and spiritual director, writer, and found of THE ALTER, a virtual community of spiritual changemakers. She also cofounded Brooklyn Center for Sacred Activism and co-hosted The Rising: Spirituality for Revolution, a podcast for sacred activists. With a diverse background in interspiritual ministry, climate justice organizing, and the performing arts, Chelsea has spent the last 15 years facilitating humans of all ages and backgrounds. Chelsea is on the Staff of GreenFaith’s International Team

GreenFaith was founded in 1992 in the USA. The founders attended the Rio Earth Summit and awakened to the sacred duty to protect the planet. Today they have staff and grassroots members in GreenFaith Circles in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and North America.

Chelsea took us through the recent engagements she participated in during the “Summer of Heat” protests at CitiBank in New York. GreenFaith and other groups also organized a large protest march to conclude the summer actions. Marchers assembled in Washington Square Park in NYC at the site of the infamous Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in 1911 which killed over 146 workers, mainly women and girls. Organizers note: "They died because of callous corporate greed and business owners who did not recognize their right to safe and dignified lives," the website explains. "Today, hundreds of thousands of people are dying from climate-induced fires, extreme heat, flooding, and air pollution. The cause is the same — corporate greed, racism, and a callous disregard for life. Just as the women of 1911 took the streets to change their conditions, we will march and fight like hell for the living." The climate crisis targets all but not all equally, - women and girls suffer the impacts of climate change disproportionality around the world.

Berry’s thoughts in this chapter include his critique of the four basic establishments that govern most human affairs in this era: governments, corporations, universities and religions. GreenFaith took special aim at the banking sector of the transnational corporations that that now control almost every phase of human activity. Citibank in particular is the largest single lender to the fossil fuel industry in this country despite the conclusive scientific evidence that fossil fuels continue to be the main drivers of catastrophic climate change.

Sr. Jeanne Clark, OP, was in our circle again tonight and noted the impact of nonviolence on those who participate and also on those who witness these actions. These public, nonviolent engagements are one response to Berry’s interrogation of the moment: “Will the human economy be accepted as a subsystem of the Earth economy, or will the Earth economy be considered to be a subsystem of the human economy?” (18 participants eventually joined this call after a tech delay caused a late start)

Next Month: Chapter 9: Legal Conditions for Earth Survival

Edmund Rice International and Deignan Institute at Iona University join climate march targeting Citibank

Citibank Primary Lender

On Sunday, August 25, a large contingent of several hundred climate activists joined a march in NYC to challenge the role of CitiBank, with Headquarters in New York City, as a primary lender to the fossil fuel industry. Sister Kathleen Deignan, CND, Founder of the Deignan Institute for Earth and Spirit was joined by Br. Kevin Cawley, Main Representative of ERI at United Nations in NY and Director of the Thomas Berry Forum for Ecological Dialogue. Summer of Heat marchers assembled in Washington Square at the site of the infamous Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire in 1911 which killed over 146 workers, mainly women and girls.Organizers note: "They died because of callous corporate greed and business owners who did not recognize their right to safe and dignified lives," the website explains. "Today, hundreds of thousands of people are dying from climate-induced fires, extreme heat, flooding, and air pollution. The cause is the same — corporate greed, racism, and a callous disregard for life. Just as the women of 1911 took the streets to change their conditions, we will march and fight like hell for the living." The climate crisis targets all but not all equally, - women and girls suffer the impacts of climate change dis-proportionality around the world.

Principles of Action

Summer of Heat brings together a multiracial, multi-generational, cross-class movement for a campaign of sustained nonviolent direct action that demands that Wall Street stop investing in, financing, and insuring fossil fuels. Our work together is guided by these principles:

• We are unwavering in our goal to end fossil fuels.
• We fight to protect people and places we love; we honor each other's fights.
• We fight to end all forms of oppression.

At the core of the social, economic, and environmental crises we face today are centuries of colonialism, racism, capitalism, and other systems of oppression. Our work is grounded in addressing the root causes of the climate crisis, and we remain vigilant to the ways these systems can creep into our work.

Line of March and Drum line

The line of march moved from Washington Square east to 6th Avenue and then downtown to eventually conclude at the Manhattan residence of Jane Fraser, CEO of Citibank. The action was part of Summer of Heat, a season-long series of civil disobedience targeting the funders of the climate crisis. Marchers were boosted by then joyful energy and percussive beat of over 50 members of the Brazilian Samba Reggae drum line Fogo Azul (Blue Fire).

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Thomas Berry Forum Contemplative Ecologists Circle
Evening Thoughts:  Chapter 7 – The Petrochemical Age
July 18, 2024

Kathleen brought us together with an Evening Vespers taken from her new volume: Thomas Berry Book of Hours  (Orbis, 2025). We took several moments initially opening on questions about our technological entrancement, beginning with concerns raised about the practice of fracking, thus far held at bay by activists in New York state. We took some time exploring the truth that as Thomas has noted, the former way of extracting and damaging Earth as we withdrew the petroleum is clearly now a pathological practice of destroying the best offerings of the natural world. We have lost our bearings, the Earth is primary, not the human. There is no such thing as the human community – we are all members of the Life Community, and we are in unacknowledged grief at our predicament.

Our modern, developed world child birthing practices have damaged the mother-child relationship because we are in a technical trance with our pharmaceutical ways of interfering in the natural processes. We need to work at the recovery of the human species. Others reported being overwhelmed by the message of this chapter that the automobile has done so much damage to the atmosphere. We have to learn the lessons from Parker Palmer and others, to live our way into a new thinking rather than think our way into a new way of living. A decisive resistance will be required in this fast/slow responding.

There was agreement that contemplation requires “being with” and facing into the darkest realities if we are to respond authentically.   We may well be haunted by grief that preceded our own entry into this world. Grief can be intergenerational and historical.

Kathleen mentioned a new book is forthcoming from Brian Brown.  We will keep a lookout.

Recording of this session is posted below.  (21 Participants)

Care of Earth

Presentation by Br. Kevin Cawley of Deignan Institute at Iona University

Delivered at Edmund Rice International, Geneva 
June 26, 2024

Edmund Rice International offers training in person at the Human Rights Council in Geneva in June and November each year. Participants in June 2024 came from India, Ghana, USA, Australia, South Africa and Ireland. The training looks for those committed to the promotion of human rights, care of the earth and engagement in advocacy and who will have the necessary time and support to carry out their role.

For some, the main focus of their work will be on raising awareness and local advocacy (e.g. in their schools) whilst for others the focus will be more on engagement with the UN mechanisms. These are not mutually exclusive, and it is expected that those working in schools would engage with ERI and raise awareness about their countries UN reviews and encourage the use of the outcomes of the reviews in their advocacy work.

The bulk of the training sessions take place in Gaillard, France, at the Christian Brothers residence. Regular travel to Geneva to the 56th session of the Human Rights Council was part of these days. ERI links attendees with partner advocacy groups such as Franciscans International. Participants become familiar with and visit the headquarters of several Geneva-based global organizations such as the World Health Organization, Red Cross International, World Meteorological Organization and the International Labor Organization.  

Kevin Cawley is charged with informing all attendees of the current state of world efforts to avoid a catastrophic climate crisis and further deterioration of the basic Earth systems caused by human activity. The basic guides to our response are recent papal documents - mainly Laudato Si:  On Care for Our Common Home. 

The program looks at climate, biodiversity loss and pollution, IPCC policy warnings, rising temperatures globally, the danger of crossing the 1.5C threshold for global surface temperature, the collapse of large land based ice sheets, rising sea levels, droughts, monsoons, increase in insect borne disease, biodiversity loss, impacts of heat around the world, growing water scarcity, corporations rising above the law, fossil fuel production and consumption rising, banking collusion with large fossil fuel transnational corporations, growing global inequality, UN efforts  via  numerous treaties and conferences to turn back the global emissions leading to warming, corporate indifference to the crisis, annual UN  climate conferences in Bonn, Paris, Copenhagen, Marrakech, Lima, Sharm el Sheikh, Dubai, Madrid, Glasgow, Regional Fora in half dozen locations leading up to COP29 in Baku , Azerbaijan this fall, global plastics crisis, financing for loss and damage to poor nations, and finally a way forward when humanity recognizes we are part of a single, integral community in common with  all creation as pointed out by Thomas Berry among others.

This chapter begins with a brief litany of human progress in national government via national identity. The focus is mostly on 18th and 19th powers, mainly European. There is clear regard for music, philosophy, literature and artistic achievement in these eras. Thomas includes mention of Latin America, China and the US revolution. Generally, these were relatively rapid changes compared to the eons of earlier Earth history...

The rise of nations became the rise of nationalism, community identity essential but the community was limited to the human and morphed often into a self-veneration- civil religion. National holidays replaced religious holidays much was made of national flags and national monuments to fallen heroes and great victories over OTHER nation-states. The common good of the Nation became the touchstone and the justification for what followed, including, without irony, colonial aggrandizement. Even former colonies went on to colonize weaker groups, tribes, indigenous peoples, less developed regional groups, One significant development has been the rapidity of the rise in these national powers. We have heard in previous chapters of the vast periods of time – millions of years- needed to bring about the transformations of atoms to molecules to viruses, to cells to organisms, to more complex living forms and thence to humans.

But here the nation states rise with startling rapidity.

All this despite the general belief in primacy of the national identity and the democratic control of government. (Thomas mentions Rousseau teaching sensitivity to the natural world and
the importance of the social contract and John Locke favoring civil government early in the 18th century.) Governments took similar shapes- various versions of democracy. He mentions the importance of freedom of thought and freedom of religion and the lives of so many who suffered excessive personal restraint such as Bruno, Descartes, Bacon, Spinoza, Locke and others. Nonetheless, He notes the many achievements of modernity that were made possible by this form of government.

We see the suffering of colonial possessions in the 19th and 20th centuries especially.
Thomas does not dwell on Africa in this chapter but I will mention here the striking phenomenon of African nations in the mid 20th century, e.g from 1941 to 1980 we saw more than 50 states (17 countries in 1960) throw off the shackles of their colonizers and declare independence including 12 colonies of France and 12 colonies of Great Britain.

Here Let us recall Thomas’ teaching:
Earth is our primary community

• Human is derivative
• Challenges - Human Rights overshadows Earth Rights
• National legal structures leave Earth defenseless
• Earth became separated from the Divine presence and the covenant relationship became the juridic model

Nation-state economic benefits were not shared equally. Some manipulated the system for their personal advantage, especially in the matter of personal property. The right to property led to the inequalities that continue to infect the public sphere. And we see more clearly the concerns of the nation states have been primarily human concerns and the increased plundering of the non-human world. Thomas was writing of course before the appearance of Laudato si in 2015.

We seem to have lost our regard for the natural law teachings that began with the Greeks and Romans who saw the human as part of the natural systems of the planet. Humans have lost the sense of our place in the regular order, with the understanding of our limitations as a result. He notes we need to be present to the world in a MUTUALLY ENHANCING MANNER.

Sadly, the Enlightenment Period distanced the human from the natural world and created the grounds for economic exploitation. The non-human world is reduced to a collection of objects.

Thomas cites the Earth Summit in Rio in 1992 attempting to see the human in relation to the natural world. National and human allegiances made common understandings difficult. Nowadays we are more aware of the centrality of the UN in achieving a balance of human functioning in a mutually enhancing relationship to the Earth. The Earth cannot support the demands we are making. ONE of the main problems is the control of transnational corporations. They have superior resources. They have more complete access to governments. They have massive influence on UN Global conferences on biodiversity and climate.

KC COMMENT on COP28 Dubai, UAE- A report found that at least 2,456 fossil fuel lobbyists registered to attend the two-week long summit. That's more than almost every other country delegation, except for Brazil (3,081) and COP28 host the United Arab Emirates (4,409)

COMMENT BY KC: Nation-States now predominate (soon to be submerged in the corporate petro-state)

Nation-States form the United Nations structure.    They determine the agenda, the procedures, the rules of discussion, the protocols, the methods of dispute settlement, national boundaries, even ocean boundaries, rights of access to remedies, jurisdiction of international tribunals, governance of global communications, global health challenges, and peace agreements, to name some prominent features.

Nation-States appear to decide so many major questions that we have now come to depend on them beyond their willingness to address global predicaments. Let me relate here a small portion of a very recent address by the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres a week ago on World Environment Day.

What do nations owe the planet? First, huge cuts in emissions. Led by the huge emitters. The G20 countries produce eighty percent of global emissions – they have the responsibility, and the capacity, to be out in front. Countries are also expected to start submitting their national climate plans or Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) this year. These documents provide the details of how countries expect to meet their climate targets; however, planning for low- and middle-income countries remains difficult as there is no sense of how much or what type of climate finance will be available.
Climate diplomats will have a lot to sort through at COP29 — so much so that it’s difficult to expect much progress from the conference. Significant public attention and pressure, however, have moved negotiations in the past, during the Paris Agreement negotiations, for example, and, more recently, during deliberationsfor the Loss and Damage fund at COP28. Going forward, it’s clear that consistent, high-pressure public involvement will be essential in moving climate negotiations.

Every country must deliver and play their rightful part. That means that G20 leaders working in solidarity to accelerate a just global energy transition aligned with the 1.5 degree limit. They must assume their responsibilities. We need cooperation, not finger-pointing. It means the G20 aligning their national climate action plans, their energy strategies, and their plans for fossil fuel production and consumption, within a 1.5 degree future.

We can only hope that the United Nations membership will heed these warnings from the Secretary General. We move back now to the text for this evening.

Finally, Thomas concludes the chapter with a long reflection on Confucian thought - the human is integral with the Earth and entire universe... opening to the further reflection that the universe is integral with itself throughout its vast extent in space. Every atom is in contact with every atom. We must recover our sense of the primacy of the universe as our context and the Earth as our matrix upon which life depends.

Tuesday, June 18, 2024

With a renewal of purpose, we  come together to engage the alternative and urgent work of dreaming a different world into being - past the resistance and hatred that keep the human race from its evolutionary work of becoming a peaceable race within our planetary community.  This month we continue our common reading of and reflection on Thomas Berry's "Evening Thoughts."

Fr. Fidelis Uko led the reflection on the words of Thomas Berry  this evening  by noting that human activity is a continuation of the work that began at the creation of the universe.  The human is part of the natural order and not outside of the natural order.  Berry argues for a new origin story that tries to repair the damage resulting from the separation of the human story from the universe story.   A mechanistic view of the created world will see the non - human as merely resources to be tapped for the use of the human before being abandoned and thrown away.   This ecocide and biocide must be recognized and called out as crimes against creation.   The human needs to change the education story to honor the fact that all creation is divine in origin and purpose – all creation is “good”.

There is a challenge in the hermeneutics of the ecological perspective .  We see in the gospels reporting in Mark to proclaim the gospel to all creation; in Mathew to proclaim it to all nations. We must muster the resources for the Shamanic phase in the new ecological age. We must recover the Divine in the Earth process in a universe constantly evolving.   We need a broader appreciation for the continuity of the emergence of human consciousness.  Emerging ecological faith must respond to the wisdom of the ancients.  Berry sees the similarity between shamanic phase and the emerging ecological phase-  both have a sensitivity to finding the divine within the Earth process.  Earth is primary revelation of the Divine.  This  fourth  stage of ecological consciousness is informed by observational science – the Earth is seen as emerging and unfolding over time.

We are suffering  a crisis of the relations between the human and the other than human as opposed to a communion of subjects.  Berry extends our notion of the world to bring in the idea of the Divine origins of the universe.  The planet is suffering an assault from the abuse of the human.  Ecocide and biocide are immoral acts that need healing.  We are diminishing the sacramentality of the created world.  The material world has intrinsic value. We need to revise fundamentally  our educational, economic and legal systems to address these issues. Mark’s gospel to preach the word to all creation is more a cosmic challenge.  Not only the human is to hear the word.

UN Forum on Forests (UNFF)  May 6-10, 2024 

Notations on International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) Summary Document
May 13, 2024
Kevin Cawley (Edmund Rice International at UNHQ and Deignan Institute at Iona University)

The conference at UNHQ began with a stark warning from UNFF Secretariat Director Juliet Biao Koudénoukpo. With only six years remaining to realize the shared vision of the UN Strategic Plan for Forests and achieve the Global Forest Goals (GFGs), the world’s forests remain in grave danger. In spite of significant progress, the harsh reality is that the world is off-track and, without a course correction, will not achieve any of the internationally agreed goals and targets on forests.

Delegates had the task of completing the Mid-Term Review of progress on the International Arrangement on Forests. They had to complete two outcome documents: high level declaration and an omnibus resolution.  The mid-term review included inspection of the  UNFF Quadrennial Programme of Work for 2025-2028.   

Eventually, most participants characterized the UNFF19 outcomes as positive. The declaration recommits everyone to halting and reversing deforestation and forest degradation, while the Mid Term Review (MTR) embedded in the omnibus resolution reaffirms the role of the   International Arrangement on Forests (IAF) and the UN Strategic Plan for Forests (UNSPF).  However, at UNFF19, the fact that none of the invited keynote speakers for  the opening of the HLS came to New York did not bode well  (Photo: Panaynews.net). Furthermore, the HLS’ two three-hour sessions were labelled a “roundtable” and a “dialogue,” where speakers could respond to questions about forestry solutions. Instead, they featured a series of unconnected statements by ministers and other officials with no real interaction on any topics or themes.

Within the UNFF the same people do not always attend both the technical and the policy session during a UNFF biennial cycle, which definitely limits cross-pollination. Foresters tend to be more visible during the technical discussions during the first year that focus on “on-the-ground” policy implementation. More “political” operatives attend UNFF policy sessions during the second year of the cycle.    As a result, many of the delegates participating at UNFF19 were not forest experts. In fact, most came from their countries’ missions in New York, with limited knowledge of the forest world or UNFF.  As a result, many of the delegates participating at UNFF19 were not forest experts. In fact, most came from their countries’ missions in New York, with limited knowledge of the forest world or UNFF .  Geopolitics on the larger scale influences forest talks more easily in New York.

The question repeatedly asked was whether the agreements can push the international community forward to achieve the aims so critical to keeping the world’s forests alive and healthy. Or did they simply reiterate the status quo? The fact that forested area has been found to be increasing in some countries and the rate of total global deforestation has slowed continue to be reasons for some optimism. All the innumerable values of forests are much more difficult to quantify or understand than carbon emissions or numbers of species lost or hectares of land degraded. The fact that both a ministerial declaration and an omnibus resolution were agreed, after multiple iterations, is a testament to the tenacity of the UNFF19 delegates and their understanding, when all seemed lost, of why they were there.  The final session went overtime on Friday in order to solve some financial issues .  Chair noted It was necessary to briefly convene the 20th session after the conclusion of the 19th Session in order to elect a new Bureau.  This practice arose from a past decision that the first session of every Forum should be opened briefly after concluding the prior one in order to elect the new Bureau.  All  Vice-Chair positions were agreed when only one candidate was advanced for each vacancy.  Exception was the Eastern Europe slot where the nominee from the Russian Federation, Maria Sokolenko, was elected by secret ballot in a close finish:  86-84 votes from 170 delegates. 

Partnership. Marking Earth Day, April 22, 2024,  the Deignan Institute for Earth and Spirit of Iona University  coordinated a campus-to-campus online conference with St. John’s University  on care for our Common Home.   The Iona students focused their contribution on the issue of rising seas and the implications for persons who live at risk of flooding in poor drainage areas of the NY metropolitan region.    The online portion of this event was hosted by St. John’s University Vincentian Center for Church and Society as part of their global engagement on Laudato Si.    The Iona program was hosted by Professor Liam Myers assisted by students Lazar Paroska, Layne McDonald and Connor Murray (in photo below reading right to left).  Facilitation for students on the St. John’s campus was organized by Fr. Pat Griffin and Ms. Victoria O’Keefe of their campus ministry office.

Graphics and Data. The Iona presentation included numerous detailed  maps of neighborhoods at risk from rising seas.   The students had clearly done extensive research and arranged their data carefully and comprehensively.  They included multiple images of recent storm damage to poorer neighborhoods in New York neighborhoods who suffered catastrophic flooding.

Iona Personal Losses. The climate impacts of rising seas and more powerful storms have been very much in the minds and hearts of  the Iona family.    Iona suffered grievously in 2021 during Hurricane Ida’s  passage through this region.  The massive deluge flooded streets and parkways.  Computer Science Professor Fran Baillie and her husband  Ken  were killed in the flooding as they attempted to return home after night classes.

Students Advocating Passage of Climate Legislation in New York.    Students spoke as advocates.  They were especially  interested in driving discussion on the passage of the NY Heat Act now in the  NY State Legislature. The purpose of the NY Heat Act is to give the Public Service Commission the authority and direction needed to align gas utility regulation and gas system planning with the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) mandates. Overall, the bill removes the legal basis and subsidies driving the expansion of gas systems and requires the commission to adopt rules and develop a statewide gas service transition plan that is consistent with decreasing gas reliance and, where appropriate, decommissioning gas systems.  The Assembly rejected legislation that would have sped up New York’s transition away from gas.   The plan, known as the NY Heat Act, is a top priority of environmental advocates this year, who say it is essential for giving regulators the power to wean the state off fossil fuels so it can meet its climate targets. Both the Senate and Governor Kathy Hochul, who proposed a version of the legislation in January, wanted to include the measure in this year’s budget. Still, sources say the Assembly gave it little consideration during negotiations.

On Earth Day, April 22, 2024, Iona faculty, staff, and students gathered for the launch party of our recently formed Earth and Spirit GreenFaith Circle. Prof. Liam Myers introduced the event with a poem by Mary Oliver. Dr. Jim Robinson offered a contemplative exercise inviting those present to reflect our connection to the wider web of life, while considering our call to embody sustainability and justice. Sr. Kathleen Deignan reflected on the history and future of the Institute. Iona students Connor Murray, Layne McDonald, and Lazar Paroski offered reflections on their efforts to embody eco-justice at Iona and beyond. 

Rev. Chelsea MacMillan of GreenFaith  issued a call to action for climate justice, highlighting the oppression of GreenFaith activists in Tanzania who are suffering imprisonment for their opposition to the East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline  (EACOP).

The GreenFaith Circle at Iona has been fostered by Professor Liam Myers, Student Engagement and Social Media Facilitator for the Deignan Institute. The Circle's student leaders are Layne McDonald, Connor Murray, and Lazar Paroski. This is the first GreenFaith Circle to be rooted in a university in the US!

Recently we learned that both Connor Murray and Professor Myers have been  accepted to the GreenFaith Rising Leaders Fellowship which will take place over the course of the academic year, beginning  with a retreat next month in California.  Connor has been  offered a full $1500 scholarship to participate!   Deignan Institute is delighted and justly proud of these fresh links with this global Faith-based organization that is aligned with the deepest values of the Iona Mission. Here is an excerpt from the GreenFaith Mission Statement:

“Because the Earth and all people are sacred and at risk, GreenFaith is building a worldwide, multi-faith climate and environmental movement.
Together our members create communities to transform ourselves, our spiritual institutions, and society to protect the planet and create a compassionate, loving and just world.”

EDMUND RICE INTERNATIONAL NY SUPPORTS INDIGENOUS WOMEN AT PFII

Metro NY Catholic Climate Movement and Laudato Si animators gathered at St. Francis Xavier Church in lower Manhattan NYC on Sunday, April 21, 2024. They hosted Sr. Imrã Laura Vicuña Pereira Manso, a member of the indigenous Kariri people of Brazil, the daughter of migrant parents, and a religious of the Congregation of the Franciscan Catechist Sisters, a graduate in anthropology and specialist in social psychology.  Sr. Laura was in New York to participate in the United Nations Forum for Indigenous Issues being help at UNHQ April 15-26. Br. Kevin Cawley of Edmund Rice International and Iona University was a member of the group that spent the afternoon in dialogue at this gathering.

Several members of the group assembled afterward for this photo with Sister Laura (center). To the right of Sr. Laura is  Felipe Witchger, the translator and initiator of the event.  He is active with the Economia Francesco, Co-Director, Catholic Impact Investing Collaborative  and Co-Founder, Francesco Collaborative.  (Photo: Ann Brennan)

 

Sister Laura and other women activists met with Pope Francis in June 2023. In the conversation with the Pope, the activists did not fail to highlight the socio-educational and socio-pastoral reality of Amazonia, with an “emphasis” on the mission and ministries of women in the Church.

Concerning this last point, Imrã Laura reported, they all agreed that “there can be no going back” on the mission that every woman has been carrying out in the Church for a long time: “The woman is this maternal face of the Church: Mary, the mother of Jesus, as a woman who is at service. And women in the Church are those who bring about the changes that promote the evangelization of the Church.”

“Without a doubt,” the nun explained, “we women are present in countless communities, encouraging and motivating people not to lose faith and the meaning of life. But the service we render to the Church is not recognized, generating tensions that could be overcome with the recognition of new ministries for women according to the urgency of the socio-pastoral reality of the Church in Amazonia".

Sr. Laura focused her remarks on the connections of Indigenous peoples to the land – “we come from the land; we are part of the land.” Women generate life and Amazonia is a hope for life for all humanity- it is “a womb of humanity” – the others being the Canada boreal forest and the Congo basin in Africa. During the recent Synod on the Amazon, when indigenous engage in the larger dialogue it is the periphery speaking to the center. The synod was able to gather all the threads from the territory, including its many contradictions and the message was carried most noticeably by thousands of women. We must acknowledge that the Synod is not the End. It is THE WAY. It is an antidote to the disease of clericalism.

Sr. Laura is a vice-president of CEAMA, the Ecclesial Conference of Amazonia, a body led until his death by the late Cardinal Claudio Hummes. Cardinal Hummes was close to Pope Francis when they served on the Bishops Committee in Latin America and famously reminded Francis at his election to the Papacy, “Do not forget the poor.” CEAMA was born five months after the publication of Querida Amazonia, Pope Francis’ post-synodal exhortation on the Pan-Amazonian Region. CEAMA accompanies the struggles of the people and demands respect for the Amazon territories and their fundamental contribution to the world, taking into account all the wealth the region possesses. There is still a long way to go, but the women are on the frontlines carrying out this “process.” She herself has been the target of multiple death threats, has left social media, and does not leave her home after dark.

Discussion revealed deep concerns about the Congress of Brazil being very much in the mold of the former President Bolsonaro despite the efforts of current President Lula da Silva to reverse some damages to the environment. Nancy Lorence of Metro NY Catholic Covenant asked about the problem of dams which continue to threaten Indigenous peoples. Local land grabbing continues, and governments continue to plan more and more large dams that displace indigenous, especially along rivers. We know that Developing countries in Asia, South America, and Africa possess significant untapped hydropower potential. Globally, at least 3,700 large hydropower plants with a capacity of more than 1 MW and 82,800 smaller plants are operating, under construction, or being planned.

Sr. Laura asked the group to keep pressure on governments to make commitments to Indigenous peoples. Her ask : keep pressure on the Church to gather the Indigenous next year at COP30 in Brazil to exert their influence and press the UN to take more decisive action on their behalf. Sister made a point that women in the church that she works with were especially grateful to the Holy Father for these documents: Evangelii Gaudiam, Laudato Si and Fratelli Tutti ( and Laudate Deum most urgent most recently). Women and men must be in solidarity to push back against the forces that threaten to weaken the COP 29 and COP30 with false solutions. The Indigenous continue to call for the freedom to live on their land without interferences or threats. Invaders take our lives and our lands but they cannot take away our dreams. The prophetic Church must continue the struggle and continue to speak for these peoples and these lands. Also present at this meeting - Casey Stanton - who started the Discerning Deacons organization to connect the Amazon folks interested in this issue to people in the U.S. who are also interested in the issue of women deacons.

"The excitement of life is in the numinous experience wherein we
are given to each other in that larger celebration of existence in which
all things attain their highest expression, for the universe, by
definition, is a single gorgeous celebratory event." - Thomas Berry 
 

On Saturday, April 20, 2024, Br. Kevin Cawley of Edmund Rice International and the Thomas Berry Forum for Ecological Dialogue joined Deeptime Network for the dedication of Robert Wilson Park in Holmdel, New Jersey.  The event commemorates and preserves the location of one of the most significant scientific moments of recent centuries- the confirmation of cosmic microwave radiation background.

While listening to the antenna (Holmdel Horn photo left - Wikipedia) in this location in Monmouth County,  NJ in May 1964, two radio astronomers picked up an eerie hum from the sky.  They eventually learned they had detected the beginnings of space and time. The microwaves detected by Dr. Penzias and Dr. Wilson   date from 380,000 years after the Big Bang, when the entire universe was as hot as the surface of the sun and the first atoms formed, releasing light in the process. That is as far back as optical and radio telescopes can reach. (Then God said, “Let there be light, and there was light.”  Genesis 1: 3)  Dr. Wilson spoke at the dedication ceremony this April.  (Photo below with young fan)

The town of Holmdel has recently completed negotiations to purchase the property where the antenna has stood since 1959.  It was built by Bell Laboratories for an experiment known as Project Echo, which aimed to send messages from one place on Earth to another by bouncing microwaves off giant aluminized balloons.   After that project was completed,  the astronomers were trying to measure the brightness of galaxies- by detecting temperatures measured by radiation.   They found the sky too warm and thought they had made errors; but the error persisted no matter where they pointed the antenna.  Other scientist had theorized that the beginning of the universe must have been hot enough to sustain thermonuclear reactions at millions of degrees.  The energy should still be around in the form of microwave radiation.   That energy was what Wilson and Penzias had detected.  The microwaves they detected date from 380,00 years after the big bang some 13.8 billion years ago.

In 1990, the Cosmic Background Explorer satellite, known as COBE, reported the temperature of the microwave background was a consistent 2.7 kelvin – 2.7 degrees Celsius above absolute zero in every direction.  Pretty close to the results obtained by Wilson and Penzias in 1964.  The cosmic microwave background has helped humans peer back in time ever since.  COBE also found that the microwave universe was not as uniform as it appeared: It was mottled with spots a few hundred-thousandths of a kelvin hotter or cooler than average. Astronomers now think these spots are the seeds of the galaxies and galaxy clusters that now dot the sky. In 1988, the antenna was designated a National Historic Landmark, in the words of Dennis Overbye:“...a symbol of humankind’s ingenuity, curiosity and persistence, and of nature’s ability to surprise and humble us. “  

In 1978, Dr. Penzias and Dr. Wilson were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for their discovery.  

Berry Circle April 18, 2024 - Reflection by Kevin Cawley

Mary Evelyn Tucker worked on these essays with Thomas when he was in the retirement home in North Carolina in 2002-2006. Thomas died in 2009. In this chapter Thomas locates our crisis in light of the ongoing “ 6th extinction” on Earth It seems we have forgotten : Earth is primary, and the Human is derivative.

Did we have reminder of Earth as primary in our recent earthquake April 5 ? Did we have reminder of our place in the universe witnessing the solar eclipse April 8?

Thomas warns - Destruction of biome is a transition greater than any historical transition that has ever taken place in human affairs. It is a change in the very chemistry of the planet that makes life possible. He goes on to raise the alarm that the fate of the planet itself in its most profound structure is being determined by present day humans. “Western religious traditions appear strangely indifferent to what is happening.”

Primary reorientation toward a more integral relation with Earth is not taking place with sufficient alarm and speed according to our best science of the climate crisis... The various spheres that constitute the macrostructures of earth – land, air, water, life – are all presently imperiled in their basic functioning. Other factors not mentioned must include the horrific impact of armed conflict ---This week we lift up Ukraine, the Middle East, Haiti, Congo, Myanmar and other places experiencing massive disruption of Earth systems linked to human warfare.

In 2024 (compared to 2006) we can report that it appears that religious traditions are becoming aware and responding – esp. the larger Christian/Orthodox world. Laudato si, Laudate Deum, Synod on the Amazon, Al-Mizan, several Anglican traditions, IPCC UN Climate Conferences yearly since 1992, UN Ocean Conferences, Treaty on Plastics being negotiated this year, United Nations councils and commissions, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, etc. are all globe - spanning institutions with more and more leadership calling for their reform to address our predicament. In Faith groups especially, the focus on the redemptive process out of this world continues to dominate many denominations but there are signs even there of a turning - above we have noted the essential work of Pope Francis and here we see the work of GreenFaith, the work of Katharine Hayhoe , evangelical Christian and climate scientist, Bill McKibben, Presbyterian catechist and environmental author, etc. This year, we see the Muslim academic world produce Al-Mizan, a document based on teachings on care of creation found in the Koran. Language from the document:

We call upon the governing authorities and corporations in Islamic and other countries to take the actions necessary to transition swiftly from fossil fuels to usher in a global economy powered by sun, wind, and water, and to progressively reduce the ecological impacts of these “green” energy sources (see para. 1.11)

Authors from Saudia Arabia, Malaysia, Qatar, Turkey, USA, UK, Morocco, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates

Evening Thoughts: For many thousands of years from the Pleistocene when humans first emerged through the Neolithic period some 10,000 years ago... a remarkable continuity existed- the human experienced itself in integral relationship with the surrounding forces of the universe. Human activities were modeled on the functioning of the larger community of life. There was no “it”; every piece of creation was a “thou”.... P. 50.

But the continuity was broken when the human began to identify as a spiritual being separate from all other creation and thus superior. And this further morphed into a covenant relationship with the divine which led to a juridic model of relationship: only the human belonged to the sacred community. The earlier sense of multispecies community diminished. The arrogance of humanism alienated Western society from its intimacy with the natural world.

We recognize that establishing a mutually enhancing human-earth relationship has been beset with obstacles. Yes, we have rules against homicide, suicide and genocide; but we lack an understanding of biocide or ecocide. Even “stewardship” comes with its own difficulties. It still sets up a superior relationship for the human - it is difficult to see any human improvements on the natural world derived from stewardship. A more receptive appreciation for the “scripture of the natural world” might yet prove beneficial...

Human consciousness of the universe can be examined in two modes. Spatial mode -universe set in place, secure in its present form or Historical mode -- seen by modern science as a time - development mode of consciousness experienced as a cosmogenesis – changing and unfolding We tend to focus on observation now. Time is irreversible in the developmental mode . Thomas sounds the alarm here- be alert , be aware: we cannot understand any part of the universe until we understand how it functions in the whole. Be aware the mystical dimensions of the scientific equations that guide our knowing. Learn the interconnections for example of carbon in its alliance with other elements of the universe. We focus most often on the damage that carbon does in its form as CO2 but we need as well to appreciate its varied expressions from inorganic to organic to consciousness in the human. Carbon moves in multiple pathways. Thomas seems to be calling us to awareness of the mystical dimensions of this element.

Jurisprudence: “ We failed to establish our legal system in accord with the ecosystems whereby the Earth rules itself, we have established legal structures that leave the Earth defenseless against the savage assaults by its human inhabitants and their corporate embodiment. “ p. 44 Evening Thoughts 2006. Kevin Cawley writing in 2024 makes this jurisprudence note: beginning in the 1970s the fossil fuel industry has argued the importance of protecting corporate speech as fundamental to protecting the free flow of ideas in the "marketplace of ideas." ExxonMobil argued that when a company is addressing an issue of public concern (and it explicitly cites "global climate change" as an example), such speech "merits the highest level of First Amendment protection and is entitled to the same 'breathing space' as speech on matters of public concern by other speakers.". oil company lawyers have argued that anything these companies have ever said about climate change was in the interest of shaping policy, which makes it "petitioning speech," and thus protected by the First Amendment. Most legal analysts have said they can't imagine the court would ever agree to blur the line so thoroughly between fraud and speech, but ....the words "the Supreme Court would never" are cold comfort in today's world. For those of us engaged now in the struggle to push back against the plundering of Earth the obligation seems more urgent. The forces arrayed have diminished the potential of religion to awaken the sense of community with the universe (Earth) partly because religion has ceded the arena to jurisprudence and jurisprudence has been captured by corporations who lack the sense of community essential for integral relations. Thomas is sadly prophetic once again. We can leave the jurisprudence discussion for an ongoing discussion.

Many questions remain: How to maintain the continuity of expression from inorganic to organic to reflexive?

How to join the materialism of science and the spiritualizing tendencies of religion that currently interfere with the continuity between the human and natural world.? How do we comprehend, gather, understand, and incorporate the vast periods of time - billions of years - that have been required to bring about the transformations from the primordial radiation to our present human consciousness? How do we overcome the antagonisms toward science from a fundamentalist religious response to this “threat” to a sense of sacred community?

Thomas indicates we can only remedy this situation by beginning to realize that the universe from the beginning has been a psychic - spiritual as well as a physical- material reality. The universe story needs to be accepted simultaneously as the human story and the story of every being in the universe.

We need to reflect that the universe is everywhere conscious of itself. And Earth is a single if highly differentiated community. As Thomas has said elsewhere, The human in this sense is the universe come to consciousness of itself and now awake to its kinship with all life. I conclude with Thomas speaking in The New Story:

If the dynamics of the universe from the beginning shaped the course of the heavens, lighted the sun, and formed the earth, if this same dynamism brought forth the continents and seas and atmosphere, if it awakened life in the primordial cell and then brought into being the unnumbered variety of living beings, and finally brought us into being and guided us safely through the turbulent centuries, there is reason to believe that this same guiding process is precisely what has awakened in us our present understanding of ourselves and our relation to this stupendous process. Sensitized to such guidance from the very structure and functioning of the universe, we can have confidence in the future that awaits the human venture.” (Thomas Berry, “The New Story,” in The Dream of the Earth, 137).

In this luminous chapter, Thomas makes conscious a reality at the heart of the Universe: that our lives are mutually dependent on the living world around us. He begins with a quote attributed to Chief Seattle, a Suquamish Leader of the 19th century, “that when the last animals will have perished ‘humans would die of loneliness’” (Berry 5). Regrettably, such prescient words could not stave off the Earth’s Sixth Mass Extinction, in which we have lost nearly 70% of the world’s wildlife in the past 50 years. Through the cultural lust for more, Thomas laments that we have, ironically, shackled ourselves within lonely siloes of our own making. The Great Work of our time, then, is to re-member and restore our greater Self in the Earth community; to re-enter the cosmic liturgy that binds all things together. In many ways Thomas echoes the words of the late Buddhist monk, Thich Nhat Hanh, that “We are here to awaken from our illusion of separateness.” (The Island of Self).

As children, he writes, we are born into an animate world infused with wonder. Adults communicate with children through stories of “humans and animals and fields and trees, of flowers, birds and butterflies, of sea and sky” (Berry 5). Self and world are porous and interpenetrating. In many ways children live the wisdom of who we are at our root—that humans are humus, of the soil. We might remember, too, that our primordial ancestor from the Genesis stories, Adam, takes his name from the Hebrew word, adamah—meaning, ‘the ground.’
For Thomas, this childlike wonder is not naive romanticism, but an innate sense of the withinness of things. It is an awakening to an inspirited world that nourishes and completes us. He writes that, “…we cannot be truly ourselves in any adequate manner without all our companion beings throughout the earth.”...

... Even what scientists call ‘nonliving beings’ have what Thomas calls an “inner form,” “an enduring quality,” “a majesty” (9). We might think of the ancient basalt cliffs of the Palisades, the 200-million-year-old relics of deep time that Thomas would contemplate from across the Hudson River, serving as a gateway into the consciousness of deep time. For Thomas, the lithosphere is not just inert matter; it is “the mysterious substance that transforms into life” (9). After all, our own bodies are composed of elements formed by exploded stars.

Editor’s note:  These excerpts are taken from Sam King’s much longer reflection which concludes with this account of the sunrise for spring equinox in Connecticut USA:

...After a long moment, we watched in awe as a tangerine sun climbed slowly above the horizon, lifting us from the dark of winter into the light of spring. In our circle of poems and prayers I read aloud a few words from Thomas:  “Dawn and sunset are the mystical moments of the diurnal cycle, the moments when the numinous dimension of the universe reveals itself with special intimacy… these are moments when the high meaning of existence is experienced” (The Great Work 18).  To taste such moments is to enter into the “cosmic liturgy” that is our birthright. It is to step beyond the boundaried self into the larger self forged in the furnace of the stars; to align with our blue-green planet that could shape-shift into a butterfly, and a bear, and a bipedal mammal who could dream (Berry 8).

Recording is posted below.

To: Deignan Institute Student Associates, et. al.
From: Br. Kevin Cawley,  Executive Director of Thomas Berry Forum
Re: Suggestion for Potential Connection with Sage Lanier, Youth Climate Activist  
Date: Feb 20, 2024  

I met Sage Lenier on Friday, February 16, at Ethical Culture Society of NY. The event focused on climate activism. Sage was on the panel with Saad Amer, a young activist from Pakistan. Main speaker was Professor Dana Fisher, at American University, Director of the Center for Environment , Community and Equity. Her new book is "Climate Shock, Climate Action."

Sage told me she will be in New York for a few months. I think she might be a good connection for Iona students, and I include here some further information about Sage and her work. She has my card and if any student Associates reach out, please mention my name so she knows the Iona connection. Her contact information is below. I have mentioned her name to Dr. Robinson and Sister Kathleen.

Read About Sage Lenier in Time Magazine

Contact Sage Lenier

This ongoing series of explorative workshops aims for transforming consciousness. The most astounding discovery, perhaps of all time, is that the universe itself is a single, unfolding energetic event, ongoing for 14 billion years - a breathtaking explosion and creation of powers that led to stars, galaxies, planets and sentient life. That led to us. We humans are a profound and current terrestrial mode of this universe that is itself our deepest identity, wisest teacher, skilled healer, experienced guide, and most profound spirituality. Becoming aware of and unfolding these powers in conscious self awareness is our way forward. Join us in this adventure.

Sr. Kathleen Deignan, Dr. James Robinson, and Br. Kevin Cawley assisted Dr. Scott Thompson at the inaugural presentation of the Deignan Institute at Mariandale Spiritual Center in Ossining NY on Sunday, February 18 .

Description: “Of our many identities, our cosmological identity is a natural fact. Learning to become this identity is the primary purpose of living.” (Thomas Berry) The Becoming Cosmos program is a series of gatherings to creatively explore ways to actualize this cosmic identity through the transformational vis ion of Thomas Berry and Brian Swimme.

Sunday’s program launched with a reflection by Kathleen on the writings of Brian Swimme in “Powers of the Universe”, a youtube visual with Brian’s presentation. Scott followed with an exploration of consciousness as our primary identity and how our awareness interfaces with all aspects of our existence. Often the human develops “identities” for protection. In some ways we know “the psyche is too small” and is part of the universe – our largest identity. Our task can be framed as a way to experience cosmic awareness and link with the “boundless possibility” presented to us by the universe. Brian Swimme video shares the astonishment for how our understanding of the origins of the universe might be impacting our human consciousness even today. We need to tap the seamlessness of boundless possibility. We need to stay aware so that we do not shut down the flow of energetic possibilities by remaining stuck in our habitual ways of living. We can do better by giving our life force to the lives around us. The present “human” is not fully aligned with the will of the planet. The creative will require the work and skill of a psychotherapist at times to assist the development of a new kind of wisdom.

Perhaps the oyster can teach us a way of abiding as it enfolds the intruding grain of sand and wraps it slowly in the pearl essence and thus transform both the oyster and the sand into a new creation entirely. We all have “oyster kin” in our lives.

We are about the work of beholding the resurrected Christ while we “resurrect the human”. We see Mary Magdalene as a potent exemplar of living in the economy of abundance – learning how to situate ourselves in the abundance we receive. Continue to develop the skills of sharing and reciprocity, of collaborating fully. Dr. Robinson reminded us of the words of St. Catherine of Siena: “... if you are who you are meant to be, you will set the world on fire.”

The day concluded with a joyful, prayerful “mindful promenade” circling the small rug representing our universe.

Two Sections addressed on Friday, February 16, 2024
Br. Kevin Cawley, Ph.D. Executive Director of Thomas Berry Forum

Br. Kevin accepted the invitation of Dr. James Robinson to share his work at the United Nations in the context of the recent publications of Pope Francis on caring for Earth. A brief summary of his presentation is here.

Kevin took some time to frame the presentation in the context of our current predicament beginning with the warnings of the 2016 UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) which presented the world with the facts of our atmospheric warming due to fossil fuel burning.

The warming atmosphere and warming oceans continue to threaten life on Earth and some parts of the world will suffer catastrophic flooding as sea levels continue to rise. Pope Francis exhorted the world to do better with his 2015 Encyclical, Laudato si: On Care for our Common Home,where he laid out in 6 Chapters his assessment of the problem and the best way forward.

Sadly, the subsequent years saw an increase in warming and Pope Francis sent a second and more urgent warning in his 2023 document, Laudate Deum (Praise God), wherein he lamented that our response has not been adequate. The UN Conference of the Parties 28 (COP28) took place in December 2023, in Dubai and made specific mention of “fossil fuels” for the first time in 28 years of annual gatherings. In Friday’s presentation, Kevin also linked climate change and wealth. Citing a report by Oxfam, students were reminded of vast inequality across the globe - 8 men owning as much as the bottom 3.6 billion humans on the planet.

Youthful climate activists have been bringing some hope and energy to the crisis: India, Africa, S. Asia and N. America all were cited – especially noted were the preponderance of young women leaders in this struggle. Other women, such as Mia Mottley, Prime Minister of Barbados, have also taken the lead in challenging the powerful to make good on their promises to reduce the inequality that threatens the poorest on the planet. Large banks were shown to be culpable for their lending practices that favored fossil fuel extraction despite the clear evidence that the world must turn away from fossil fuels and embrace renewable energy from wind and solar to avoid the worst outcomes. Several suggestions for advocacy completed the presentation along with final encouragement in words from Thomas Berry.

Chapter Two: “The Place of the Human”

Sr. Kathleen compared this chapter to a kind of musical fugue, a composition in which a phrase is introduced by one part and successively taken up by others and developed by interweaving the parts. Opening to the work is like listening to a symphony with many themes. Thomas presents as “fugue master.” He is a story-teller about ourselves. To reveal us to ourselves. Thomas teaches us to hear and recognize these hidden themes and counterpoints. We see the formality, the symmetry, and the variety of challenging ideas that we gradually grasp through repetition.

“The place of the human”, helps us to see in new ways who and what we are now in this time of human history. We see humans as civilization builders. He lays out the arc of thought , ideas and even mythology that have shaped us. These stories make us who we are. We can examine these in six major themes that give rise to the human civilization.

Beginning with the transcendent of divinity perceived “up there” masculine; next theme is the spiritual nature of the human flourishing; the excellence of redemption seen as our own pathos opening to the existence of suffering; transcendence of mind over matter kept us from perceiving “soul” in matter; transcendence of technology pushes against the counterpoint of possibility, finally to realize the transcendent destiny of the human.

Participants responded for the next hour with comments and observations that included versions of the following: Ash Wednesday is really good news that we are dust and it “is not all about us”. Redemption is to surrender to Earth first. What are our responsibilities? Redemption can serve as an impetus for a deeper sense of detachment – the sense of joy and liberation behind the goodness of Earth but not the sole way we encounter the divine. Myths have to evolve and grow. Analog in Buddhist tradition in the Boddhisatva figure who attains liberation but remains with us to assist others to transcend suffering; to rescue all sentient beings.

There is also a fear that technology (“A.I.”) will take us out of ourselves. We need to know the seriousness of this moment and be prepared to be of service to the larger whole. We know that suffering rises up to meet us everywhere. Even if sometimes the “ecozoic” can be a utopian reality; we are in a period of destruction now and we need to find a contrapuntal note to free us to be in love with the universe. Big miracles can happen. (End 8:20 pm) 25 Participants.

THE PLACE OF THE HUMAN

During our years in these Berry Circles of examining and reflecting on his work we have encountered a myriad of ways that Thomas would have us consider the human, and THE PLACE OF THE HUMAN - that is to say, ourselves.

And tonight, in this second essay of Evening Thoughts, Thomas announces his intention once again to let us hear how we got here, to this dark moment, by opening up his composition with new elements not noted before in his other essays on the human, at least not so systematically and concisely as here. So, I ask your indulgence as I offer a way to play into this remarkable reading tonight.

I want to say that opening to the wisdom of Great Work of Thomas Berry is an immersive experience akin to hearing a really rich and complex symphony redolent with a myriad recurring themes. I experience Thomas this way – as a fugue master, who has richly developed a number of canonic pieces that sing his exceptional vision of the story of the universe and its ongoing unfolding.

As we know, Thomas is above all else an historian. He is in fact a storyteller - whether of the cosmos, the planet, or of that one most exceptional and troublesome species among others in the universe: us. Thomas’ intention is to reveal us to ourselves, to enable a deep encounter with ourselves through the sounding of scores of recurrent themes that build on each other with such precision and excellence and beauty that they bring us to the pitch or climax of cognitive insight.

According to Merriam-Webster, a fugue, in music, is a compositional procedure characterized by the systematic imitation of a principal theme (called the subject) in simultaneously sounding melodic lines (counterpoint). We all know this musical genre because it’s been made richly and gloriously familiar by likes of Bach and Handle and others.

But I want to say that analogously, Thomas – to my ear – is a remarkable intellectual fugue-master who is teaching us to hear and recognize the significance of certain macro themes and their relevant counterpoints that comprise the body of his work. As we Berrians have all experienced, such repetition of theme within a great and dense work can keep bringing us back to the ground of it all. And if a given theme occurs in a new key or voice or tempo in various contexts, it can lead to a remarkable unitive integrity. Like an audible or thematic thread, it weaves an integration of diverse musical elements or aural vantage points that allow tremendous complexity to hold together. And that is how I “hear” Berry’s work.

We see so clearly in Thomas’ writings the formality, symmetry, and variety of really challenging ideas that most of us would never truly hear or grasp if not by way of their repetition. In this, Thomas is not simply a good fugue-master but a good teacher also. And in this essay tonight, on The Place of the Human, we read Berry engaging even the mathematical intricacy of the fugue, in his habit of enumerating the themes and canons he would have us learn.

So, let’s first tune into the major theme upon which this and so many of Berry’s writings depend: the story of the human species told in the various arcs of our 300,000+ year long history. This is a foundational theme for much of Berry’s comprehensive vision to which we turn again tonight. But tonight, we hear something brand new. In “The Place of the Human” Thomas proves himself a skillful “fugue master” as he builds an entirely new symphony of understanding about who and what we are and how we came to be here – in this now of human history.

Playing with our understanding that a fugue is a type of compositional technique that makes use of imitative counterpoint, we read tonight Thomas’ creative habit of setting out his historical insight concerning the developmental causes and conditions for the human activity of culture-making, indeed, for the human as civilization builders – and not primarily with guns and steel, but essentially with ideas. Our human civilization is an elaboration of visionary stories.

This second chapter of Evening Thoughts even lays out numerically not simply the particular arcs of temporal, historical human development, but more to Berry’s point he lays out the arcs of thought, the fundamental ideas and mythologies that have shaped this world. Because Thomas is a cultural - that is to say “story-making” - historian, he presents to us the “stories” that make us into what we have become.

So, this night we have at least 6 fugal renditions of the major theme of mental formations giving rise to human / planetary civilizational formations. But (back to our musical metaphor, the fugue) not just in repetitive themes, rather in contrapuntal themes as well that play not just with the myth in question, but also against it. There is a sounding of contradiction or correction or critique playing within and against these sounding arcs of historical/cultural interpretation even in Berry’s major theme.

Thomas calls these dominant interpretive themes “Transcendences,” noting six, and he claims that they both have determined the role of the human in its historical unfolding and are yet open to alternative realizations. In other words, though these themes have shaped the human story, they yet hold the possibility of further or alternative interpretation.

So, the first thematic sounding in the song of the Human is the transcendence of divinity – deity up there, out there, not here for sure. 
Deity in monochromatic masculinity – a power keeper, a patriarch, a being above and beyond, yet deeply, richly personal – and this is the note of a salvific counterpoint: cosmic personalism.

The second theme of transcendence reverberating tonight is the exceptionalism of the spiritual nature of the human, sounding here as something unique and other than the spirituality of other kind. Such a claim to spiritual excellence became for us an evolutionary trophy unavailable to other kind, establishing a hierarchy of value among beings, with us at the pinicle. Yet this thunderous declaration of ringing exceptionalism has become another vulnerability since it has silenced the sacred voices of other kind in each owns spiritual uniqueness. Indeed, it has deafened the human to not only the songs of creatures, but also their cries. Inevitability the suppression of the choirs of the living brings us here to where we are now, in this dark Anthropocene attending wails of lamentation.

Yet there is a challenging countervalent note also sounding in this “transcendence,” suggesting that a sense of human spiritual exceptionalism can be richly enhanced by scoring it more expansively and inclusively, yielding to a polyphony of spiritual voices in a spiritual cosmos, with humankind an appreciative audience, or perhaps gifted conductor.

The third macro theme sounding in this chapter is called the mythology of redemption – at once a poignant and compassionate theme about the pathos of human suffering, and indeed of all sentient existence. But here Thomas not simply sounds a Kyrie to plead for the vulnerable human. In a discordant contrapuntal theme Berry lets blare the ferocity of human rage at the conditions of earthly life that must be surmounted by our own power to remake the world according to our desires. This theme is perhaps his most cacophonous with pathos and resentment sparring for dominance not just in his symphony, but in the reality of history. Berry’s opus leaves this frequently sounding theme unresolved.

The fourth macro theme that Berry intones is the transcendence of mind over matter, noted as an epistemological error or blindness that has kept the human from perceiving mind in matter, what he calls “anima” or soul. We can hear how clearly aliened these themes are, and how they have historically left us at bay in a bi-furcated universe, constantly tripping over the debris of cognitive error. The residual fault-lines of this transcendence still riddle our psyches and our world, fossilized in world-views of pseudo-science and religion that keep us stymied in evolutionary arrestment. In Berry’s score, however, these terms are heard to sound in a new ethos – might I suggest an ethos of “eros” – where their relationship begins to shift from antagonism to attraction by way of a new story of emergent quantum and cosmic features of a seamless energetic cosmos of myriad forms.

The fifth theme in Berry’s fugue of the human is the transcendence of technology whose scale and capacity are the overarching achievement of the modern humanity. This is the medium we have contrived to escape the burdensome conditions under which life has been granted. In its present iteration and ubiquitous racket, this radically and tragically Berrian theme sounds the defeat of nature where it resists human will and need. It is by this medium that the human has recreated the Earth, and even recreated the human. But again, a contrapuntal note suggests that this present age of totalizing technology need not be the only rendition of “the machine in the garden.” Ever the visionary, he can imagine technology in planetary service.

Finally, Berry announces the sixth transcendence: thetranscendent historical destiny for the human finally freed from the constraints of nature. This theme sounds the intention to bring into being a trans-phenomenal world, somewhere elsewhere, in time sometime but not here - no longer here - rather in larger arcs of exploration and conquest, leaving the Earth, leaving it desecrated.

The counterpointing note of hope in this disconcerting transcendence is perhaps that we humans are in fact dreamers who bring to birth what we dream. Perhaps there is a wiser, saner dream itself slumbering in our race that means to replace our present nightmare. Since we are a self-transcending species ever oriented to new horizons of becoming, a new song may yet inspire the human venture toward a future of restoration for those who survive this sixth extinction. Though the fugue master has clearly scored a requiem for many species of this petroleum age – indeed, perhaps our own – his Great Work is not without seminal motifs of an Eozoic canticle. As ever, Thomas never leaves us bereft of hope.

The Dream of the Earth: “Our Way into the Future" & "The Cosmology of Peace"

Kathleen opened the circle with reflections on the teaching of Thomas in these 2 chapters of the reading of The Dream of the Earth. Brief highlights of her remarks are in the narrative below.

We need to go to the source of our planetary predicament. Thomas reminds us that the human is confused about our situation at the moment and we need guidance. Our cultural conditions have led us to the confusion and now we need to get to our genetic coding being continually revived and made novel.

We can lay down a pattern of a new humanity. I am not sure of what Thomas means exactly by recovering our genetic coding but we have some time to do the reflecting if we can bypass our self-referencing and go to the Earth herself for our guidance. We can only go forward. We can’t go back. Mother Earth is the home ground. Wisdom-living is embedded in every living being. Universe still unfinished in this on-the-way cosmos. And now we must submit ourselves to the wisdom and guidance of our dreaming.

Dialogue Comments following the Reflections highlighted the “particulars” in the OIKOS which includes “feeding the birds”, and attending the myriad creatures of this living Earth - all endowed with some cache of cosmic genius. Thomas reminds us of the practice of intimacy. The guidance of Earth is found in the particularity of the cosmic diversity – in the subjectivity of each creature. (Some delay slowed starting tonight’s circle, due to technology malfunction at top of the hour which limited attendance to 14 participants.)

The Mining Working Group takes special interest in water rights for indigenous /impoverished communities often victimized by corporations aligned with state authorities in remote regions. Kevin was invited by the committee Chair to share information on a number of these questions being examined by committee members at this time.

Below are the major points highlighted in the presentation.

“Complexity In Energy Sector And Extractive Industries- Partial Overview”

 

Topics of discussion included:

• Critical minerals, esp. lithium, copper, silver, sodium, scandium, and cobalt.
• Challenges to battery recycling,
• Threats to access to fresh water,
• Deep sea mining initiated by exploration prior to permits issued
• Environmental, social and governance (ESG) challenges
• Surge in oil and gas exports from the USA,
• Plans to build additional LNG ports on the US coastline
• COP28 declaration that the world must transition away from fossil fuels.

Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University — School of International and Public Affairs.

Critical minerals—such as aluminum, copper, lithium, and cobalt—will require unprecedented investment in order to make a shift to a clean energy system. Leveraging the increased global demand for these minerals is critical to achieving net-zero targets.

Lithium. Increased supply of lithium is paramount for the energy transition, as the future of transportation and energy storage relies on lithium-ion batteries. Lithium demand has tripled since 2017,[1] and could grow tenfold by 2050 under the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) Net Zero Emissions by 2050 Scenario.[2] Demand in the lithium market is growing by 250,000–300,000 tons of lithium carbonate equivalent (tLCE) per year, or about half of the total lithium supply in 2021.

Direct lithium extraction (DLE), a catch-all term for projects that extract lithium from salt, geothermal, and oilfield brines while returning the water back underground, has gained significant media attention. The ultimate goal of DLE is to produce lithium from brines without need of evaporation ponds, to reduce environmental impacts and increase and accelerate production. Chile is the second-largest producer of lithium globally, but policy uncertainty and regulation are limiting growth,

Chile has 11 desalination plants in operation and 15 more under construction, with expectations to double seawater consumption in 10 years. These could be utilized by the copper sector according to observers.

Chile mining sector represents 16 percent of Chile’s total emissions. This makes carbon neutrality an essential target for this sector in Chile, where over 95 percent of copper, silver, and molybdenum supply are covered by net-zero standards.

Differing Water Stress. Many observers have raised the issue of water stress levels in Latin America’s mining sector, particularly in Peru and Chile. One participant underscored the critical impact of the water issue on local communities, suggesting how environmental performance can affect social license to operate.

Different Extractive Practices. How minerals are extracted and/or processed is important in assessing environmental performance across companies and regions. As an example, the water intensity of different methods of extracting lithium, with lithium extracted from hard rock in Australia a much more water-intensive process than lithium extracted from brine pumping activities in Chile and Argentina.

Sodium-ion batteries have the potential to ease supply-side pressure on lithium by acting as a supplement for the supply chain. An expert from a sodium-ion battery startup said at the event that sodium-ion batteries, which trade sodium for lithium, are a “pressure release valve” for lithium. Unlike lithium and other battery metals, sodium is abundant globally, making it “cartel proof” and limiting geopolitical tensions in the supply chain.

Battery Recycling? Despite the potential, there are significant constraints on battery recycling that will require innovation and partnerships to overcome. The largest issue is the potential leakage of battery materials; in other words, the average vehicle owner will sell their vehicle before the battery is ready for recycling, and the vehicle could leave the US during its second and third life, out of the reach of American recyclers.

United States v. China and allied countries will need to continue to support mining and mineral processing facilities with financial incentives if those companies are to compete with China’s government support, technological know-how, and low capital and operating expenditures and expand the ex-China lithium supply chain.

China’s long-term vision is to maintain control of the supply chain and exert itself as a central player in the electric vehicle (EV) market.

Permitting Reform United States and South America agree that permitting reform is necessary to expand lithium production. Permitting reform could give mining companies and others in the industry certainty that projects would begin production in a timely manner.

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Deep Sea Mining

Deep Sea Mining... The deep sea hosts potato-sized rocks called nodules and crusts which contain minerals such as lithium, scandium and cobalt, critical for clean technologies, including in batteries. Although these minerals are available on land, they are concentrated in a few countries, increasing the risk to supply. Deep-sea mining would extract cobalt, copper, nickel, and manganese - key battery materials – from these potato-sized rocks on the sea floor at depths of 4-6 km (2.5-4 miles). They are abundant in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ) in the North Pacific Ocean between Hawaii and Mexico. This mineral-rich region already hosts exploration contracts for 17 deep-sea mining contractors, with their combined exploration areas covering approximately 1 million square kilometers (about the same size as Ethiopia).

Necessary? The global supply of critical minerals and rare earth elements must grow in the coming years, and quickly. But there is no easy answer to meeting this need, given the immature state and potential dangers of deep-sea mining and the well-understood harms associated with terrestrial mining. While mineral reserves on land appear sufficient to meet global needs, the world must address how to responsibly scale up mining and processing operations in a way that minimizes environmental and social risks

ISA = International Seabed Authority. The United Nations' International Seabed Authority (ISA), authorized to permit and regulate mining in waters that fall outside of national jurisdiction, failed after weeks of negotiations in Jamaica to finalize standards late in 2021, for deep-sea mining, which involves extracting polymetallic nodules from the seabed at depths of 4 to 6 kilometers (2.5 to 4 miles). In July 2023, in a decision that effectively delayed the start of any mining operations, it said it would work “with a view” to adopting regulations in 2025. The council did not decide how to consider any application requests that might arrive in the meantime, however, prompting criticism that a legal loophole remained open. In March 2023, the council said exploitation should not be agreed until a mining code was agreed . Environmentalists welcomed the compromise as an “open door” to a proper discussion. by the ISA assembly, which comprises 168 member states and the EU, on whether mining should go ahead at all. Overall, they said, “important strides forward” had been made towards the protection of the marine environment.

Nauru. Nauru, with 12,000 inhabitants, said 80% of its land was uninhabitable because of colonial-era phosphate mining and deep-sea mining was more sustainable. The Metals Co has said deep-sea mining would have less impact than mining for battery metals on land. Negotiations will continue but a process triggered by Nauru in 2021 means the ISA must start accepting deep-sea mining applications by July 2023, even if standards are not set. The tiny Pacific island nation of Nauru has notified a U.N. body of plans to start deep-sea mining, giving the International Seabed Authority (ISA) two years to complete long-running talks on rules governing the new and controversial industry. Nauru President Lionel Aingimea notified ISA about the mining plans to be carried out by a subsidiary of The Metals Co in a letter dated June 25, 2021. The Metals Co has deals with Nauru, Tonga and Kiribati for CCZ exploration rights covering 224,533 square km, roughly the area of Romania.

Norway has become the first country in the world to move forward with the controversial practice of commercial-scale deep-sea mining. The bill, passed on Tuesday, Jan 9, 2024 will accelerate the hunt for precious metals which are in high demand for green technologies. Environmental scientists have warned it could be devastating for marine life. The plan concerns Norwegian waters, but agreement on mining in international waters could also be reached this year. The Norwegian government said it was being cautious and would only begin issuing licences once further environmental studies were carried out. Norway's proposal will open up 280,000 sq km (108,000 sq miles) of its national waters for companies to apply to mine these sources - an area bigger than the size of the UK. Norway isn’t the only country with ambitions to mine the deep sea. Other nations, including the Cook Islands, China and Japan, are working on similar plans within their own jurisdictions.

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Environmental, Social, And Governance (ESG)

Selected Top Ten

1. ESG challenges. The energy transition represents a unique opportunity for Latin America’s mining sector, but ESG challenges may prevent the sector from capitalizing on it.
2. ESG and Local Impacts. Region is facing the unique challenge of balancing the pressure to develop mining resources with doing so sustainably, to mitigate opposition among the public broadly and, more importantly, within the local communities that would otherwise be impacted.
3. ESG risks are amplified in Latin America because the region’s mining activities take place in biodiversity hotspots
4. ESG risks could prevent the region from capitalizing on the energy transition, whether by acting as a barrier to investment, causing supply disruptions through tailings accidents, impacting the social license to operate, or jeopardizing access to markets,
5. ESG and markets. Challenge of Social license to operate in other markets- particularly the EU given its higher ESG standards.
6. ESG builds trust. Often “mining is guilty until proven innocent.” Building trust means operational excellence, competency (“doing what you say”), and integrity (“saying what you do”).
7. ESG and water. Gap between local mining regulations and more demanding international industry standards, with the largest regulatory gap related to water usage.
8. ESG Standards differ. This potentially allows actors with low ESG standards to obtain first rights to operate mining resources, to the detriment of the sector’s reputation among local communities.
9. ESG enforcement. Enforcing standards requires allocating sufficient resources to government agencies and there is often insufficient trust from the local community for them to be enforced.
10. ESG assistance. Providing Latin American countries with technical and policy assistance for creating and maintaining adequate institutional settings will attract responsible and sustainable investment.

UN High Level Political Forum (HLPF) Meeting at UNHQ in New York in Summer 2024.

These nations will be sharing how they are implementing the tenets of the 2015 Agreement endorsed by the General Assembly – “Agenda 2030” , also known as the Sustainable Development Goals. Following states have expressed interest to carry out voluntary national reviews (VNRs) of their implementation of the 2030 Agenda at the 2024 HLPF . Extractive industries will be under discussion in this context. Member states presenting: Argentina, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belize, Brazil, Chad, Colombia, Congo (Republic of the), Costa Rica, Ecuador, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Estonia, Georgia, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Honduras, Kenya, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Libya, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia (Federated States of), Namibia, Nepal, Oman, Palau, Peru, Samoa, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, South Africa, South Sudan, Spain, Syrian Arab Republic, Uganda, Vanuatu, Yemen, Zimbabwe

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LNG (Liquified Natural Gas) USA

The world is projected to increase its new liquefied natural gas (LNG) production capacity by 50 percent[1] by the end of this decade, - see USA challenges...

America is now the largest exporter of gas and oil on earth, having roared past Russia and Saudi Arabia. What Colombia is to cocaine, the U.S. is to hydrocarbons—a supplier/pusher of molecules so dangerous that the two poles are now melting fast. New data shows that so much methane escapes from the ships carrying LNG abroad that when all is said and done it’s at least 24 percent worse for the climate than coal.

US is responsible for more than a third of planned fossil fuel expansion around the world between now and 2030, far more than any other country. The other biggest troublemakers include Canada, Norway, and Australia, which is to say rich well-educated countries

US plans for 20 more massive LNG terminals, mostly along the Gulf of Mexico. The world no longer officially believes in this kind of transition, but instead is committed to net zero policies; the International Energy Agency has called for an end to all such new infrastructure. COP28 CALLED FOR TRANSITION AWAY FROM FOSSIL FUELS

HOW TO RESPOND? This new data perhaps will help persuade the Biden administration to do the right thing—to announce a halt to licensing any new LNG facilities until they have spent a few years doing a careful analysis to figure out what a piece of folly this is.

Public protests now planned for Washington DC in early February. Large letter writing campaign has also been launched by Bill McKibben and others in USA.

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The Dream Of The Earth, Chapter 14  "The Historical Role Of The American Indian"

This Chapter discussion was led  by our Visiting Berry Scholar , Sam King, from the Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology.  Sam King is an environmental educator, writer, and activist. He serves as lead mentor for the Yale/Coursera online courses in Religions and Ecology, which he helped develop with Mary Evelyn Tucker and John Grim. He is also Project Manager for the Emmy Award-winning Journey of the Universe film and multimedia project, hosting the Journey of the Universe: 10 Years Later podcast and editing the monthly newsletter.

Kevin Cawley greeted participants beginning at 7 pm with a reading of the poem by Nan Richardson: “A Blessing When the World is Ending”.  Kevin noted that Kathleen Deignan had to be away tonight for a family obligation. James Robinson next introduced our Berry Visiting Scholar this year, Sam King. (Icon by  Father John Giuliani: Saint Raphael Crow)

Sam thanked all for their attendance and began with Berry’s  framing the discussion of Indigenous peoples now having completed the first  5 centuries of contact with European peoples on this continent.   Sam’s remarks ranged through the numinous presence, spiritual wisdom, and link to the unconscious in the Indigenous cultures.  The resemblance of their relation to nature to systems theory was noted:  power with rather than power over.   

Recent examples of indigenous activist achievements received notice:  the United Nations  Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) adopted by the General Assembly on 13 September 2007, was a triumph for justice and human dignity following more than two decades of negotiations between governments and indigenous peoples' representatives.  Sam went on to recount recent returns of ancestral land in Oregon and Maine in the US and 100,000+ acres to indigenous in Ecuador.   We were reminded as well that indigenous are stewards of nearly 80% of the world’s biodiversity. 

Comments followed:  sharing about Sam’s time in Guatemala, “wise eldering” program offered by Kathleen Deignan monthly on zoom, Mayan cosmic vision linkages to journey of the universe story, a participant shared a mystical experience that connected to a native American visitor, sweat lodge stories emerged as a theme in the comments of several participants recounting youthful experiences in these vivid events; some mentioned the lineage of women’s suffrage activists learning from contact with the Iroquois confederation.  Reference was made to Sun Dance experiences in the American West.   More and more native voices have become very articulate in sharing their rituals and the meaning of their traditions, e.g. Osage, Navajo, Hopi.   Some reported on time spent in Peru and Guatemala (Sam) with Shaman figures teaching via sweat lodge experience of prayer that proved transformative. 

James reminded us of the need to “walk on both paths” – remembrance and resistance – as happened in the Climate March in September, where the lead contingent was formed by indigenous elders.  Many recalled the protests at Standing Rock with the injunction to “stand in your Prayer.”    Sam added the recent battles in US courts involving the rights of nature as brought forward by the Ojibwe in their concern for the wild rice that sustains their culture.

The resistance theme came to the surface again -  mentioned in the context of “Resistance Studies” -  and the example of Kentucky nuns going to court to defend their right to preserve their convent land from fracking.   The evening included multiple testimonies of contact with native American spirituality and not all have been noted in this brief narrative.   The recording is available in the link below.   We have attempted to preserve   zoom chat with its multiple reading recommendations below. 

142 CROSS CURRENTS / SUMMER 1976  
Thomas Berry, director of The Riverdale Center for Religious Research, was a cultural
historian and the author of Buddhism, Religions of India, and The Historical
Theory of Giambattista Vico. He was professor of religion at Fordham University and 
taught a course in contemporary world religions at Barnard College.

CROSS CURRENTS has already published three of his earlier essays: "Traditional Religions
in the Modern World" (Spring 1972), "Contemporary Spirituality: The Journey of the
Human Community" (Summer-Fall 1974), and "Mao Tse-Tung: The Long March"
(Spring 1975).

https://nativevoicesbooks.com/content/sisters-spirit
From Jim Robinson: Sisters in Spirit

Angela Manno Reading List: 
Rolling Thunder; The Book of the Hopi;
Black Elk Speaks; 
Lame Deer: Seeker of Visions; 
The Education of Little Tree; 
A Basic Call to Consciousness: An Address to the United Nations by the Haudenosauneee Confederacy

Fiction from Louise Erdrich:
"The Round House"
"La Rose: A Novel"

“The Great Work: Meeting Thomas Berry Again for the First Time”

This Retreat was presented by Br. Kevin Cawley, CFC, and Sr. Kathleen Deignan, CND, on Friday & Saturday, December 1 & 2, 2023 at Thomas Berry Place in Queens, New York. Kevin and Kathleen are two of the four founding conveners of the Thomas Berry Forum for Ecological Dialogue at Iona University who for over fourteen years have fostered an open and inclusive space for ecological education, exploration, and transformation. They share a deep enthusiasm for the penetrating vision and challenge of Thomas Berry and offer ways to embody and practice his ecozoic mode of engaged spirituality and life-ways.

“The Great Work now, in a new millennium, is to carry out the transition from a period of human devastation of the Earth to a period when humans would be present to the planet in a mutually beneficial manner.” (Thomas Berry, “The Great Work,” in The Great Work, p. 3) Kevin and Kathleen welcomed a dozen participants to the weekend for , “ exploring the critical and sacred evolutionary challenge of our time: to continue our movement into an awakened capacity for intimacy, communion, compassion, and solidarity, with the living world.” In light of Thomas Berry’s ever deepening wisdom, we opened his teaching in several directions to meet this new moment in care for our common home.

Much of our time was given to linking the teaching of Thomas to the present global struggles for the best ways to prevent further damage to the planet from the unrestricted burning of fossil fuels. We examined in some detail two recent teachings of Pope Francis – Laudato Si and Laudate Deum – which carry a more and more urgent message to all peoples to re-set the human-earth relationship to a mutually beneficial order. Modes of presentation included videos, powerpoint, direct instruction and small group discussion.

Sessions included prayer and liturgical dance. Special mention was made of the efforts ongoing at the United Nations “ Conference of the Parties “in Dubai struggling for consensus on a way forward to escape the climate crisis. Science, diplomacy, theology, civil society, inequalities, faith engagement, subsidized damaging industries, political dysfunction, global disparities on water resources, and related matters all received some attention as we attempted to better understand our current predicament. (Photo shows Anthony Mullen, Director of Berry Place, with Sr. Kathleen and Br. Kevin at the conclusion of the 2-day event.)

Berry Forum Contemplative Circle 
November 16, 2023: "The Dream of the Earth"
Chapter 12 Bioregions: The Context
Chapter 13: The Hudson River Valley Story

This event began with a special video segment with Mary Evelyn Tucker celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the Thomas Berry Foundation.  Mary Evelyn noted the original genesis of the Forum on Religion and Ecology beginning in 1996-1998 in partnership with Gus Speth, a founder of the Natural Resources Defense Council. This opening sequence concluded with Sr. Kathleen Deignan reading a portion of the assigned text for this evening from Chapter 12: Bioregions.

Participants were invited to offer a glimpse of the bioregion where they were joining from and we were treated to a tender array of word pictures including notes on: the “driftless region” of Wisconsin, a raspberry in Tampa, Indian corn from central Iowa, two eagles spotted at Inwood in upper Manhattan, trees along the Passaic River in New Jersey, and 2 deer near Lake Erie.

Remarks followed on urban bioregions including Hoboken. We took some moments to reflect on the recent writings of Pope Francis that linked Laudato Si with Laudate Deum – “the world sings of an infinite love, how can we fail to care for it?”

We had 30 participants.  
Next Circle will be December 21 to look at Chapters 14-16 of "The Dream of the Earth."

Please see the recording of the meeting below.

Prayer Vigil Following Outbreak of Hostilities in the Holy Land

The Deignan Institute for Earth and Spirit was represented at the Prayer Vigil on November 15 on the New Rochelle campus. We joined Iona University faculty, staff and students who formed a small gathering under the Ginkgo Tree that afternoon to recall the lives lost since the attack on Israel by Hamas militants on October 7.

Prayers were offered by several speakers on behalf of those killed, missing and injured. Representatives from Religious Studies, Psychology, Social Work , Mission and Ministry and others, offered reflections. Presenters recalled the suffering of families grieving the loss of loved ones. Invocations included:

May the One of Possibility remind us that a future of peace with justice is possible. The prayers concluded with these invocations.

May the One Who Awakens Us to Life hold us in our pain and vindictiveness until we set those down for the sake of life

May the One Who Endures allow us to act for the sake of the coming generations.

May the One Who is Without Limit expand our senses of what is possible as we reach for justice, freedom and peace for us all.

May the One Who Knows Life is Precious help us to affirm life is precious.

May the One Who Grants Peace, Goodness, Blessing, Grace, Lovingkindness, and Mercy grant them now no matter how undeserving we are. (Alissa Wise)

Br. Kevin Cawley of Deignan Institute Delivers Environment and Human Rights Training for Edmund Rice International at UN Geneva Center

On November 9 , Kevin, via online linkage, addressed 12 participants and several staff gathered in Gaillard, France (near Geneva), assembled for the Edmund Rice International Human Rights and Advocacy Training Course.

Participants from Kenya, Australia, India, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Zambia and Argentina took part in the training over a 12-day cycle.

Students had spent several days immersing themselves in the mechanisms at the United Nations, Human Rights study, and days observing Universal Periodic Review sessions, Treaty Body sessions. These activities included engaging with UN bodies and related civil society organizations. The Brothers on staff at the Geneva site link to Kevin in New York for special emphasis on how the advocacy work at the United Nations must necessarily include training in the complexities of the environmental challenges arising globally. Kevin periodically delivers a 90 minute session on current realities in how ERI is advocating for the common good most recently through efforts inspired by Catholic social teaching in the ecological writings of Pope Francis.

Kevin maintains a website, publishes a monthly newsletter, studies current research, and engages colleagues at the United Nations in New York on a wide range of current thinking around how to address the climate crisis. His offering on November 9 focused on means of understanding how to advocate for solutions in light of the recent teaching of Pope Francis in Laudato Si and Laudate Deum, both documents raising alarm about our human predicament and the needed remedies.

This particular training took place in the shadow of COP 28, the Conference of the Parties for the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. These “COPS,” as they are known, comprise annualgatherings of government authorities, scientists and thought leaders to discuss and sometimes decide, next steps in addressing the global climate crisis. The current meeting, COP28, takes place in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Kevin led the group through a rapid summary of recent climate science regarding carbon and atmospheric warming due to the burning of fossil fuels, the water crisis, the temperature crisis, the crashing of planetary boundaries, ocean heat, glacier loss, sea level rise, wildfires, drought, floods, more severe storms, waste, increase in tropical diseases, fossil fuel industry disinformation, global banking hypocrisy, self-defeating government subsidies of fossil fuels, Pope Francis challenging governments, civil society protests, climate conference failures, recent calls by global Faith leaders, the inspiring efforts of young global advocates, and persistent global inequalities. Kevin concluded with the teachings of Thomas Berry, who for many years warned of the necessity to re-set the human-earth relationship to a mutually beneficial standard.

The 90-minute session was divided into three units to allow for spirited exchange of views that exposed clearly differing perspectives between global south and global north. Iona University and Edmund Rice International are able to bridge this gap on a regular basis through work at the United Nations.

Participants: Shawn Viegas cfc (India), Kachi Adindu (VIVAT International), Nablebna Nyagbire (Presentation Brs, Ghana), Eunan McMullan OFM (FI Geneva), Neha Arora (India), Esther Wangui (Kenya), Tino D'Abreu (ERI), Mardamon Slong (India), Brian Bond (ERI), Millicent Kavenagh (Australia), Terry Dowling (ERI), Namatirayi Ngwasha (Trocaire Zimbabwe), Sherelle Myburgh (Sth Africa), Joaquín Vilar del Valle Halty (Argentina), Kashokela Chibanje cfc (Zambia) 
Photo: Tino D’ Abreu, CFC

Thomas Berry Forum at Iona University
October 19, 2023, Contemplative Ecologists Circle  7 p.m. (online)
"The Dream of the Earth" Chapter 11 - Patriarchy: A New Interpretation of History

 

Thomas spends this chapter reprising a view of Western historical development beginning with the “matricentric” period sometime around 6500 B.C. in Europe, through iterations of “prepatriarchy, patriarchy and post patriarchy”. He acknowledges that actual history is more of a continuous flow in its sequence of transformations. Thomas identifies four patriarchal establishments that have been in control of Western history over the centuries: classical empires, the ecclesiastical establishment, the nation-state and the modern corporation.

He notes: “The mission of the present is to introduce a more integral period of earth development, a period when mutually enhancing human-earth relationships might be established”. (p.145)

He concludes the chapter thus: "We came into being within the life community through the billions of years that it took to shape a world into which humans could be born. It has been a creative maternal process throughout, with all the violence of the primordial fireball, the supernova explosions, and the volcanic eruptions from within the earth itself. However, terrifying these transition moments, they have consistently been birth moments. We might hope that what we are now experiencing is another birth moment, yet the patriarchal period is too poignant in its past memories and its present realities for us to fully understand what is happening or what will emerge in the years to come. Too much of what we are doing is irreversible. What we can say is that the earth seems to be rising in defense of herself and her children after this long period of patriarchal dominion."

We had 21 participants for the circle this evening. The recording link is below. Our next Circle is November 16: Chapter Twelve: Bioregions – The Context for Reinhabiting the Earth.

Voices of Vision and Hope

Redemptorists of the Baltimore Province 
Washington, DC 

Sr. Kathleen Deignan, CND, and Br. Kevin Cawley, CFC, of the Deignan Institute for Earth and Spirit and the Thomas Berry Forum for Ecological Dialogue at Iona University offered “Voices of Vision and Hope” to an audience assembled at the Redemptorist Center on Saturday October 7, 2023. Fr. Francis Gargani, C.Ss.R, hosted the program and introduced the presenters to 24 participants on site and 30 online viewers via livestream. Sr. Kathleen and Br. Kevin delivered a morning of inquiry and dialogue on the state of our planet, offering global perspectives informed by United Nations initiatives, possibilities for engagement inspired by the Laudato Si’ Action Platform. A significant portion of time was given to opening the wisdom of geologian Thomas Berry and his legacy of an empowering ecological spirituality.

Kevin opened with a review of our planetary predicament, based on United Nations reporting on the science and economics of the climate crisis globally. Reports on the climate change impact of sea level rise, increasing threats from drought, flooding , climate induced migration and severe weather were recounted. Kevin stressed the basic threat of the burning of fossil fuels despite the UN Convention on Climate Change calling for an end to these practices. The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change agreement in Paris in 2015 made commitments to keep global warming under 1.5 C at the insistence of many small island states who are at risk of inundation from rising seas due to melting polar ice and warming oceans. The 1.5 C goal is now in jeopardy.

The audience heard updates on the efforts of Pope Francis to sound the alarm once more following his comprehensive encyclical Laudato Si: On Care For Our Common Home which preceded the Paris conference in 2015. Pope Francis has confirmed and strengthened this message with his apostolic exhortation Laudate Deum on October 4 of this year. He released Laudate Deum just ahead of the United Nations Conference of the Parties 28th Meeting (COP28) in November in Dubai. Laudate Deum is ever more forceful and direct, calling out the wealthier nations for their excessive output of carbon dioxide at the expense of poorer nations doing far less burning of fossil fuels.

Kathleen moved the presentation with a deep appreciation of the work of Thomas Berry who spent his life calling for the “ reinvention of the human at the species level” in order to restore the balance of Earth and its natural forces. Kathleen reminded all - we must enter into deeper understanding of Earth. We must comprehend Earth not as an object of some human dream but also its inherent powers in bringing forth this marvelous display of beauty in such unending profusion. The central challenge for us - the Great Work - is to awaken to the exceptional crisis and possibility that confronts the whole human community in this era of the Anthropocene. Kathleen asks: How does Thomas, our spiritual guide to a new ecological sensibility so direct us? First, he would have us recognize and begin to reverse the conditioning that has thickened and dulled our cosmic sensibilities so we might begin to rehabilitate them. He would have us be aware that we have been shut down by an industrial way of life that has come to determine our conditioning, even as it has been destroying the planet. Thomas calls this effort “The Great Work” and it is ours now to enter and to carry forward. The formal session closed near 12:30 pm followed by coffee, refreshments and multiple informal exchanges among those present. Livestream was also available to registered participants. (30)

Preliminary remarks were delivered by Dr. Jim Robinson who reflected on the successful Climate March that took place in NY and elsewhere on the preceding Sunday, September 17 with a delegation of Iona students and faculty in attendance. Layne McDonald, of our student group, offered brief remarks on her impressions of the day. Sr. Kathleen Deignan moderated our discussion.

In this essay, Berry concludes with a stirring note on the dynamics of the universe: “...if it awakened life in the primordial cell and then brought into being the unnumbered variety of living beings, and finally brought us into being and guided us safely through the turbulent centuries, there is reason to believe that this same guiding process is precisely what has awakened in us our present understanding of ourselves and our relation to this stupendous process...”

Participants noted the essay’s impact, one in particular saying that it was the “grounding essay”, in the Berry thinking for him as he finds his way in the universe; comments followed - on the origins of helium and hydrogen beginning to coalesce as the universe cooled which help to differentiate the millions of galaxies that encourage us to revere the fundamental diversity of creation; our obligation to pass on this story is paramount; we must allow the universe to teach us; how to make new forms of justice work in this damaged setting; the importance of teaching children to appreciate the natural world; realizing there is a universe inside me is a healing insight because it helps me to appreciate my own dignity; our understanding of the faulty systems of domination can assist us in offering our “NO” to the status quo; we need especially to say “NO” to more weapons on the planet, including the terrors of the Trident submarine; telling the New Story is one form of resistance; recalling Pope Francis speaking for the power of authentic political love to resist the war on nature can be a vital aid. Finally, we offer our own responses - to be tested in our reading and in our sharing.

Thirty-one participants this evening. A link to the video is posted below. The recording starts slightly after the program has begun - during remarks by Brian Brown.

Watch now: “The New Story," 9/12/23

Weeks of diligent effort in the Iona University community came together in a triumphal appearance in the NYC Climate March on Sunday, September 17, 2023. Iona University joined over 70,000+ fellow activists to show support to ending the use of fossil fuels in order to save the planet from disastrous overheating. Faculty, students, and administrators linked in solidarity to show the urgency of our moment.

Inspired in part by the entreaty of Pope Francis in his letter to the world, Laudato Si, many have taken more active roles in advocacy for the future of our common home. So often the political decisions have triumphed over the care of earth options linked to the continued use of fossil fuels. Francis is quite specific on this point: “There is an urgent need to develop policies so that, in the next few years, the emission of carbon dioxide and other highly polluting gases can be drastically reduced, for example, substituting for fossil fuels and developing sources of renewable energy.” (LS 26) Much of the direct entreaties of the marchers were directed at the USA Administration of President Biden. His back-and-forth actions on care of earth issues came to a head with his decision on March 13 of this year to approve the Willow Project in Alaska . The Bureau of Land Management estimates that Willow could produce 576 million barrels of oil over 30 years. Burning Willow’s oil would also put into the atmosphere an estimated 239 million metric tons of carbon dioxide during the project’s 30-year lifetime — or the equivalent of driving 1.7 million gasoline-powered cars for a year.

Organizers knew that the decision to approve Willow drove more than 5 million messages of protest to the White House this summer and the Administration had to respond to the outcry. The March was an important and very large response to the emergency that cannot be ignored as another national election cycle gears up. And because the Biden administration approved it, the Willow project may also undermine the president’s credibility in pushing other countries to develop cleaner alternatives instead of oil and natural gas. Some see a contradiction in the president’s climate positions given that in 2021 he rejected the Keystone XL pipeline, which would have brought Canadian oil to U.S. refineries.

For now, this urgency has led the President to revive his campaign promise to deliver a Climate Conservation Corps, long championed by activists of the Sunrise Group. Sunrise has links to the Iona University effort through the active energy of student Connor Murray, and Layne McDonald, who led much of the recruiting for the Iona contingent. We thank other marchers, Liam Myers , adjunct faculty in Religious Studies, and Edgar Hayes who is co-founder of Freedom Farm as well as "Creation Care and Ecojustice” Facilitator for the Deignan Institute. Dr. Sean D’Alfonso of the Office of Mission and Ministry, Dr. Rachana Umashankar and Dr. James Robinson of Religious Studies and the Deignan Institute were significant contributors to the successful completion of the logistics of Marching Day. Iona's involvement was reported in the lead article in The Ionian by Jack Allen, a sophomore at Iona, who participated in the march. Iona's engagement was also captured by Kimberly Heatherington in National Catholic Reporter:

Click here to read more on ncronline.org

Here is the preface to the Support Letter sent to the Chair and Ranking Members of the United States Senate and House Committees on Agriculture (August 16, 2023)

Dear Chairwoman Stabenow, Chairman Thompson, Ranking Member Boozman, and Ranking Member Scott,

As embodied in the Farm Bill, our nation’s food and farm policies directly impact people and communities throughout the U.S. and worldwide. Inspired by our faith traditions’ sacred texts and values that call on us to care for poor and vulnerable people, we support policies that promote food security in the U.S. and worldwide, strengthen rural communities, and care for the land and our planet.

Together, XX national and local faith-based organizations urge Congress to prioritize reauthorizing a Faithful Farm Bill that promotes the well-being of people and the planet. Many of our organizations, congregations, and leaders work to feed and serve our struggling friends and neighbors, but we know we cannot do this alone. The Farm Bill’s resources must be effectively targeted for the greatest need. Programs and policies that curb hunger and malnutrition, support vibrant agricultural economies in rural communities, and promote the sustainable use of natural resources must be prioritized as part of a comprehensive Farm Bill, with adequate funding to meet these diverse needs fully.

Here is an abbreviated listing of provisions supported by signatories to the Letter:

Taking care of our neighbors is central to all of our faiths. More than 40 million Americans, including over 14 million children, utilize the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and other anti-hunger programs to help regularly put food on the table. While charitable organizations play a vital role in addressing hunger, we know that this country's overwhelming majority of food assistance has historically come from—and must continue to come from—federal programs. We urge Congress to:

A. Protect and improve  SNAP’s structure and funding - implementing more flexible approaches to ensure those in need can access quality nutrition assistance.
B. Eliminate arbitrary time limits and so-called work requirements that would restrict eligibility for SNAP  for those who need help putting food on the table.
C Eliminate the five-year ban on SNAP benefits for lawfully present immigrants and expand access to all who need them.
D Eliminate additional requirements for low-income college students.
E Strengthen SNAP to promote food security among low-income military families and veterans.
F. Repeal the ban on people convicted of drug felonies from receiving SNAP which disproportionately affects BIPOC communities.
G. Strengthen and expand other anti-hunger nutrition assistance programs like the Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP), the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR), The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP).
H. Establish a process for transition to SNAP for Puerto Rico and other territories that desire to transition. Support Tribal Food Sovereignty by granting 638 authority to tribes who wish to administer SNAP and other federal nutrition programs.

 

From Dan Misleh, Founder, Catholic Climate Covenant

On July 28, 2023,  we witnessed an extraordinary series of presentations on the Laudato Si’ Action Platform by knowledgeable and inspiring speakers. Our Laudato Si’ and the U.S. Catholic Church conference with Creighton University began with a rousing opener featuring Christiana Figueres and ended last week by recognizing 13 individuals and organizations with our first U.S. Laudato Si’ Champion Awards. Sandwiched in between were presentations on the seven goals of the Platform. Attended by thousands of you over the last two months, the conference aimed to energize and equip Catholics with new tools, techniques and energy to continue this work.

My preferred stance is to have my eyes wide open to the dangers we face but to be humbled and inspired by the expertise, enthusiasm, and energy of the many presenters that were featured. In the end, I believe we have little choice but to embrace the hope that these good people represent and join them in acting even as we appropriately lament about our neglect of our Common Home.

I encourage you to join me in hope-filled action. If you missed any parts of the conference, you can watch it on our YouTube page.

Brief Highlights of July 20 Berry Circle Reflection by Kathleen Deignan

Kathleen points to the iconic artwork that held the space as we began this evening - the image of the Eagle of Freedom, blessing a nation of abundance also shows the Dilemma   --  in the notion of  a fantasy of a religious promise made to the Christian people but not made good by the people after the Christian event. Berry recalls the Hope that captures America’s religions imagination.

Utopian efforts tried to realize this state of near perfection.  Thomas is right to say that for Americans  the seminal notion for compassion was present.  A vision to bringing suffering to an end. But the millennium of peace did not come forward.  In time Americans began to bring this millennium forward and by our own genius to bring it to birth,  in science, technology, industry,  commerce and in our military.  Thomas is trying to tell us that we took the gospel tradition, and we took the dream and labored to realize it. We did generate a public spirituality and we should try again.  But not employing the same the spirit that has brought us into crisis.  We need a new American spirituality- the  original impulse was to bring about justice,  but it began to be disfigured by sequestration of God.

Berry speaks explicitly in this chapter of divinity.  He notes the problem of  privatized spirituality.  We sequestered the vitality and spirit of the Earth itself...we reduced the beings and creatures to commodities. Thomas says out of this unfolding of these  recent three  centuries we have used the planet as a store for our economic success.  We made Spirituality simply for humans... We managed to sideline religion and spirituality and we did not have the spiritual geniuses to accompany the development of the American empire.  Naïve religious institutions did not evolve much beyond the biblical.  We did not mature into a public spirituality except as a kind of civic religion.

We lost our bearings in the natural world.  Our science took the place of religion.  Became doctrinaire.    We lack the visionary voices.  We need an integral theology, but we are left again with the reductionist spirituality that allows us to be religious privately but not publicly.  He wants us to recover from the materialism we have settled for so that we can save this natural world that is victim of this erroneous distorted spirituality. Distortions include  ideas such as, “No Limits to Growth” , no limits to our exploiting the natural world.

Human psychic structure took millions of years of evolution, but we have reduced this unfolding power to a kind of political spirituality that seems only to want to serve the trance state of our industrial commercial mode of living.    We need men and women to embody ecological spirituality for the 3rd phase of the American adventure.... to inspire a holistic cosmology, a new consciousness of ecology.  Bring these to bear on a new public spirituality in a radically new way.  Berry challenges people of Faith to do this work.

We need to pay attention to redemption but we need to recover the appropriate expression of redemption for our full community.  We need to generate a new public modality of integral spirituality.  How are we going to do this?   How to bring to birth a spirituality to guide us out of this very deep pathology?

Br. Kevin Cawley of Iona University and Edmund Rice International drafted the video statement for delivery at the UN Human Rights Council 53rd Session on July 5, 2023.

Statement Delivered to United Nations Human Rights Council Geneva by Edmund Rice International.

The statement was delivered by Joyce Pinto for the interactive dialogue on the Report of the  Secretary General on the adverse impact of climate change on the full realization of the right to food. The statement was drafted by Br. Kevin Cawley.

Watch Now on YouTube

Virtual Gathering

Discussion of Thomas Berry’s "The Dream of the Earth "
Chapter 8: The American College in the Ecological Age

“By earth education, I do not mean education about the earth, but the earth as the immediate self-educating community of those living and non-living beings that constitute the earth.”  - Thomas Berry

Participants had the good fortune of hearing remarks from several Iona University students, Shakinah, Layne, Jack and  John who described their understanding of Thomas Berry in light of their engagement with Dr. James Robinson, their professor for “Religion and the Natural World.”  The video is below.

Dr. Lorna Gold in New York
Members of the Deignan Institute for Earth and Spirit were included recently in the welcome of  Dr. Lorna Gold,  President of the Laudato Si’ Movement Board of Directors who was visiting New York City as guest of the Metro NY Catholic Climate Movement.   Dr. Gold has been active in Laudato efforts for several years and appeared in the film, The Letter.  She spoke to an audience assembled at the Jesuit Church of St. Francis Xavier in NYC. The invitation to this event was extended to Br. Kevin Cawley who  has been a member of  Metro NYCCM for the past 4 years and has addressed the group periodically on care of Earth issues on behalf of the Thomas Berry Forum. 

Dr. Gold (photo) was joined on the stage by Martin Palmer of the U.K.,  a long-time campaigner for the environment, author and international specialist on major faiths and religious traditions and cultures. He is the Founding President and Chief Executive of FaithInvest, an international not-for-profit membership association for religious groups and faith-based institutional investors, which empowers faith groups to invest in line with their values. Dr Lorna Gold will be new Chief Executive Officer from September 2023. She takes over from Palmer,  who remains as FaithInvest’s Founding President.   Dr.  Gold is currently FaithInvest’s Director of Movement Building.

Fossil Fuel Divestment Movement
Fossil fuel divestment is now moving to the front of consciousness for many environmental campaigners.   Some churches joining in the campaign to divest from fossil fuel and other extractive industries.  The work is rising from the realization that it is not enough to simply divest but also to challenge the  moral basis of the social contract with the fossil fuel industrial complex.  Much of this June 13th event was taken up with the challenges of the divestment campaigns now gaining momentum as the  UN Conference of the Parties (COP28) approaches.  The Conference takes place this year in United Arab Emirates as member states attempt to rein in the use of fossil fuels globally to reduce the worst impacts of climate change.

Martin Palmer added an ecumenical perspective by noting that there is a growing Muslim interest in the teachings of Laudato.    The Muslim Council of Elders have provided faith-based organizations with a pavilion in the Blue Zone at COP28.   The pavilion will invite those  of different faiths to share their perspectives on climate change. Mohamed Bahr from UAE and Muslim Council of Elders is leading this effort.  Dr. Gold emphasized the inspiration of Laudato si  for these insights on global economy as seen here:
 
(Many) have accepted the idea of infinite or unlimited growth…   But this paradigm “is based on the lie that there is an infinite supply of the earth’s goods, and this leads to the planet being squeezed dry beyond every limit.”  LS #106

The principle of the subordination of private property to the universal destination of goods, and thus the right of everyone to their use, is a golden rule of social conduct and “the first principle of the whole ethical and social order”.  The Christian tradition has never recognized the right to private property as absolute or inviolable and has stressed the social purpose of all forms of private property. LS #93

Many things have to change course, but it is we human beings above all who need to change. We lack an awareness of our common origin, of our mutual belonging, and of a future to be shared with everyone. #202 

Film Notes for Laudato Si
Details are here for the main protagonists in The Letter. These individuals represent four of the voices Francis mentions in his encyclical: the voice of the poor and the periphery (Arouna Kandé, from Senegal), the voice of indigenous peoples (Cacique Dadá,   from Amazonia), the voice of youth (Ridhima Pandey, from India) and the voice of nature (Greg Asner and Robin Martin, from Hawaii). They are people with different perspectives, different ages, different beliefs, and different cultures, with whom the Pope chose to establish a pluralistic conversation that is open to other views and other focuses.  “Never in the past has the Pope invited the religious and secular world to work side by side in solving a great problem. This is unique. It’s a watershed moment.”

This is one of the key elements to understanding The Letter,  says Palmer, cofounder of Religions and Environment.  Another two key elements, among many, come from Pope Francis in the documentary itself when he says, “ it’s a lie that slavery has ended.”   Indeed, we are now subjected to another kind of servitude: “The supremacy of economic power makes us more enslaved each day,” he says. Then there is the conversation he has with representatives of remote regions of the planet, which he calls “a dialogue that is born in the periphery.”  Savage capitalism also has a negative impact on the Earth. To deal with this destruction we need to work together with those who are on the margins of this system - thus his reference to the periphery. 

Deignan Institute and Thomas Berry Forum pledge to  continue efforts sharing the teachings of Laudato throughout Iona University.  As partners step forward, we hope to generate further momentum toward transformation as a Laudato si University.

Reflection:  Sarah Arthurs of Green Exodus, Calgary, Canada

Sarah tells us: I make my home in Moh’kinstsis (Calgary, Alberta) on the traditional territories of the Blackfoot Confederacy (Siksika, Kainai, Piikani), the Tsuut’ina, the Îyâxe Nakoda Nations, and the Métis Nation (Region 3). The communities which shape me include the Rocky Mountains on the horizon, Big Blue Skys, the blowing in of Chinook winds, the secret wildflower sanctuary where Rosie (Havanese poodle) takes me most days, the comings and goings of my children’s lives and the neighbor’s, landscape, and wild creatures of Prairie Sky Cohousing Cooperative. Also significant are Hillhurst United Church. An Exodus is a community event. As the lead animator of Green Exodus – the learning, loving and creating – fills me with gladness and gratitude!

Kathleen Deignan introduced Sarah to the group and Sarah shared briefly about her home and her work. Sarah reports also a significant current concern has been the wildfires burning in Alberta that have sent smoke across the Canadian landscape and eventually even to the skies of the eastern portion of the United States. Authorities say there are at least 98 wildfires burning across Alberta, Canada, as unusually warm spring temperatures threaten to fuel further destruction while the new growth of spring wildflowers attempts a fragrant pushback.

Sarah led the group in a brief exercise demonstrating an exchange via a “structured small group”. We were then directed to Breakout Groups (3 persons each) for several minutes practice of the small group process. Our prompt question: “Why are you here?” The speaking and listening in small groups proved both stimulating and intimate - an exchange that all reported as a welcome feature for the session. Sarah elicited comments from the group and encouraged us to send comments to the chat so all could share. Brief comments followed and then Sarah took us through some further reflection on the chapter text. Thomas Berry noted that Christianity moved us from the natural world and tends to favor written scripture which has led to the treatment of the natural world as a collection of objects rather than a communion of subjects. Religious traditions do not appear adequate for our moment. We have yet to acknowledge that physical evolution is also a naturally spiritual process. How do we become better humans? Participants were invited to share in the chat some features of the new religious experience that are emerging. Sharing these comments took some time and in closing, Sarah invited brief statements from each participant. A number of books were recommended. These titles can be gleaned from the accompanying recording of the session. Session concluded at 8:23 pm NY time. 27 Participants tonight. Recording is below.

Br. Kevin Cawley of Berry Forum and Edmund Rice International made a presentation as part of an online panel of speakers at the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues: Webinar for Presentation Sisters: Responses To Structured Inequalities For Women And Girls.

Download the April 27 Presentation Here

Br. Kevin Cawley, Representing Edmund Rice International at the United Nations and Director of the Thomas Berry Forum at Iona, offered an online examination of the present realities of engagement with the UN system in light of the teachings of Laudato Si in two sessions on Wednesday, April 26. The Global East segment morning session began at 6:30 NY time and the Global West afternoon session began at 3 pm NY time. Edmund Rice International hosted the proceedings with the ERI Team in Geneva providing the background and arranging the participation of over 170 participants from 27 nations for these teaching engagements. Participants were encouraged to offer comments in the real-time chat feature and had the opportunity to meet in smaller breakout groups following Kevin’s presentation. Participants were gracious in offering their thanks for the information and many expressed surprise at the discovery of so much transnational corporate influence in recent UN climate negotiations at COP26 and COP27 and at the UN water conference held in New York. Kevin emphasized the impact of Pope Francis at UN conversations since 2015, when Laudato Si was published. He noted that the Pope addressed the UN General Assembly in person in September of that year , just prior to the COP21 December Paris Climate Agreement.

April 26 Zoom Sessions were approximately 90 minutes each. Offered in two sessions on the same day, in English at 7 a.m. NY time and again with Spanish translation at 3 p.m. NY time. A total of 167 participants joined us over the two sessions which were viewed live in 26 countries.

Youtube link here 

Thomas Berry Contemplative Ecologists Circle at Iona University continues the exploration of the work of Thomas Berry in his writings collected in the volume, The Dream of the Earth.

Tonight’s Reflection was offered by Sr. Kathleen Deignan. We opened the Circle with Chapter 6: “Technology and the Healing of the Earth.”

Kathleen guided us through this chapter with careful and thoughtful notice of the warnings from Thomas, “the most basic issue, in my estimation, is that of human-earth relations.”

Thomas reminds us that with the rise of corporations from 1880 until the nuclear age, the human has as ascended... “until we have finally achieved the capacity to determine on an extensive scale whether the basic life systems of the earth will live or die.”

Kathleen showed the world currently engaged in this unparalleled change in the human-earth engagement with the future largely to be determined by the human. We need a conversion experience for the human to address this corporate domination of earth systems. We know , for example, the World Bank expressed early concern for the fate of the rain forest in 1987 and now a current President of the World Bank has been exposed as a climate- change denier. Kathleen took some time to recall the rise of hominid species across the ages; the hominid type has recently crossed from the nuclear age to the digital age to the space age and now the “AI” -age. A new kind of human is needed for this world-making. Her full reflection is available in the recording below this narrative.

Participants numbered 18 and their comments included: we must learn to be mystical, beware of Apple corporation selling the big lie, the word “community” means different things in different places, earth is the primary architect, we need to be brave enough to take away tech screens from our children periodically, and we must bloom where we are planted. 

Vatican Repudiates “Doctrine Of Discovery"

“History says don’t hope on this side of the grave. But then, once in a lifetime the longed for tidal wave of justice can rise up and hope and history rhyme.”
Seamus Heany 

In solidarity and alliance with all those who have labored for this Vatican Declaration acknowledging that it marks a beginning for telling our histories true. May we have the courage to continue on this healing path of dialogue toward one another. - KD

Church defends Indigenous peoples: ‘Doctrine of Discovery’ was never Catholic

A “Joint Statement” from the Dicastery for Culture and the Dicastery for Integral Human Development formally repudiates "those concepts that fail to recognize.

Cardinal Czerny: The Church rejects all words and actions that do not recognise human dignity

The Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development comments on the Joint Statement on the "Doctrine of Discovery", published on 30 March.

US and Canadian Bishops welcome Vatican Statement on Doctrine of Discovery

Bishops' Conferences from Canada and the United States issue statements supporting the Holy See in its recent Document repudiating the "Doctrine of Discovery."

Cardinal Tolentino: Statement on the "Doctrine of Discovery", a sign of reconciliation

The Cardinal Prefect of the Dicastery for Culture and Education comments on the Vatican Statement that stigmatize ancient colonialist behavior, reaffirming...

Joint Statement of the Dicasteries for Culture and Education and for Promoting Integral Human Development on the “Doctrine of Discovery”

Holy See Press Office
March 30, 2023

1. In fidelity to the mandate received from Christ, the Catholic Church strives to promote universal fraternity and respect for the dignity of every human being.

2. For this reason, in the course of history the Popes have condemned acts of violence, oppression, social injustice and slavery, including those committed against indigenous peoples. There have also been numerous examples of bishops, priests, women and men religious and lay faithful who gave their lives in defense of the dignity of those peoples.

3. At the same time, respect for the facts of history demands an acknowledgement of the human weakness and failings of Christ’s disciples in every generation. Many Christians have committed evil acts against indigenous peoples for which recent Popes have asked forgiveness on numerous occasions.

4. In our own day, a renewed dialogue with indigenous peoples, especially with those who profess the Catholic Faith, has helped the Church to understand better their values and cultures. With their help, the Church has acquired a greater awareness of their sufferings, past and present, due to the expropriation of their lands, which they consider a sacred gift from God and their ancestors, as well as the policies of forced assimilation, promoted by the governmental authorities of the time, intended to eliminate their indigenous cultures. As Pope Francis has emphasized, their sufferings constitute a powerful summons to abandon the colonizing mentality and to walk with them side by side, in mutual respect and dialogue, recognizing the rights and cultural values of all individuals and peoples. In this regard, the Church is committed to accompany indigenous peoples and to foster efforts aimed at promoting reconciliation and healing.

5. It is in this context of listening to indigenous peoples that the Church has heard the importance of addressing the concept referred to as the “doctrine of discovery.” The legal concept of “discovery” was debated by colonial powers from the sixteenth century onward and found particular expression in the nineteenth century jurisprudence of courts in several countries, according to which the discovery of lands by settlers granted an exclusive right to extinguish, either by purchase or conquest, the title to or possession of those lands by indigenous peoples. Certain scholars have argued that the basis of the aforementioned “doctrine” is to be found in several papal documents, such as the Bulls Dum Diversas (1452), Romanus Pontifex (1455) and Inter Caetera (1493).

6. The “doctrine of discovery” is not part of the teaching of the Catholic Church. Historical research clearly demonstrates that the papal documents in question, written in a specific historical period and linked to political questions, have never been considered expressions of the Catholic faith. At the same time, the Church acknowledges that these papal bulls did not adequately reflect the equal dignity and rights of indigenous peoples. The Church is also aware that the contents of these documents were manipulated for political purposes by competing colonial powers in order to justify immoral acts against indigenous peoples that were carried out, at times, without opposition from ecclesiastical  authorities. It is only just to recognize these errors, acknowledge the terrible effects of the assimilation policies and the pain experienced by indigenous peoples, and ask for pardon. Furthermore, Pope Francis has urged: “Never again can the Christian community allow itself to be infected by the idea that one culture is superior to others, or that it is legitimate to employ ways of coercing others.”

7. In no uncertain terms, the Church’s magisterium upholds the respect due to every human being. The Catholic Church therefore repudiates those concepts that fail to recognize the inherent human rights of indigenous peoples, including what has become known as the legal and political “doctrine of discovery”.

8. Numerous and repeated statements by the Church and the Popes uphold the rights of indigenous peoples. For example, in the 1537 Bull Sublimis Deus, Pope Paul III wrote, “We define and declare [ ... ] that [, .. ] the said Indians and all other people who may later be discovered by Christians, are by no means to be deprived of their liberty or the possession of their property, even though they be outside the Christian faith; and that they may and should, freely and legitimately, enjoy their liberty and possession of their property; nor should they be in any way enslaved; should the contrary happen, it shall be null and have no effect”.

9. More recently, the Church’s solidarity with indigenous peoples has given rise to the Holy See’s strong support for the principles contained in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The implementation of those principles would improve the living conditions and help protect the rights of indigenous peoples as well as facilitate their development in a way that respects their identity, language and culture.

Br. Kevin Cawley of the Thomas Berry Forum at Iona addressed the findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Synthesis Report released on March 20, 2023. Kevin was invited to speak in a webinar organized by Edmund Rice International (ERI) , based in Geneva, Switzerland, at the UN Human Rights Council. ERI has been engaging with the United Nations since 2006 on questions surrounding the Rights of the Child, the Right to Education and the Care of Earth. There were approximately 90 participants in the webinar which reached out to partners in India, Australia, Africa, Europe and the Americas.

On this occasion, March 21, Kevin spoke directly to the most recent IPCC report and the implications for humanity as we approach the 8th anniversary of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. The situation has been reported in multiple forums and by hundreds of commentators but clearly the problems persist and will continue unless addressed now and with genuine vigor. The IPCC Report makes clear that the since the last one in 2014, we’ve dumped an additional third of a trillion tons of CO₂ into the atmosphere, primarily from burning fossil fuels. While world leaders promised to cut global emissions, they have presided over a 5% rise.

Professor Kevin Anderson of the University of Manchester, UK, has said, “ Given it will take a few years to organize the necessary political structures and technical deployment, the date for eliminating all CO₂ emissions to remain within 1.5°C of warming comes closer still, to around the mid-2030s. This is a strikingly different level of urgency to that evoked by the IPCC’s “early 2050s”. Similar smoke and mirrors lie behind the “early 2070s” timeline the IPCC conjures for limiting global heating to 2°C.”

Professor Anderson goes on to note the new report evokes a mild sense of urgency, calling on governments to mobilize finance to accelerate the uptake of green technology. But its conclusions are far removed from what many commentators believe is truly needed. In his presentation, Kevin attempted to briefly explain the causes of climate warming, reduced effectiveness of land, forests, and oceans to remove the warming carbon. Kevin emphasized the concern that the IPCC reporting has been underestimating the impacts of GHG emissions due to public pressure of states and corporations and thus putting the planet in more peril. In his remarks for ERI, Kevin emphasized the significant lessons for responding to our climate emergency contained in the teaching letter of Pope Francis in 2015, “Laudato si: On Care for Our Common Home.”

The Thomas Berry Forum for Ecological Dialogue will continue to offer information and suggestions for action on these challenges. We encourage readers to stay informed and to take local and regional action as you are able. For the link to  YouTube click here 

In this conversation, Brother Kevin Cawley, CFC, representative of Edmund Rice International to UN Headquarters in New York, sheds some light on the intersection of climate change and this year's theme for the UN Commission on the Status of women: innovation, technological change, and digital education for the empowerment of women and girls This conversation was conducted by the Justice Coalition of Religious for our virtual exhibit booth at the NGO/CSW Forum in parallel with the 67th UN Commission on the Status of Women.

Click here to view

Br. Kevin Cawley, of Edmund Rice International and the Thomas Berry Forum at Iona University, participated in this online panel for Justice Coalition of Religious during the Commission on the Status of Women 67th Meeting at UNHQ in New York. This March 15 interview was featured in the virtual exhibit booth for CSW67. The topic was Innovation and Technological Change: Education in the Digital Age. The topics include the foundation of Edmund Rice International at the United Nations, the influence of Catholic Religious women, the educational inequalities for young people in the developing world, the prevalence of inequality in the role of women and girls in maintaining the family water supply, the current climate crisis becoming more urgent, our reliance on untested technology and the efforts of Pope Francis and Thomas Berry regarding our place and responsibility as humans in caring for creation. The host is Teresa Blumenstein, Director of Justice Coalition for Religious. Click here to view.

Statement by Br. Kevin Cawley
Of the Thomas Berry Forum for Ecological Dialogue at Iona University

Prepared for Edmund Rice International
at United Nations Human Rights Council 52nd Session
Geneva
27 February - 31 March 2023
Video Statement Delivered  March 9, 2023

(Links to Agenda Item 3:  Women, girls and the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment - Report of the Special Rapporteur on the issue of human rights obligations relating to the enjoyment of a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment, David R. Boyd)

Edmund Rice International brings to mind at this moment the words of Pope Francis in his encyclical Laudato Si: On Care for Our Common Home: “What kind of world do we want to leave to those who come after us, to children who are now growing up? This question does not have to do with the environment alone and in isolation; the issue cannot be approached piecemeal. When we ask ourselves what kind of world we want to leave behind, we think in the first place of its general direction, its meaning and its values. Unless we struggle with these deeper issues, I do not believe that our concern for ecology will produce significant results. (LS 160)

We are aware in the developed world  and other places that young people have begun to assert their rights to a healthy environment through the courts.  These young men and young women have stated that the government has knowingly violated their due process rights of life, liberty, and property as well as the government's sovereign duty to protect public grounds by encouraging and permitting the combustion of fossil fuels.

These charges are examples of  environmental law referred to as "atmospheric trust litigation", a concept based on the public trust doctrine and international  responsibility related to natural resources.

We call upon member States to address their responsibilities , state obligations as well as the obligations of the business and political sectors to achieve gender equality and ecological sustainability with urgent rights-based climate and environmental action.

Watch on YouTube

NY & NJ Harbor & Tributaries Focus Area Feasibility Study (HATS), Tentatively Selected Plan
Attention: Bryce Wisemiller, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers New York District
March 3, 2023

“The time has come to lower our voices, to cease imposing our mechanistic patterns on the biological processes of the earth, to resist the impulse to control, to command, to force, to oppress, and to begin quite humbly to follow the guidance of the larger community on which all life depends.” Thomas Berry - "The Dream of the Earth."

I write to state my opposition to the construction of storm surge barriers in the waters of New York and New Jersey, and to urge the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to prioritize flood protections that are more comprehensive and that avoid ecological harm. I appreciate the Corps' crucial efforts to address storm surge risks in our region and the opportunity to comment on the New York-New Jersey Harbor and Tributaries Study Draft Integrated Feasibility and Tier 1 Environmental Impact Statement

In short, I believe the in-water storm surge barriers in the Corps' tentatively selected plan, Alternative 3B, would be too harmful to the environment, exacerbate long standing inequities, expose certain areas to increased flood risk, and fail to protect against the long-term certainty of increased flooding from sea level rise, heavy downpours and rising groundwater. The proposed storm surge barriers threaten to choke off the tidal flow, impede fish migration, and trap contaminants in waters already burdened by pollution and degradation. (Image: Riverkeeper)

I urge you to work closely with non-federal partners to plan and design berms and other shoreline measures that allow rivers to flow, provide public access to the water, incorporate green stormwater infrastructure, enhance natural habitat, and protect neighborhoods from the full combination of storm surges, rainfall and rising waters.

The Army Corps relies on an outdated benefit-cost analysis that fails to put a value on rivers and their life, including endangered species like the Atlantic sturgeon. Scientists have noted that marine life has been stopped by storm surge barriers elsewhere. Marine habitats will be permanently altered by the proposed gates, in ways that are difficult to predict. The structures, and the faster currents they would cause, would likely restrict the movement of numerous small species around the barriers.

The benefit-cost analysis is solely based on real estate and infrastructure values, ignoring the protection of human life, health, and the environment and perpetuating historic inequities caused by redlining and other racist policies. Instead the Army Corps should factor in the demographics of those protected or otherwise impacted by its plan, among many other considerations. New York City, New York State and New Jersey must work with communities and the Corps on additional strategies, including the potential benefits of prohibiting or minimizing new development in floodplains and/or implementing flood buyout programs.

Because of the Corps' narrow focus on storm surge, the tentatively selected plan overlooks risks from other types of flooding, such as rising groundwaters, tidal flooding, and precipitation-related flooding like what New York saw during Hurricane Ida.

The Army Corps is also relying on outdated climate projections less change in sea level than predicted by the New York City Panel on Climate Change and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. I call on the Corps to amend its estimates to reflect the best science and most recent modeling to better inform the study, protect communities, and extend the useful life of any infrastructure developed as part of the plan.

Thank you for your consideration.

Br. Kevin Cawley, Director of the Thomas Berry Forum/Deignan Institute for Earth and Spirit
Iona University, New Rochelle, NY

The Dream of the Earth: Chapter 5: The Ecological Age

Thomas Berry Contemplative Ecologists Circle at Iona University

February 16, 2023

Brian Brown began our evening with his reflection on Chapter Five. Here are brief excerpts from Brian’s remarks: The Ecological Age. He reminded us of Berry’s insights about the origins of our universe and the forming of Earth. Earth’s organic wisdom reveals itself as a communion experience. Earth points beyond itself through differentiation, subjectivity and communion and it is this inclination of the cosmos toward community that drives the hope to deeper consciousness. We come to a deep awareness of the Sacred presence even as we move toward this understanding in a groping manner. Brian’s full remarks are available in the “Illuminations” published regularly by the Deignan Institute for Earth and Spirit at Iona University and provided to our mailing list for the Contemplative Circle.

Comments during the discussion included the following: a huge conscious shift will lead to deeper communion; why humans? When we seem to be so problematic for the flourishing of Earth; Are we the pathology? Genetic wisdom is important; our hope is in our genetic capacity; even bacteria are hopeful despite no legs, no eyes, they move to find food and reproduce; hope is biological; too many young people are afraid and think guns will keep them safe; we are at an inflection point for compassion and responsibility for others; what we love, we take care of; patriarchy remains an enormous challenge.

Video recording of the February 16 event is below. There were 33 participants.

My name is Kevin Cawley, and I am the Director of the Thomas Berry Forum for Ecological Dialogue at Iona University in New Rochelle, N.Y. I speak in favor of the Sunrise Wind offshore wind project. Offshore wind will reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and will provide family-supporting jobs and improve public health. New York has committed to 70% renewable energy by 2030 and 100% clean energy by 2040, including 9,000 megawatts of offshore wind by 2035. But we won’t meet our goals if we only talk about clean energy. It must be turned into reality with real projects on the ground.

Pope Francis has noted in Laudato Si, his  encyclical letter on care for our common home: “There is an urgent need to develop policies so that, in the next few years, the emission of carbon dioxide and other highly polluting gases can be drastically reduced, for example, substituting for fossil fuels and developing sources of renewable energy.” (LS 26)

The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says that avoiding catastrophic climate change requires keeping global average temperatures within 1.5 Celsius degrees above pre-industrial levels.  We need  to switch to renewable sources for electricity now to avoid this temperature rise.

The connectivity question must also be addressed. To get all this electricity from where it will be generated to where it is used, we also need a massive expansion of transmission—a tripling or quadrupling in capacity under some scenarios.  Several studies conclude that achieving the need- ed level of wind and solar requires building on the order of 100 gigawatts a year out to 2050. To put this in perspective, one good-sized nuclear power plant, or a very large wind farm, has a capacity of about 1 gigawatt. So, we would have to build the equivalent of around 100 similar projects every year to meet the energy needs we know will be upon us.  The clock is ticking.

Again, Pope Francis reminds us:  “Results take time and demand immediate outlays which may not produce tangible effects within any one government’s term. That is why, in the absence of pressure from the public and from civic institutions, political authorities will always be reluctant to intervene, all the more when urgent needs must be met. To take up these responsibilities and the costs they entail, politicians will inevitably clash with the mindset of short-term gain and results which dominates present-day economics and politics. But if they are courageous, they will attest to their God-given dignity and leave behind a testimony of selfless responsibility. “ (LS 181)

I urge the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to support the Sunrise Wind project and do everything in its power to expedite the rapid completion of this essential infrastructure.

Br. Kevin Cawley, Thomas Berry Forum at Iona University,  February 14, 2023 
US Govt. Comment Tracking Number: le4-avxh-ku11

Comments Delivered Online Jan 24, 2023, at NY State Public Service Commission Hearing re: In Favor of  Permit Application for Beacon Wind LLC

My name is Kevin Cawley, and I am the Director of the Thomas Berry Forum for Ecological Dialogue at Iona University in New Rochelle NY.  I speak in favor of the Beacon Wind offshore wind project.

When built, Beacon Wind will provide enough clean power for one million homes via a transmission line running from the wind farm to Astoria. It will be built with New York union labor, too. I support clean energy for Astoria and elsewhere and this project will serve thousands while diminishing our dependence on fossil fuels.

Pope Francis has noted in Laudato Si, his encyclical letter on care for our common home: “There is an urgent need to develop policies so that, in the next few years, the emission of carbon dioxide and other highly polluting gases can be drastically reduced, for example, substituting for fossil fuels and developing sources of renewable energy.” (LS 26)

The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says that avoiding catastrophic climate change requires keeping global average temperatures within 1.5 Celsius degrees above pre-industrial levels.  We need  to switch to renewable sources for electricity now.

To get all this electricity from where it will be generated to where it is used, we also need a massive expansion of transmission—a tripling or quadrupling in capacity under some scenarios.  Several studies conclude that achieving the need- ed level of wind and solar requires building on the order of 100 gigawatts a year out to 2050. To put this in perspective, one good-sized nuclear power plant, or a very large wind farm, has a capacity of about 1 gigawatt. So, we would have to build the equivalent of around 100 of these every year.

Again, Pope Francis reminds us:  “Results take time and demand immediate outlays which may not produce tangible effects within any one government’s term. That is why, in the absence of pressure from the public and from civic institutions, political authorities will always be reluctant to intervene, all the more when urgent needs must be met. To take up these responsibilities and the costs they entail, politicians will inevitably clash with the mindset of short-term gain and results which dominates present-day economics and politics. But if they are courageous, they will attest to their God-given dignity and leave behind a testimony of selfless responsibility. “ (LS 181)

I urge the Department of Public Service to support the Beacon Wind project and do everything in its power to expedite the rapid completion of this essential infrastructure.

Cordially,
Br. Kevin Cawley, Thomas Berry Forum at Iona University,  January 2023

We continue this season's communal reading of  wisdom writings of
Thomas Berry.  This semester we focus on The Dream of the Earth (1988).    Samuel King was our special guest "Illuminator".

Sam King is an environmental educator, writer, and activist. He serves as Director of Sustainability for the United States Marist school network. He is also Project Manager for the Emmy Award-winning Journey of the Universe film and multimedia project, hosting the Journey of the Universe: 10 Years Later podcast and editing the monthly newsletter.

Sam received a Master of Arts in Religion and Ecology with a certificate in Educational Leadership and Ministry from Yale Divinity School. He also served as a Teaching Fellow for Mary Evelyn Tucker and John Grim and assisted in the creation of six Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) in Religions and Ecology. A former Fulbright scholar in Sri Lanka, Sam taught at the University of Sri Jayewardenepura and researched agrarian Buddhism. He has also taught English, Environmental Science, Philosophy, and Religion at The Hotchkiss School and Phillips Academy Andover Summer. An avid gardener, forager, and outdoorsman, Sam lives on ancestral Quinnipiac land in New Haven, CT.

Sam, calling in from Guatemala, was reflecting on Chapter 4 of Berry's Dream of the Earth and reporting on his recent participation in the COP 15 UN Biodiversity Conference in Montreal.  We welcomed 37 participants for the 90-minute program,  including visitors from California, Florida, Pennsylvania, New York,  Guyana, Canada, and Bolivia. Link to the video recording is below.

A New Year's Challenge Inspired by our Mentors Thomas Berry and Thomas Merton

To venture into a process of discovery and creativity: the conscious generation of a New Humanity.

Animators of the Deignan Institute for Earth and Spirit and the Berry Forum for Ecological Dialogue at Iona University convened on January 11, 2023,  the first of a series of conversations exploring the critical  evolutionary challenge of our time: to personally and collectively embark on a passage from human estrangement from the living commune of creation, from ourselves and one other to a yearning capacity for intimacy and communion, compassion and solidarity,  even with the universe itself.

Not a forum for lofty conversations, these sessions are intended to be a laboratory in which to experiment with ways and means to awaken the emergent greater self that is tasked with the imperative of imagining
and acting our way into a new mode of human presence on Earth for the sake of planetary survival and flourishing.

Joining Kathleen Deignan, CND to animate our vow of conversation was Scott Thompson, a psychotherapist working at the boundary of spiritual emergence and human healing to activate new ways of seeing and living as creative caretakers of our common home within a radiant universe.

Our dialogue facilitators engaged conversation among participants to aid each other generously and gracefully to face the grief, the denial, the over-whelm of this planetary moment in order to make psychic space for the ongoing wonder of what is ever unfolding within and about us, summoning us to fulness of life in celebration and service.

If you  seek a dialogue community to mature with and yearn to experience what Berry calls “the high exaltation of being,” these conversations are  meant for you. If you are a spiritual seeker or guide, a climate activist, parent, preacher, or justice advocate, a young or elder human looking for support on your path, these conversations are meant for you.  If you are seeking ways to cultivate a new “Ecozoic consciousness” attuned to the possibilities for regeneration hidden in this planetary moment and the vast reserves of cosmic and psychic energy, these conversations are meant for you.

It is our intention that such ongoing and deep dialogue in a safe holding space will activate the power of hope to generate and cultivate the seed of a new human presence to our Mother Earth and the living cosmos.  “The Great Work now, as we move into a new millennium, is to carry out the transition from a period of human devastation of the Earth to a period when humans would be present to the planet in a mutually beneficial manner.” (Thomas Berry, “The Great Work,” in The Great Work, 3).

Dr. Libby Osgood, CND, will be leading a portion of her engineering class from Prince Edward Island University, Canada, on an immersion program in Honduras in February 2023.  The students will be working with a civil society organization assisting local people with basic freshwater infrastructure. Dr. Osgood asked Kevin to provide background on the UN Sustainable Development Goals as context for why the students would be engaging in the water infrastructure project.

Kevin led a presentation and discussion outlining a basic overview of the UN process of developing the SDGs and the role of civil society in UN policy discussions among member states.  The presentation began with a brief look at the work of Edmund Rice International at New York and Geneva which was followed by the reporting on the SDG discussion and the related COP21 known as the Paris Agreement on Climate. 

Special attention went to explaining the Human Right to Water and Sanitation which was also a key feature of the encyclical of Pope Francis in 2015, Laudato si: On Care for Our Common Home. Kevin spent some time opening the lens on the assassination of Berta Caceres in 2016 in Honduras. Berta had received the Goldman Prize for her work protecting the waters of her indigenous people in 2015. (Berta photo at left.) Her killers have been brought to court but the intellectual authors of her shooting remain at large.

Kevin explained the overlap of SDGs and Catholic Social Teaching emphasized by the appearance of Pope Francis at the UN on the day the SDGs were promulgated by the UN General Assembly. Pope Francis mentions “water” forty-seven times in his encyclical. The students learned that ERI maintains a robust presence at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland where it is possible to make regular interventions on behalf of marginalized persons in countries where the Christian Brothers remain present locally.  

Thomas Berry Forum joined other Advocacy groups who want Biden climate officials to block an independent agency from building a new gas plant.  Environmental advocates are prodding EPA to use a special legal authority to shut down another agency’s plan to replace its largest coal plant with natural gas.  At each stage of transport, natural gas leaks and each type of loss or use of natural gas throughout the system has associated GHG emissions.  Pipeline quality natural gas is composed of over 90 percent methane (CH4), roughly 1.4 percent 1of which is vented routinely or leaked unintentionally from various sources throughout the natural gas supply chain.  Methane is a relatively potent greenhouse gas (GHG). Although methane has a relatively short atmospheric lifetime of 1012 years 2, when integrated over 100-years methane it is over 20 times more effective than carbon dioxide (CO2) at trapping heat in the atmosphere. ( Source: US Department of Energy.)

Thomas Berry Forum has signed on to a  coalition of advocacy groups that have sent a letter to EPA Administrator Michael Regan and senior White House climate officials urging the administration to intervene in the Tennessee Valley Authority’s plans to replace a coal-fired plant in Tennessee with natural gas.

Welcome to the Thomas Berry Forum Contemplative Ecologists Circle for December 15, 2022. These programs are brought to you by the Kathleen Deignan Institute for Earth and Spirit at Iona University. We continue this season's communal reading of the wisdom writings of Thomas Berry:

"The Dream of the Earth," Chapter Three – Human Presence

Our opening reflection is offered by Dr. Brian Brown, Emeritus Professor of Religious Studies at Iona University.

A brief narrative teaser is offered here. Dr. Brown opened his reflection with a reference to the major United Nations conferences for the fall season - the COP27 on climate change just concluded in Egypt in November and the COP15 gathering in Montreal from December 8-19 on Biodiversity. These conferences bring humanity together as nation states and civil society in order to design agreements that all might be assured of a just and livable future on the planet.

Brian continued his reflection with references to the multiple examples in this Chapter of Thomas invoking the spiritual practices of indigenous wisdom regarding the human relation to the universe. Omaha and Iroquois and Chinese understanding of the place of the human in the cosmos were part of Thomas Berry’s deep insight into the predicament that led to human infatuation with exploiting the resources of the planet. This human domination has yet to come to a sense of intimacy with Earth that might move the human-earth relationship to one of mutual benefit. The COP efforts to find unity may be a beginning.

Human thought becomes a means of how the universe comes to understand itself and celebrate itself. The compassionate presence of the human is made possible by the compassionate curve of the entire universe that allows the human and other beings to be held securely but also fostered to express affection and intimacy- become re-enchanted in hopefulness.

Video of Dr. Brown can be viewed below.

Ecological Spirituality and Ecological Justice

Deignan Institute and Thomas Berry Forum of Iona University Hosting Mary Evelyn Tucker and John Grim

"ECOLOGICAL SPIRITUALITY/ECOLOGICAL JUSTICE"

Mary Evelyn Tucker and John Grim

The Berry Forum Conveners are grateful to gather with a growing band of contemplative ecologists seeking to nurture and sustain hope in this dark night of Earth. Our once monthly circle is a great source of grace and resilience for each of us. Over the several years of our engagements we have formed a deepening circle of dialogue and mutual support for the Great Work.

On Thursday, November 10, the Edmund Rice Office, England, assisted by Edmund Rice International, Paul Turner from the Ministry of Eco Education and Youth Climate Activist Niamh Purcell from Ardscoil na Mara, Ireland hosted a workshop for students on CoP27 entitled ‘Instruments of Hope.’  The intention was to explore the CoP process, its goals and how we can engage with the CoP as a community of young people. We took inspiration from Pope Francis’s words that urge our young people to be ‘instruments of hope’ for positive change in care for the Earth and for one another. We looked at translating feelings of hopelessness and exasperation around the climate crisis into activism and creating a wave of positive behavior change through both modelling sustainability and bringing our communities with us by showing examples of a greener, fairer less consumer-led world.  The invitation went to Edmund Rice schools globally but also to other Catholic Religious Order schools through the ROE organization. As a result, we had upwards of 60 schools attending, representing 4 continents, 9 countries with students from both primary and secondary settings. Joining our Edmund Rice education Beyond Borders community we had schools from the Loreto, Salesian, Sacred Heart, Sisters of Charity and FCJ networks. We heard from attending groups in a variety of ways; 4 schools presented a country briefing which outlined the effects of climate change in their countries, how they are mitigating against these effects and adapting to their changing climate. This information can be found from www.climateactiontracker.org.  Thanks go to CBC St John’s, Cape Town, South Africa, St Anselm’s College, Wirral England, St Vincent’s High and Technical School, Asansol India and Stella Maris College. Montevideo in Uruguay for their excellent statements read by Ande, Tom, Kripa and Lucas. 

Students used interactive whiteboards on Zoom to share sustainability actions their schools had been taking and they also completed a pre-workshop questionnaire. Very interesting comments and questions were also communicated via the chat facility.

To accompany the workshop, students had a workshop guide where they could write in the information they learned, a Padlet of extra background facts and lobbying materials.

Students were challenged to think globally and act locally; to lobby their parliamentary representatives that day, to use social media and communicate their responses and demands around the decisions required at CoP, to stop being one person and join other campaigners and of course to take steps with their own community leaders and hold them to account to make real changes and adopt more sustainable practices. A pledge is available to download and adopt in schools.

Brother Kevin Cawley, CFC, opened the conference showing examples of fantastic young climate activists, Ann Nichols demonstrated the CoP process and the current goals, targets and shortfalls. Paul explained how positive language and demonstrating positive change can be much more effective than telling people what not to do, Niamh shared her great experience of how climate activism can work effectively in a school context.

Both students and staff reported having learned a lot, were inspired to take action and gained an understanding of how to take that action.

One Voice for Earth Justice!

Our Padlet can be accessed here. 

“COP27: Hopes and Concerns for the Future of Climate”
Celebrating the Birthday of Thomas Berry 1914-2009
Deignan Institute/Berry Forum
Online Panel for Iona University

Panelists:
Br. Kevin Cawley
Dr. Mary Hagerty
Student- Abbigail Cypert

“COP27: Hopes and Concerns for the Future of Climate”

Deignan Institute for Earth and Spirit  and  the Thomas Berry Forum for Ecological Dialogue hosted this event online.  Dr. James Robinson served as Moderator.   The audience of 35 participants received an overview with a slide presentation from Kevin Cawley reminding all of the COP process beginning with the first meeting in Berlin in 1995.  The present-day COP is taking place November 6-18 in Sharm el Sheik , Egypt.  Much of the discussion has been complicated by the global distress around the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February and the global weather catastrophes taking place especially in poor nations.   We noted the occasion of the birthday of Thomas Berry , November 9, as a reason for celebration.  Thomas Berry’s insights on the planetary crisis have found echoes in the teaching of Pope Francis in his encyclical Laudato si: On Care for Our Common Home (2015).  Dr. Hagerty took some time to open the lens on what has been happening in the US legislation efforts, especially the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.   She reminds us that the science now has been clearer with the catastrophic storms and wildfires showing us the climate “crisis”.   Globally, young people are now mobilizing and protesting to force politicians to address this crisis.  Of all groups, young people are the least divided on the question of care of Earth.    Dr. Hagerty reminded us of the powerful impact of Bernie Sanders on this question during the nominating process for Joe Biden.  Rachel Carson was a wonderful example of writers and others that translate the science for the public to comprehend the implications.  Thomas Berry reminded us the natural crisis was also a spiritual crisis.  Greta Thunberg is a very young woman who founded Fridays for Future to bring youth to the streets to call attention to our predicament and engender Hope in the young for a better outcome.   Abbigail , a senior at Iona,  is a member of Sunrise and reports the Sunrise movement is not afraid to confront powerful figures on this question.  They take the time to learn what the local politician says about climate legislation.  They educate themselves on the questions. Abbigail works mostly with high school students in this effort.  Inequalities and disparities in poor communities have been part of Sunrise working on how to make a difference. 

Professor Robinson led us to the conversation that followed.  Questions from various members of the audience took the focus for the discussion.   Questions came from Gen Z folks showed a high alertness as to the climate issues.  Dr. Hagerty noted that millennials and Gen Z are turning out in force and they are not polarized about climate like the older generations.  Several audience members left helpful resource links in the chat. We encourage everyone to view the video of the event. 

Lectio: The Dream of the Earth
Chapter Two: The Earth Community

Brian Brown led us through a reflection of his responses to the reading. He noted the links to Teilhard’s The Phenomenon of Man, “see or perish”. Brian connected us to the threats to biodiversity now apparent globally with citations from The Red List, produced by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. The catalog of lost organisms always holds a deeply shocking roster. The UN reports on loss of biodiversity have continued the grim accounting even to this interval as the UN assembles for the COP 27 Climate Conference in November followed shortly by the concluding session of the UN Conference on Biodiversity in December. We note that the human population has doubled in the past 50 years while the human economic output has increased tenfold. Unrestrained human dominance has exacted a huge psychic toll of destructiveness. In many ways we are destroying modes of divine presence. All the while, the Earth continues to celebrate and instruct the wayward human.

Comments from the participants included these observations: what will shake up the human psyche to respond... this Chapter disturbed me... how are we to heal our cultural assumptions...we are not above our animal kin... the human refusal to be bound continues as a problem... the inspiration of Thomas has led me to join my university Sustainability Club... I am keeping hopeful...Jesus calls us to focus on the neighbor, the one immediately present... we are integral to the earth... compassionate means “to suffer with”... how to reconcile ethical eating with the widespread dependence on factory farming... seem to be in a period of paralysis beginning with a frustration at first but we can recover a sense of the Divine presence... can we “get up and do something” for humanity... several comment on the impact of viewing the documentary film on Laudato , “The Letter.” (24 participants)

Video of the evening is below.

October 4 marked the close of the annual celebration of Season of Creation at Iona. This Season is the fruit of collaboration of the Christian churches of the Roman and Greek Orthodox communities to commemorate and celebrate annually the life of our planet. Pope Francis and Patriarch Bartholomew have brought their personal enthusiasm to encourage the deepest participation of their Churches. The Season of Creation began on September 1st and concludes on October 4 , the Catholic feast of St. Francis of Assisi, Patron Saint of the environment. Iona’s outdoor event took place on October 6 due to inclement weather on October 4. Various departments assisted in the ceremonies: Facilities Department, Information Technologies, Chemistry Department, Religious Studies Department, English Department, Deignan Institute for Earth and Spirit, Ryan Library Special Services, Thomas Berry Forum for Ecological Dialogue, Office of Mission & Ministry, Office of the Dean of Arts and Sciences, and Iona Pipe Band members.

Iona’s celebration began at noon with the skirl of bagpipes at the Columba Quadrangle on our New Rochelle campus. Br. Kevin Cawley, Director of the Thomas Berry Forum, welcomed everyone with remarks explaining the reason for the gathering and the chosen location at the Ginkgo tree. He reminded us we gathered at the Ginkgo because this tree is special to Iona, a unique, a spectacular, a monumental representative of the natural world. We believe our Iona Ginkgo may have begun growing on this land more than 300 years ago. So, this tree clearly has a special claim for our attention and perhaps our affection.

Below are remarks for the celebration prepared by Sr.Kathleen Deignan and read at the ceremony by Dr. Christina Carlson.

Today we celebrate a convergence of blessings. It is the Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi, the great 13th century Christian mystic who is a universally loved and honored exemplar of non-violent, creation-centered humanity – a poet, a troubadour, a lover of those made poor: a remarkable saint. It is he who gave us his Canticle of Creation – a song which has echoed down the centuries to become the anthem of the 21st century environmental movement: LAUDATO SI.

It is Francis who inspires the Season of Creation marked by people of faith throughout the world, and it is Francis who gathers Ionians today as he does each year to continue the movement he set in motion to care for and protect our Mother Earth, Our Living, Common Home.

But this is also the season for honoring the Indigenous Peoples of our planet, those who continue to live in greatest intimacy and harmony with the creatures who are kin to us: the life-giving waters, and soils, our brothers and sisters in the skies and in the seas. And it is Indigenous Peoples who suffer the greatest jeopardy as they risk their lives – more than any of us - to be protectors of the one and only Living Earth entrusted to our keeping.

And so today, The Institute for Earth and Spirit makes a special gift to Ionians now and for future generations, of these sacred icons created by the late Father John Battista Giuliani, a remarkable spirit man in his own right. The son of Italian immigrants, Father John suffered in solidarity, the violation of the First Nations Peoples of this glorious continent, and during the bicentenary of what is traditionally called the “Discovery of the Americas” he was moved to take up a life-long work of reparation in the name of his ancestors who were among the colonizer. He made a vow – as artist-priest - to sacramentally reveal the dignity, beauty, and inherent spirituality of the peoples of this hemisphere.

Father Thomas Berry, beloved visionary and Ecozoic prophet of our time, likewise lamented that the colonizers
– so filled with the superiority of their own religion, economy, politics – never really beheld the spiritual wisdom and power of the peoples they conquered. But Father John had eyes to see, and he spent the last decades of his life to present the sacred faces of native peoples and so participate in the work of healing and restorative justice that is ours now to continue.

These icons will reside in Ryan Library and will live on as witnesses to the inviolate integrity of a great communion of peoples – the remnant of whom live in our midst awaiting our awakening, awaiting a new season when we will work together to save our Mother, this wondrous Earth. Please linger before these faces. Really see them.  Let them see you and bless you and bestow their wisdom on you.

Following these remarks, Dr. James Robinson of the Religious Studies Department shared thoughts on the occasion and linked the Iona celebration with GreenFaith, a global , interfaith ecological movement:

“Many of us gathered here have considered the concept that we need to think globally while acting locally. That we need to be committed to and connected with work for sustainability and justice in the particular place we find ourselves while also weaving our local projects into a wider, even global network. While we gather today here at Iona for our St. Francis Day Celebration, it is worth highlighting the fact that this concrete action connects us with the wider efforts of an organization called GreenFaith. GreenFaith is an international and interreligious initiative committed to empowering religious communities to draw on their rich resources in order to promote a more just and sustainable future. The fact of the matter is that 80% of human beings on earth belong to one religious tradition or another. So, if we seek planetary change, religious wisdom, texts, rituals, works of art, and historical figures–such as St. Francis of Assisi–have a truly vital role to play. Furthermore, as Mary Evelyn Tucker of Yale University reminded us so powerfully during her visit to Iona last week: our ecological crisis is a spiritual crisis, and we need to draw on both scientific and religious insights in order to skillfully carve a path forward. With all of this in mind, I’d like to note that the Deignan Institute for Earth and Spirit here at Iona has officially registered this action, our annual St. Francis Day event, with GreenFaith’s global Faiths for Climate Justice campaign, which runs from October 2, 2022-November 6, 2022. As we gather here in our place, under this Ginkgo, we stand in solidarity with over 80 other faith-based actions taking place in communities across the planet, from Guatemala City to London, from Zimbabwe to Paris, from Nigeria to New Rochelle. We gather here to honor the spirit of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of ecology who called the sun brother and the moon sister, who lived a life in radical solidarity with people experiencing poverty, who infused hope and joy into a despairing world. To honor St. Francis I’d like to read a prayer from Pope Francis, the first pope to take this holy name. This prayer was published in 2015, in Pope Francis’s letter on care for creation: Laudato si’. It’s called “A Prayer for Our Earth.” I invite you to close your eyes, connect with your body, connect with the earth, and receive whatever seed of wisdom this prayer holds for you.”  Dr. Robinson recited the Prayer of Pope Francis from Laudato si.

A Land Acknowledgement statement was read by a student volunteer Jared Balcacer. Dr. Christina Andruk took some moments to explain the choice of River Birch - a native species - selected for planting at the ceremony. She mentioned the wonderful properties of the Birch that allows it to thrive along streams and rivers
– environments that are always changing. Mr. Michael O’Donnell and his Facilities team transported the tree from the Ginkgo area to the planting site on the western side of McSpedon Hall facing North Avenue on an otherwise open patch of ground. Those present for the remarks at the Ginkgo accompanied the Iona Pipers in procession with students carrying the Guiliani Icons to the planting site. Several participated directly by dropping a shovel of earth on the new planting, which was then blessed by Father Gerard Mulvey, OFM, University Chaplain. To conclude the ceremonies, the Pipers led the group in procession to Ryan Library where the icons were placed on display in the Atrium.

We can finish up here with notes from a student Reflection:

“When attending this event, it brought true meaning into the light shining towards us. Everyone spoke about what was important to them and having this event outside really let me feel a connection to the better world. Everyone had such passion in their speeches. I also enjoyed how there were illustrations put up for view around the speaker. My upmost favorite part of this celebration was the planting of the tree. To plant a tree with your peers really brings a connection within the earth and who you're surrounded with. We planted life. We are able to visit this tree whenever we can, and it can send a bunch of memories of this beautiful day we had!”

Photos courtesy of Br. Kevin Cawley and Dr. James Robinson.

The Holy See announced  on July 8, 2022, that it is now a formal party to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and intends to formally join the 2015 Paris Agreement.  In a statement, the Vatican said that by joining itself to the landmark agreement negotiated by 196 parties, it intends “to contribute and to give its moral support to the efforts of all States to cooperate...in an effective and appropriate response to the challenges posed by climate change to humanity and to our common home.”

As per the terms of the agreement, only member states of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change can become parties to the Paris Agreement. As an observer state, the Holy See had to first apply to join  that UN body in order to accede to the treaty. The move will be a significant gesture as the Vatican rallies nations to propose more ambitious climate goals ahead of the COP27 climate conference in Egypt this November.  (Photo: UN General Assembly. UN photos)

Some will recall the Thomas Berry Forum raised an alarm when President Trump withdrew the US from the Paris Agreement in June 2017.  The Forum issued a statement at that time pointing out the withdrawal ran counter to the  message of Pope Francis contained in his encyclical of 2015 – Laudato Si: On Care for Our Common Home.

In light of the recent Vatican/UN  announcement, here is the language of the  January 2021 notice of the  US State Department:
 “On January 20, on his first day in office, President Biden signed the instrument to bring the United States back into the Paris Agreement. Per the terms of the Agreement, the United States officially becomes a Party again today. The Paris Agreement is an unprecedented framework for global action. We know because we helped design it and make it a reality. Its purpose is both simple and expansive: to help us all avoid catastrophic planetary warming and to build resilience around the world to the impacts from climate change we already see. Now, as momentous as our joining the Agreement was in 2016 — and as momentous as our rejoining is today — what we do in the coming weeks, months, and years is even more important.  You have seen and will continue to see us weaving climate change into our most important bilateral and multilateral conversations at all levels. In these conversations, we’re asking other leaders: how can we do more together? 2021.” 

On behalf of the Thomas Berry Forum we rejoice now in October 2022, that the US and the Holy See agree that the Paris Accord be endorsed and implemented with utmost urgency.

Panelists:
Michael Gerrard (Sabin Center), Karenna Gore (Center for Earth Ethics), Ellie Dunne (Earth Law Center), Paulette Jordan (Indigenous Politician & Save the American Salmon), and Janet MacGillivray (Seeding Sovereignty).

Karenna Gore: How we regard the Earth in law. She mentions Sec. Gen. Guteres at UN yesterday calling again for action on the climate crisis.  Karenna notes the “Pattern” identified by  Gus Speth of  two modern megatrends enabled by law that can be summarized thus: Humans are separate from nature.  Humans are dominant. 

Solutions can come from theology and need to be explored.  Christianity has historical roots that have been damaging to nature and these were exposed by Lynn White among others. (Photo left.)  This domination version of Christianity was used to acquire territory for centuries and led to enshrinement of concept of dominion.   It is surely not the essence of Christianity  but  has been used by European conquerors of the wider world. The Doctrine of Discovery draws from a series of papal documents that date back to Pope Nicholas V, whose 1452 “Dum Diversas” initiated a lineage of bulls Europeans used to justify various aspects of colonization.  It is a   race- based doctrine.  Pattern includes environmental racism.  Even today it infects USA jurisprudence since the 1823 decision of the Supreme Court in Johnson v. Macintosh. Chief Justice John Marshall cited the  “Superior genius of Europe”.  Karenna mentions white Christian nationalism as residue of this doctrine.  And she notes that Thomas Berry called this warning out years ago.   And Karenna notes Pope Francis makes clear that the dominion model is an  inadequate presentation of Christian theology. Thomas Berry reminds us that Earth is a communion of subjects, not a collection of objects.

Elizabeth Dunne says current legal system must be deconstructed.  Rights of nature are an emerging body of law,  giving nature a direct voice in our government.  “ Rights” concept  notes intrinsic value of nature.   Not a new idea.  Universal truth held by indigenous for many years.   We are peeling back the layers of our legal system to get the right tools.  System gives Permits!  This granting of permits to damage the natural world surely needs to be deconstructed.  Permit To pollute?  How much can I pollute?    The Presumption in the system is:  nature is property.  Presumption that I can do what I want with my property.  Commodification of nature leads to imbalance.  Property rights  were enshrined in our US  constitution by default because the authors were “owners” of property, including slaves.

Paulette Jordan is an indigenous woman from N. America and was raised to learn the laws of nature.  Energy is the fundamental truth of our being.  We are all energy fields connected to everything around us. Often folks do not realize they are connected.  We need to be thinking collectively.  Thinking about the future.   Religion has done a lot of damage.  She is working to help her own grown children deprogram from the established doctrines.  The human is divine because you came here to love.   Everything is about love.  You must become self-aware.   What are you doing to love yourself?    Paulette became a politician to protect her people and nature.  Became a tribal chief and state legislator, eventually running for governor  as the Democratic nominee in her state of Idaho. (Jordan [43] lost to incumbent lieutenant governor Brad Little by 21.6 percentage points in 2018, for a seventh consecutive Republican victory.)

Mike Gerrard:   Rights of nature has some resonance in some countries.  India, Bangladesh, etc.  Not so in USA.   Our Childrens’ Trust brought 25 cases. Juliana case dismissed by 9th Circuit but trying again. Current US Supreme Court is taking rights from women and from voters.  Taking away nature protection. On March 13, 2020, 16 young Montanans filed their constitutional climate lawsuit against the state of Montana, asserting that, by supporting a fossil fuel-driven energy system, which is contributing to the climate crisis, Montana is violating their constitutional rights to a clean and healthful environment; to seek safety, health, and happiness; and to individual dignity and equal protection of the law.  Helm vs. Montana case is still going to trial in 2023 .  NY state voters adopted an amendment to protect nature in  NY bill of rights.  Language problematic. Some anthropocentric language.  Each “person” will (Photo: Surfrider Foundation: Demonstration in DC) have a right.  Not nature.   “Rights of nature”  not going to work in court.    To protect the environment you can use conventional law. E.g. Sierra  Club vs. Wharton 1972. dismissed because Sierra club wanted to protect environment  not people.  Famous dissent from Justice William O. Douglas that nature has rights.  

William O. Douglas's Dissent in Sierra Club v. Morton (1972) excerpt:
...The critical question of "standing" would be simplified and also put neatly in focus if we fashioned a federal rule that allowed environmental issues to be litigated... So it should be as respects valleys, alpine meadows, rivers, lakes, estuaries, beaches, ridges, groves of trees, swampland, or even air that feels the destructive pressures of modern technology and modern life. The river, for example, is the living symbol of all the life it sustains or nourishes - fish, aquatic insects, water ouzels, otter, fisher, deer, elk, bear, and all other animals, including man, who are dependent on it or who enjoy it for its sight, its sound, or its life. The river as plaintiff speaks for the ecological unit of life that is part of it. Those people who have a meaningful relation to that body of water - whether it be a fisherman, a canoeist, a zoologist, or a logger - must be able to speak for the values which the river represents and which are threatened with destruction...the voice of the inanimate object, therefore, should not be stilled... 

Mike Gerrard:  We are in a mass extinction crisis.  Climate change is doing the most damage. We need to shut coal plants, make transport electricity, end use of fossil gas. Electricity demand will double by 2050... we need to build 100 GW of electricity. Per yr. Wind farm is 1 GW.    Mostly wind and solar. We need 4000 sq, miles for wind.  Similar land needed for solar.  We have lands already in use:   Unsuitable topography.  Tribal lands.  Disadvantaged communities.  We will not find perfect sites for the needed wind and solar.  We will have to put wind and solar in habitats of native  bird species.   Alarms started in 80s.   Wind turbines are threats to birds.   Buildings, feral cats,  also  threat to birds.  We need to make hard choices now or risk worse outcomes later.

Janet MacGillivray (Seeding Sovereignty). Was at EPA.  Companies pollute then clean up, etc.   The feeling of failure  seems pervasive for persons who watch the devastation of community from outside companies.  She was in Ecuador and saw there was no chance to win against the fossil fuel industry.  Law is not going to save you.  Where to start?  Who to believe?  Endless process.   Good luck enforcing injunctions.  Horrifying what we put people through. Standing Rock pipeline is flowing.    Supreme court  won’t take the case for review.  Oil continues to flow. 

Kathleen Deignan offered reflections on this opening portion of Dream of the Earth (1988).  She shared her reflections  going toward a new state of being.  The demands of the current crisis of the planet call for a radical awakening, a shift in consciousness now because we are waking up now to our predicament.  We in a real sense are voyagers on spaceship Earth that is quaking and shaking with fundamental signs of distress.  In “Dream of the Earth,” Thomas tells us we have changed the very chemistry of the planet, we have altered the biosystems, we have changed the topography. “These events require a new historical vision to guide us.”

Discussion followed among the 28 participants.  Comments noted:
Alarms going off; many regions in distress; certain reading has “changed my life”; reference to Borges “ The Circular Ruins”;  the fundamental smallness of the human in the larger picture;  and most especially the need to deepen the discussion - to broaden the discussion beyond our small human circles.

Nuclear Weapons Treaty Concerns Noted

Br. Kevin Cawley represented Edmund Rice International and the Berry Forum at Iona University at this gathering on the eve of the UN General Assembly 77th Meeting in New York on September 12, 2022.   Kevin had the opportunity to exchange greetings with the Nuncio,  Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, Permanent Observer, as well as Archbishop John C. Wester of Santa Fe, New Mexico, who offered a reflection on recent UN discussions on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.  

Nuclear Weapons Treaty.  The Prayer Service took the form of Vespers for the Most Holy Name of Mary. Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, Permanent Observer, called the Service “an occasion to entrust to God the needs of our world.”   This gathering comes two weeks after the conclusion of the tenth Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). The NPT is the only legally binding commitment to limit nuclear arsenals by the nuclear-weapon States. After four weeks of discussions at the UN headquarters in New York, however, Parties to the treaty were unable to adopt a consensual outcome document. 

New Mexico Pastoral Letter. Archbishop  Wester  offered a reflection on these events. drawing from his recent pastoral letter, “Living in the Light of Christ’s Peace – A Conversation Toward Nuclear Disarmament.” New Mexico, as he notes in his letter, is the home of Los Alamos Laboratory, the birthplace of nuclear weapons and the atomic bombs which destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In his remarks, Archbishop Wester addressed those who believe he is naïve to think that multilateral, verifiable nuclear disarmament is achievable. He pointed out that the history of nuclear weapons is replete with near misses, miscalculations, and accidents. “With the war in Ukraine,” he warned, “we are now facing the most serious nuclear threats since the middle 1980s. Isn’t it the height of naiveté to think that humanity can survive on into the future as long as nuclear weapons exist?” 

Archbishop’s Plea. He urged the United Nations community to take concrete steps to begin the process of nuclear disarmament, dismantle weapons, clean up the land, and spend the vast resources instead on structures for conflict prevention and resolution. The UN Secretary-General, His Excellency Mr. António Guterres and the newly sworn-in President of the 77th Session of the General Assembly, His Excellency Mr. Casaba Kórösi, also gave brief remarks.  Mr. Guterres by video message.   Archbishop Wester  concluded with a plea for action. “I call on all of us, Children of God, to take up the challenge of nuclear disarmament by engaging in the vital conversation that will lead to concrete action steps toward this goal.     - K. Cawley

Br. Kevin Cawley of the Thomas Berry Forum asks Department of Transportation to deny the request for construction of an  oil terminal project in Oyster Creek, Brazoria County,  Texas.  The letter to the Department cites Laudato Si #49 :   “It needs to be said that generally speaking, there is little in the way of clear awareness of problems which particularly affect the excluded. Yet they are the majority of the planet’s population, billions of persons.”

U.S. Department of Transportation

Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the Final Environmental Impact Statement for the SPOT Project (docket number MARAD-2019-0011).

My name is Kevin Cawley  and  I grew up in Newark , NJ, near to a number of industries well known for damage to the environment. These formative experiences have contributed to my sensitivity to environmental justice issues.  I am now the Executive Director of the Thomas Berry Forum for Ecological Dialogue at Iona University in New Rochelle, NY. My concerns arise from the large numbers of people that will be impacted by this proposed facility as well as the current  global climate crisis. 

Pope Francis , in his encyclical letter, Laudato Si: On Care for Our Common Home has raised concerns about care of Earth and especially the poor: 

“It needs to be said that generally speaking, there is little in the way of clear awareness of problems which particularly affect the excluded. Yet they are the majority of the planet’s population, billions of persons. These days, they are mentioned in international political and economic discussions, but one often has the impression that their problems are brought up as an afterthought, a question which gets added almost out of duty or in a tangential way, if not treated merely as collateral damage. Indeed, when all is said and done, they frequently remain at the bottom of the pile. This is due partly to the fact that many professionals, opinion makers, communications media and centres of power are far  removed  from the poor, located in affluent urban areas, with little direct contact with their problems. “  LS #49

I believe that the proposed SPOT terminal and associated oil  pipelines and offshore export infrastructure will negatively  impact both local community and global environment in several ways including mainly air pollution and the impact on climate change. 

TOXIC AIR POLLUTION The air pollution emitted by a large terminal and loading operation would release harmful volatile organic compounds (VOCs) into the air that would travel throughout coastal communities, exacerbating existing public health problems caused by industrial air toxics. This is especially true in Oyster Creek, where the terminal would be built. Brazoria County already suffers from air quality that fails to meet EPA health standards.

CLIMATE CHANGE The oil being exported from the U.S. to Europe and Asia all starts with a hole in the ground. The massive networks of subsequent infrastructure needed to transport, process, and export the fracked fossil fuels (such as well sites, pipelines, processing plants, compressor stations, and storage tanks) are allowed to emit large volumes of methane, a greenhouse gas 86 times worse at warming the climate than carbon dioxide.  Please do not permit this project to go ahead.

Cordially,
Kevin Cawley
August 17, 2022

Thomas Berry Forum Contemplative Ecologists Circle
July 21, 2022
"The Great Work": Chapter 17,  “A Moment of Grace”
Online Gathering, 7 p.m.

Sr. Kathleen Deignan led us in an opening prayer exercise by bringing our attention to a calm center, a quiet, receptive space.

Dr. Brian Brown opened the circle with his reflection beginning with a fraught catalog of current global strife, war, and domestic rancor that exposed the inadequacy of government to respond as needed.  Sadly,  religion was also too often silent on the accumulating degradation of Earth over the centuries.  The teachings of religion seem unequal to the moment.  But Thomas, (photo)  writing not long ago called our attention to “ a moment of grace.”   He reminded us that we may yet be able to move past our fascination with the myth of human exceptionalism  and reconcile our outer and inner world.   We might yet restore the human stance to an ethics of preservation, not extraction.  The universe advanced haltingly but advanced nonetheless, despite the first possibilities of failure.  We know  that when oxygen became toxic and a threat to all life, new possibilities emerged. The universe shows a direction- always fashioning possibility from crisis.  Moments of grace draw creativity from collapse.

Discussion included the following comments: stop burning fossil fuels; the Creator is not in a hurry; images of hope keep presenting; attraction drives the action; moving to community can help overcome the drift to spiritual by-  pass; accessing a moment of grace requires a spiritual practice; seeing a shooting star means looking up at the right time; a shift in consciousness can make us more receptive; sudden illness  from  a tick bite can reveal a hidden community of fellow humans ready to help; Webb telescope photos are the “baby pictures” of the universe; our cousins include the other than human world (raccoons); being silent is a condition of becoming clearer; solitude is not separation (Merton).

Twenty participants this evening.
There is no Circle in August
We resume on September 15, during the Season of Creation.

Br. Kevin Cawley of Berry Forum/Deignan Institute for Earth and Spirit delivered a  presentation to Edmund Rice Christian Brothers Province Chapter in Long Branch, New Jersey on July 17, 2022.   Kevin was invited by Province leadership to share his understanding of the encyclical of Pope Francis,  Laudato Si: On Care for Our Common Home, and its challenge to the vowed members of the institute gathered in Chapter.  The Chapter Delegates (24) were joined by over 50 confreres for the week-long event at the Redemptorist Fathers Retreat Center at the Jersey shore community.  Kevin spoke to the group on Sunday morning as they reflected on a group response to the challenges posed by threats to the natural environment and to the viability of the brothers’ continued ministry commitments.  

The message of Laudato Si held out significant hope when seen in the context of grace operating in the most dire moments of our journey here.  Pope Francis clearly challenges us all with his recounting of the facts of our natural predicament in the reality of climate change.  He makes clear again and again that our regular dependency on the technological paradigm is insufficient now.  Human beings must change if we are to negotiate this existential challenge – technology will not save what needs saving.    Thomas  Berry reminds us: The universe advanced haltingly but advanced nonetheless, despite the first possibilities of failure.  We know  that when oxygen became toxic and a threat to all life, new possibilities emerged. The universe shows a direction- always fashioning possibility from crisis.  Moments of grace draw creativity from collapse.

Kevin also shared his work with Edmund Rice International and efforts at the United Nations toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals promulgated in September 2015 on the very day that Francis addressed the UN General Assembly in New York.   Francis had a clear grasp of the world calendar when he released Laudato Si in May, just prior to the wrapping up of negotiations on the SDGs and several months ahead of the UN Climate Conference in Paris in December of that year.  These efforts were designed to show collaboration and build support globally for the UN efforts to achieve good outcomes, especially for the world’s poor.

Following the presentation from Kevin, several brothers and lay colleagues were able to share their own wonderful work and how they were collaborating with the charism of Edmund to move the world  (and world governments where possible.)  Edmund  Rice had a fundamental sense of justice in his life and his vocation;  the impulse for justice continues to inform the work of  Edmund Rice International at the United Nations. 

DEIGNAN INSTITUTE FOR EARTH AND SPIRIT
THOMAS BERRY FORUM
Statement on USA Supreme Court Ruling on Environmental Protection Agency

“The establishment of a legal framework which can set  clear boundaries and ensure the protection of ecosystems has become indispensable before the new power structures based on the techno-economic paradigm overwhelm not only our politics but freedom and justice as well.”  Laudato Si  #53

The Deignan Institute for Earth and Spirit responds now in the spirit of the teachings of Laudato Si: On Care for Our Common Home, the 2015 Encyclical of Pope Francis, quoted above. The court was asked to consider whether the Environmental Protection Agency has the authority to issue broad, aggressive regulations on climate-warming pollution from power plants that would force many of those plants to close. In a 6-to-3 decision, the justices ruled that the agency has no such authority.

The ruling, in West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency, not only limits the authority of the E.P.A., but potentially that of other agencies to enact a broad array of regulations to protect the environment and public health. It was the product of a coordinated, multiyear strategy by Republican attorneys general, conservative legal activists, and their funders to use the judicial system to rewrite environmental law, weakening the executive branch’s ability to tackle global warming.

The case was unusual because it focused on a program that wasn’t even in force: the Clean Power Plan, an Obama-era federal regulation adopted under the Clean Air Act of 1970, which sought to govern greenhouse gas emissions from power plants. After a barrage of lawsuits from Republican states and the coal industry, the Supreme Court put the program on hold in 2016 and it never took effect. The Biden administration tried to have the case dismissed, arguing that there were no E.P.A. regulations in place for the court to consider. That didn’t work and, in the end, the court favored the plaintiffs, a group of Republican attorneys general, who argued that only Congress should have the power to set rules that significantly affect the American economy.  The power sector is the second-largest source of emissions in the United States, after transportation.  The major concern immediately will be the implications for global efforts to rein in carbon emissions. 

The failure of the United States — the largest emitter of greenhouse gases in history — to meet its climate targets would very likely mean the world will not be able to keep global warming at about 1.5 degrees above preindustrial levels. Beyond that threshold, scientists say, the likelihood of catastrophic heat waves, drought, flooding, and widespread extinctions increases significantly.  Earth has already heated an average of 1.1 degrees Celsius since the Industrial Revolution.  Below we include a portion of the Dissent offered by Justice Kagan.

She notes precedent shows that the EPA has the right to regulate and she used an interesting precedent: tobacco. The tobacco industry used the same strategy as the fossil fuel industry, but the Supreme Court rejected it.

One of the arguments that the majority made in the EPA ruling—or should we say made-up—is the "major questions doctrine" where something of critical importance should be referred back to Congress. Kagan wrote: "Special canons like the 'major questions doctrine' magically appear as get-out-of-text-free cards. Today, one of those broader goals makes itself clear: Prevent agencies from doing important work, even though that is what Congress directed. That anti-administrative-state stance shows up in the majority opinion, and it suffuses the concurrence.”

And it goes against history; the delegation of authority to agencies has been critical. A long excerpt from Kagan again: "Over time, the administrative delegations Congress has made have helped to build a modern Nation. Congress wanted fewer workers killed in industrial accidents. It wanted to prevent plane crashes and reduce the deadliness of car wrecks. It wanted to ensure that consumer products didn’t catch fire. It wanted to stop the routine adulteration of food and improve the safety and efficacy of medications. And it wanted cleaner air and water. If an American could go back in time, she might be astonished by how much progress has occurred in all those areas. It didn’t happen through legislation alone. It happened because Congress gave broad-ranging powers to administrative agencies, and those agencies then filled in—rule by rule by rule—Congress’s policy outlines."

This SCOTUS decision has begun to reverberate across the environmental sustainability community in the USA with disturbing implications for all efforts to curb carbon emissions and meet the Paris Agreement targets in this country.  Many Berry Forum colleagues on these issues are distraught at the prospects for any progress now on several climate fronts.

Deignan Institute will continue to monitor the situation and the potential for organized responses incorporating the teachings of Laudato Si.  We plan to be more deeply engaged as Catholic climate groups begin to converge on a strategy for responding for the approaching Season of Creation in September. 

(This statement above  relies on reporting by Manuela Andreoni of the NYT, Lloyd Alter of Tree Hugger,  and the Dissent offered by Justice Elena Kagan on the EPA decision)  - Br. Kevin Cawley

Thomas Berry Forum Contemplative Ecologists Circle

June 16, 2022 ONLINE

The Great Work: Chapter 16, The Fourfold Wisdom The Classical Tradition

Dr. James Robinson led a reflection that received a warm response. We share here the words of one participant: “Thank you for the grace filled reflection and skillful guidance for last night's Circle. Your rendering of classical wisdom texts as epiphanies from the past continuing their transformative capacities into the present, was as beautiful as it was cogent. Additionally, your ever so attentive listening and sensitive responsiveness in phrasing those strands of several observations from others in the Circle into the suggestion about living within That One while flowing amidst the many in time's movement into the surprises of the future, was deeply inspiring and so resonant with the Hindu and Buddhist traditions you know so well.”

Group discussion included observations and further reflection on the themes of Classical Wisdom: links to the Great Self are always possible in the Christian form and Francis of Assisi surely gave us the path of beauty; one speaker referenced the Communion Saints in this context; we are assured by Thomas that “the universe is for us,” ultimately to be successful; we are a packet of temporality; this life is a universe moment for the person to do something unique; Earth is not in a hurry; our energy does not dissipate entirely but travels into the future; youth are finding deep ways to connect; we take refuge in the infinite God as well as take refuge in the ever-fluid emerging universe;  concern now that we have no time; ideology is not wisdom; Francis saw everyone as kin; hard things are still to be faced, especially our climate crisis; a prayer from Howard Thurman spoke of  “the light over the barriers”;  and a final word to all to have a practice.

RECORDING OF THE ZOOM SESSION BELOW.

Our Session began with the invocation of the Blessing Prayer for Earth by John O’Donohue.

IN PRAISE OF THE EARTH
John O’Donohue

Let us bless
the Imagination of the Earth.
That knew early the patience to harness the mind of time, waited for the seas to warm, ready to welcome the emergence
Of things dreaming of voyaging among the stillness of land.
And how light knew to nurse the growth until the face of the Earth brightened beneath a vision of color. When the ages of
ice came and sealed the Earth inside an endless coma of cold, the heart of the Earth held hope, storing fragments of
memory, ready for the return of the sun.
Let us thank the Earth
That offers ground for home
And holds our feet firm to walk in space open to infinite galaxies.
Let us salute
the silence and certainty of mountains: Their sublime stillness, Their dream-filled hearts. The wonder of a garden trusting
the first warmth of spring until its black infinity of cells becomes charged with dream;
Then the silent, slow nurture of the seed’s self, coaxing it to trust the act of death.
The humility of the Earth
that transfigures all that has fallen of outlived growth.
The kindness of the Earth,
Opening to receive Our worn forms into the final stillness.
Let us ask
forgiveness of the Earth
For all our sins against her: For our violence and poisonings of her beauty. Let us remember within us the ancient clay,
holding the memory of seasons,
The passion of the wind, the fluency of water, the warmth of fire, the quiver-touch of the sun and shadowed sureness of
the moon.
That we may awaken,
To live to the full the dream of the Earth
Who chose us to emerge
and incarnate its hidden night In mind, spirit, and light. 

NEXT CIRCLE JULY 21

Berry Forum Engages United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva

Forum Partners with ERI for Intervention

50th Meeting of the Human Rights Council (HRC50) in June 2022

In October 2021, the Human Rights Council established the mandate of Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of climate change (RES/48/14).

"Special Rapporteur Ian Frye on Human Rights and Climate Change"

Statement of Br. Kevin Cawley:

Mr. President:

We congratulate Ian Frye on his appointment and wish him many blessings in his crucial work on behalf of our Common Home.  He reminds us that human rights must be linked to the impacts of climate change.

In the Special Rapporteur organizing themes he noted in Theme #4 Participation and Inclusion:  “We need to find a voice for people whose human rights are being affected by climate change. “    

Maria Mottley ,Prime Minister of Barbados has been a vocal advocate for developing countries vulnerable to climate change, especially small-island states expected to be inundated by rising seas, stressing  the importance of making financing available for developing nations to adapt to climate change.

Mottley  proposes that 1% of revenues from the sale of fossil fuels in countries that contributed most to climate change go into a loss and damage fund. This, she said, would generate over $70bn per year.

Access to the fund would be limited to countries that had suffered a climate-related disaster and incurred losses of more than 5% of their economy. Her proposal includes the provision that developed countries should provide climate financing of at least $100 billion per year to developing countries by 2023.

This is an ample figure, until you consider that it would take 150 years of such climate finance to match the total global spending in response to the COVID-19 pandemic from just the past year, which amounted to $15 trillion.

Thank you.
June 15, 2022

Berry Forum Engages United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva

Berry Forum Partners with Edmund Rice International

50th Meeting of the Human Rights Council (HRC50) in June 2022 A/HRC/50/33

RE: Trafficking in persons in the agriculture sector: human rights due diligence and sustainable development

Report of the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children, Siobhán Mullally

Statement Prepared by Br. Kevin Cawley

Mr. President:

The Special Rapporteur is concerned  that in cocoa fields especially, the inability to access school, the quality of schooling and the cost of school fees and resources remain challenging.

The US Supreme Court in June 2021 ruled in favor of Nestlé USA, Inc on charges of aiding and abetting child slavery in the cocoa fields of Ivory Coast  - ruling that the conduct did not occur in the United States.

In January 2022, Nestlé announced a program providing financial incentives to cocoa-farming families aimed at addressing the risk of child labor in the supply chain. Nestlé said that it plans to invest US $1.4 billion through 2030 to expand its cocoa sustainability efforts.

We offer seven questions for Nestle, Inc.

1. Were women, men and youth involved in the identification of needs, challenges, solutions, and design of the program?
2. Who is monitoring progress, using which criteria?
3. Do criteria include staying in school the whole year or just being enrolled?
4. When is school in session so as to not conflict with work?
5. If children are not working, who is doing the work?
6. Or will they have a double burden – both school and work?
7. What are the risks for the families if the project results are not what is expected?  

(Francesca Cook assisted in the preparation of this document.)

Thank you.
June 14, 2022

Excerpts from Brian Brown: “Indigenous Wisdom”

Indigenous Wisdom is distinguished by its intimacy with and participation in the functioning of the natural world. Sees the natural world beyond a mere “resource” for human functioning. Science has shown us the centrality of matter from its infinitesimal to its immensity of a universe. A universe that is not fixed forever but continuously unfolding. We have come to see consciousness now as an innate disposition of the universe. Cosmogenesis corrects the folly of human exceptionalism. Wisdom of science may be tutored by the wisdom of Indigenous. We can see this some of the writings of Black Elk as Earth is “crying for a vision.” Indigenous ritual helps us to realize our oneness with all things and reveals the capacity of the natural world to enhance our understanding. We can feel secure in our efforts as guidance is always available in the natural world.

Selected Comments from Discussion

We are in a moment of global displacement where many are forced to live away from their home place – a “loss of world” is happening. A report comes from a new resident at Thomas Berry Place sharing her joy at being at home. A recommendation to read The Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest by Suzanne Simard, a compelling examination of the secret, communicative life of North American forests. It is a vivid recounting of how trees communicate. Another participant noted the work of Robin Wall Kimmerer’s work also showing the interconnectedness of the natural world and its ultimate blinding complexity. Some saw links to the writings of Teilhard and Richard Rohr. Brief reference tonight to our mention of the names of those killed in the Buffalo NY shootings last Saturday (read by Kevin at our centering moment to being the evening); reminded a listener that he did not know the names of the trees where he lives.

A visitor from Missouri noted a recent film on logging in the Amazon that provoked the Indigenous to rally together and march in force accompanied by drumming and chanting rituals to register their opposition. Another noted we have just passed in the USA , the National Day for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls on May 5. We will not save what we do not love. Report of a teacher at a Vocational/Agricultural HS about the visit recently of a large number of elementary students and their raw delight at seeing up close the numerous animals at the High School. Final words tonight included joy, wonder, connection, suffering with compassion, all is alive.

23 Participants
Next Circle June 16 Thursday
Chapter 16 “Classical Wisdom”

Blessing Prayer

IN PRAISE OF THE EARTH
John O’Donohue

 Let us bless
 the Imagination of the Earth.
That knew early the patience to harness the mind of time, waited for the seas to warm, ready to welcome the emergence
Of things dreaming of voyaging among the stillness of land.

And how light knew to nurse the growth until the face of the Earth brightened beneath a vision of color. When the ages of ice came and sealed the Earth inside an endless coma of cold, the heart of the Earth held hope, storing fragments of memory, ready for the return of the sun.

Let us thank the Earth
 That offers ground for home
And holds our feet firm to walk in space open to infinite galaxies.

 Let us salute
the silence and certainty of mountains: Their sublime stillness, Their dream-filled hearts. The wonder of a garden trusting the first warmth of spring  until its black infinity of cells  becomes charged with dream;
Then the silent, slow nurture of the seed’s self, coaxing it to trust the act of death.

 The humility of the Earth
 that transfigures all that has fallen of outlived growth.   

The kindness of the Earth,  
Opening to receive Our worn forms  into the final stillness.

Let us ask
 forgiveness of the Earth
 For all our sins against her: For our violence and poisonings of her beauty. Let us remember within us the ancient clay, holding the memory of seasons,

 The passion of the wind, the fluency of water,  the warmth of fire, the quiver-touch of the sun and shadowed sureness of the moon.

That we may awaken,
To live to the full the dream of the Earth
 Who chose us to emerge
 and incarnate its hidden night In mind, spirit, and light.

 (O'Donohue, John. "To Bless the Space Between Us" (p. 87). The Crown Publishing Group.)

Preface: This sharing  is offered in response to the  invitation  from the Committee for Province Life and Renewal.  These remarks do not pretend to represent a summary of the Congregation Chapter.  They are selected impressions, not an attempt to be definitive on any issue.    

A crucial first step at Lima was, I believe, the deep dive into our Sensing phase and listening to our Story to get a picture of the larger congregational reality.   And the larger global reality.

Further, I believe the vital image of the “Boat” and the Sea proved potent themes.   Bringing forward the Boat image in its physical form from Lima to Dublin became an effective bridge for the punctuated Chapter

I think we can recognize that our abrupt departure from Lima was partially healed by the efforts of the group charged with sustaining momentum from Lima...over the last 3 months of 2020 and the first four months of 2021, especially, while the catastrophe of COVID engulfed the world while we prayed for the deliverance of an effective remedy.  At the time of our departing Lima, I do not believe anyone thought we would not be returning within a few months.

Now we can recall 24 international prayer groups of brothers were also formed . some of these groups continue to meet today.  The Congregation provided  further international zoom gatherings as well as zoom updates  on current reality, concerns, challenges, and concrete actions.  These led eventually to the images of over 80 “book covers” to imagine the future and eventually 28 Scenarios to capture themes arising – all of which provided material for the capitulants in Dublin.    

We  have learned how to do this sustaining and we have been enriched by  remarkable sharing as we grow more comfortable with the technology.  I must say  thanks are due to the fortitude of leadership and chapter managers insisting on the in-person conclusion in Dublin. As a Congregation we continue to stress “ON-GOING” CONVERSION, a CO-CREATING and CO-EVOLVING of our Chapter experience.

REFLECTION ON 6 STATEMENTS FOR ONGOING CONVERSION
 We remind all that these statements remain in a state of discernment as the Congregation moves to Post-Chapter engagement.  The statements have been condensed for purposes of today’s gathering.

1. Contemplation to Transformation-  this transformation begins with the individual brother- Contemplation-    we move to intentional silence... and stillness.  To what  Richard Rohr calls:  “the mind of Christ”...   we hold the creative tension of every seeming conflict and go beyond words to  pure experience... we come to know God by a process of mirroring, ... This different way of knowing allows our contact with the sacred...spiritual discipline must be renewed in our daily choices...we must attend to the full sense of communion that is only possible if time is committed to the Divine flow- everyone can plug into it. It is a particular kind of knowing... “a being known”.  And the  traditional word for this being known is “prayer”  that is  GRATUITOUS, OPEN-ENDED AND COMPASSIONATE...
2. Acknowledge Fears - the world can be fearful now as well, climate change, sea level rise, water scarcity, food insecurity,  ongoing war, economic threats, and even  personal safety can be  threatened.
3. Embrace our Diversity as gift of life-  Diversity- key aspect of all life-giving processes. 
4. God is Love- in love there is no fear
5. We Rebirth Brotherhood in Personal Transformation- personal transformation was  a recurring theme
6. Recognize God at Work through Feminine Energy

I will take some moments here to reflect on the potential expressions of Feminine Energy by borrowing language from Thomas Berry  on the wisdom of women which he describes as-

• to join the knowing of the body to that of the mind,
• to join soul to spirit,
• to join intuition to reasoning, 
• to join feeling consciousness to intellectual analysis,
• to join subjective presence to objective distance... 

Sadly, in the past these functions often became separated in the human project.  We  can safely assume  that  the human project belongs to both women and men.  To borrow language from Berry,  “ It cannot be carried out effectively unless both are present throughout the full range of human activities ... wherever the human project is taking place, women belong there as well as men...”  However, because men in Western civilization have often isolated women in the home and in a narrow band of service activities and have appropriated for themselves both the reality and the value of the adult human outside the home.

Therefore, the human project has become a patriarchal establishment in quest for unlimited dominance, a dominance unsettled in itself and a disturbance to the larger human community:  Here we can offer disturbing examples of this kind of hyper-masculine power on display globally: Bolsanaro, Putin, Orban, Xi Jinping, Kim  Jong-un,  Modi, Duterte, Lukashenko, Tshisekedi, Ortega, Assad, Erdogan, Mohammed bin Salman, Maduro, and many others whose regimes systematically oppress the poor and imprison their critics,  often in tandem with an appalling disrespect for creation.  We do not have the time and space to list  the numberless examples of the overwhelmingly male - dominant  governance of transnational corporations. Because men have appropriated the reality and value of the Earth for their own purposes,  Earth is becoming dysfunctional. Just eight men own the same wealth as the 3.6 billion people who make up the poorest half of humanity.  Our challenge must include a commitment to push back against this threat to human community. 

In many ways, climate change is a women’s issue. Women are far more likely to be displaced by climate disasters and are more vulnerable to the economic shocks and increased gender-based violence that accompanies a warming planet. Research also shows that climate change increases the risk of pregnancy complications. Yet women are responsible for fewer carbon emissions than men and are still vastly outnumbered in boardrooms, governments—and even in leadership positions in climate research and advocacy.   In addition, we know from the U.S.- based National Institute of Justice, more than four in five American Indian and Alaska Native women (84.3 percent) have experienced violence in their lifetime and the U.S. Department of Justice has stated that Native women are murdered at 10 times the national average. 

The annual universal celebration of “Mothers’ Day” happened just a few days ago.  The history of this global effort actually started in the 1870s, when the sheer enormity of the death caused by the Civil War and the Franco-Prussian War convinced American women that women must take control of politics from the men who had permitted such carnage. Mothers’ Day was not designed to encourage people to be nice to their mothers. It was part of women’s effort to gain power to change modern society. 

The Vatican has followed up on the Laudato moment with the LAUDATO SI ACTION PLATFORM (LSAP). This project launched in 2021.  Signing up to participate means a 7-year commitment. There are a number of entry points.  They include individual options as well as parish, family, schools,  hospitals, universities, and religious orders.

The SEVEN GOALS FOR LSAP are here:

1. RESPONSE TO THE CRY OF THE EARTH
2. RESPONSE TO THE CRY OF THE POOR
3. ECOLOGICAL ECONOMICS
4. ADOPTION OF SUSTAINABLE LIFESTYLES
5. ECOLOGICAL EDUCATION
6. ECOLOGICAL SPIRITUALITY
7. COMMUNITY RESILIENCE AND EMPOWERMENT

The LSAP is referenced in our Chapter Documents: 

Edmund Rice Christian Brothers
Congregation Chapter Statement on Care of Earth
February 5, 2022

The Cry of Mother Earth: Care for Our Common Home

The only planet in an immense universe on which life has emerged is, as far as we know, our wonderful, blue planet Earth. Earth is home to a myriad of creatures, ourselves included. 

Today, however, Earth is severely diminished by human ignorance and greed, and we Brothers join with Earth as She cries out in protest.

Pope Francis’ Laudato Si’ calls each one of us to a transformation of heart and soul with a growing awareness of the ecological challenges facing our home, Mother Earth.

The Congregation Chapter calls each of our Brothers to embrace through contemplation, prayer and action, Pope Francis’ call to love and protect our planet.

The Chapter commits the Congregation to support the Laudato Si’ Action Platform, as invited by Pope Francis. Those in leadership are asked to engage with their communities in these four main directions:      

• Animating and accompanying local communities in their efforts towards integral ecology.
• Promoting opportunities for the personal formation of Brothers in this area.
• Providing financial resources and support to engage in, for example, alternative energy plans and new investment strategies.
• Developing policies and guidelines essential to sustainable ecology.

Urgent Call to the Brothers

The Chapter calls us all into a deeper love for Mother Earth, leading to a fundamental conversion of heart, and expressed in our daily life choices.

From Peter Clinch Letter of May 2, 2022  to the Congregation:

“The Dublin Chapter was unique as over 200 brothers participated. A creative and inclusive process was developed during the two years between the prorogued Lima Chapter and the reconvened Chapter in Dublin...

...The Chapter urgently calls each brother to: a deeper love for Mother earth, leading to a fundamental conversion of heart, expressed in our daily life choices. The Chapter also asks each brother to open his heart and mind to acknowledge his fears and to embrace the growing diversity within our group. Often such diversity creates a tension that alienates and separates- we need to practice open hearted listening...”

NOTE:  Pope Francis will celebrate Laudato si Week from May 22-29 this year to mark the 7th anniversary of the publication of Laudato si.  During that time the Congregation Laudato Working Group Will Meet:  May 24 At 7 A.M. EDT.
Members:  Peter Clinch (CLT), Tom Costello (Europe), Jeff Regan (Oceania), Donal Kirk (Africa), Cedric Andrade (India), Sean D’ Alfonso  and Kevin Cawley (ERCBNA )

If I may offer a final thought on  Care of Earth and Edmund’s Charism.  Our congregation has highlighted certain values in recent times:  “Presence, Compassion and Liberation”  have become touchstones. Edmund’s compassion bequeathed to his congregations a powerful ethic to reverse the inequalities he saw in his day.  In our day, two centuries on, we  face inequalities in multiple guises.  By the grace of Edmund’s  charism,  we know that compassion shapes advocacy.  Compassion is an essential value that we can carry in the struggle for climate justice...  every thought , word, or deed has an effect.  And our spiritual practice helps to ensure that our actions are as compassionate as we can make them.  As a recent activist commented on the justice issue around climate change:  we must begin now to distribute the burdens on the way to zero emissions because,  “We Are In The Same Storm, But We Are Not In The Same Boat.”

We end  this reflection with the final words of Francis in  Laudato Si:

“...we journey through this land seeking God, for “if the world has a beginning and if it has been created, we must enquire who gave it this beginning, and who was its Creator”.  Let us sing as we go. May our struggles and our concern for this planet never take away the joy of our hope.”

Thank you – Br. Kevin Cawley  May 14, 2022    

Thomas Berry Forum for Ecological Dialogue Offers Training for Edmund Rice International for Care of Earth

Br. Kevin Cawley, Executive Director of the Thomas Berry Forum for Ecological Dialogue at Iona University delivered two 90-minute presentations for the most recent online training for Edmund Rice International hosted at the ERI Geneva, Switzerland offices on April 27, 2022. The presentation took part in two sessions to accommodate the time zone differences for registrants. The first session took place at 6 a.m. N.Y. time and hosted attendees from India, Australia, Indonesia, Kenya, Sierra Leone among others. The later session took place at 3 p.m. N.Y. time and included attendees from Grenada, Haiti, New York, Liberia, Nigeria, and Peru. There were 134 participants for the two sessions.

Kevin delivered content in three portions beginning with an overview of the current global crisis in climate change due primarily to the burning of fossil fuels and the carbon released in the atmosphere over time. It was in this context that Pope Francis released his encyclical on care of Earth:  Laudato Si: On Care for Our Common Home in spring 2015.  ERI  had asked Kevin to open the encyclical for study as it related to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals which were inaugurated in September 2015 after 3 years of deliberations.   The SDGs received a boost from the release of the encyclical just as  the 3 years of UN deliberations  on the goals were concluding.  Pope Francis visited the US in the fall of 2015 and addressed the General Assembly on the day the SDGs were formally adopted.

The second portion of the presentation looked at the Sustainable Development Goals and their relation to the major messages of Laudato.  Several SDGs were inspected briefly:  SDG 4 Quality Education, SDG 5 Gender Equality, SDG 6 Water and Sanitation,  SDG 7 Clean Energy,  and SDG 10 Reduced Inequalities. Special attention was given to the emphasis by Pope Francis on the “cry of the Earth and the cry of the poor” as a single complex crisis.

The final focus for the day took some time to open the findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ( IPCC) in its most recent report of April 2022.  The Paris goal of 1.5 C seems out of reach now based on the IPCC assessment of national goals as submitted and the rise in carbon emissions in the recent interval.  However, Drawdown findings showed some potential solutions to the carbon challenge.  Drawdown ranks the solutions in order of their contributions to the reduction in carbon emissions.  Kevin’s concluding slide images highlighted a few of the more promising of the best solutions on offer based on the work of the team at Drawdown:  refrigerant management,  onshore wind power, education of the girl child,  and solar power. 

Brief comments were shared after the concluding  online breakout rooms. Participants were invited to a follow-up webinar on May 3 to learn more about the Advocacy work of Edmund Rice International.

Kevin Cawley of Berry Forum  Joins Online Review of Human Rights of Indigenous Persons at UN Panel - Ensuring the Protection of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
April 27, 2022.  Host:  Marya Farah, UN Representative for Franciscans International  at UNHQ

CHRISTOPHER JOHN, SSF reporting from Australia. Spoke about work with Solomon Islands people - how people work together include spiritual values and social values... Gives the example : one of the impacts of logging is it stops people from going to Church.  They are way from homes.  They work on Sunday. Comes with destruction of food supplies.  Curtails access to drinking water.  The innate spiritual values of community are damaged but the impacts of this industry on the native peoples and their native places.

JUNE LORENZO Laguna Pueblo/Navajo (Dine), J.D. and PhD, lives and works in her home community of Laguna Pueblo. Uranium mining impacts in her region significantly.   Notes UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples  (UNDRIP).  June was part of drafting team for original Declaration on Rights of Indigenous Peoples.  Adopted  by GA in September 2007 at 107th Plenary. She reads Article 25 to remind all of the “responsibilities” portion: Article 25-  Indigenous peoples have the right to maintain and strengthen their distinctive spiritual relationship with their traditionally owned or otherwise occupied and used lands, territories, waters and coastal seas and other resources and to uphold their responsibilities to future generations in this regard.  June final comment today:  We are calling on the Church to renounce the Doctrine of Discovery.  This language is at the the heart of so much dispossession.  Has  led to enormous upheavals. There is a  report in the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Peoples on the wide and continuing impacts of this statement from the Church.

BERNARDO  CAAL XOL -  Indigenous man from area of Cahabon River in Guatemala.  Protested hydro dams project going on without FPI Consent.  He was imprisoned  unjustly for 4 years for his activism. Laws in Guatemala are aligned against indigenous, and the UN is the only hope for real justice at this point.   We are defending natural resources so climate crisis will not have the big impact on the planet but for this effort  many indigenous will end in prison.  UN must do its job to prevent states from criminalizing HR defenders.  He thanks his colleagues on the panel.  It is clear that Bernardo has natural gifts for making his case which no doubt contributed to his being selected as spokesperson and eventually for his imprisonment when the opposition recognized his power to move people.

LEO HELLER REPORT:  UN SR Water and Sanitation just completed his term. Thoughtful and thorough. Brazil academic. Read the UN report here.

DAVID R. BOYD UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and environment, 2018- present.   Associate Professor at University of British Columbia .  Mentions HR Council resolution in October 2021  -  HR  to safe environment.  Good examples:  Fiji and Uruguay.  Mostly renewable electricity now.  Notes Saami people in Scandinavia herd reindeer who are starving due to climate change which changes the surface of the herd range and prevents reindeer from reaching nourishment due to ice forming instead of snow.   Re: Proposed UN Treaty on Business and Human Rights.  Current "Principles" are not strong enough to make an impact. Business should not be at the table for these negotiations since the point is to regulate business.  Some "solutions" to climate such as new hydro will impact indigenous lands.  The proposal to Protect 30% of Earth  for biodiversity will impact the indigenous in many of those regions,   e.g., 80,000 Masai to be evicted from Ngorongoro National Park.  But effective ways to preserve lands  may mean indigenous  should be allowed to remain on their ancestral holdings as guardians. Generally, the indigenous tenure of land will give good outcomes.  The 2010 UN Resolution on the Human Right to water and sanitation  eventually forced the Canadian government to make a positive difference in rural Canada.

Kevin inquired about the effort of Newmont Mining in Cajamarca, Peru to displace local indigenous landholders.  Answer: Newmont noted that the “Guiding Principles “of UN Business and Human Rights were not part of a binding document and therefore the principles did not apply in their mining operation in Cajamarca.  (The landholder, Maxima Acuna, was awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize in 2016)

The Center at Mariandale
Ossining, N.Y.
Sunday, April 24, 2022

The Deignan Institute for Earth and Spirit and the Thomas Berry Forum for Ecological Dialogue at Iona joined an enthusiastic group of teachers and young people on Sunday, April 24 at this Summit gathering. Dr. Carl Procario Foley, Executive Director of the Center, convened the Summit and invited Sr. Kathleen Deignan, Br. Kevin Cawley and Dr. James Robinson of Iona to help plan and participate with the Sisters of St. Dominic and students from St. John’s University, Manhattan College and Iona University.

The Summit invoked the spirit and wisdom of St. Catherine of Siena, a 14th century figure of enormous impact on her world. She was an avid writer and engaged the great figures of her era, confronting them with their failures to behave responsibly in Church matters. She served as inspiration for those engaged in Care of Earth in our time. The Summit called us toward education and advocacy.

Dr. Erin Lothes Biviano, theologian at St. Elizabeth University in Morristown, NJ, addressed the group in the keynote portion of our day.  Erin is a consultant to the global Laudato Si Action Platform.  Her most recent book has the title, The Paradox of Christian Sacrifice and she is now Senior Program Manager for Laudato Si Global Animators.  Erin is an expert in energy issues from the perspective  of Catholic social teaching. She points us to the See, Judge, Act paradigm that we are wise to take on to help us to move against the wrongs of our age that threaten our Earth.    She showed us the current models of the warming paths that science has identified and reminded her audience that the world needs to move to 50-75% renewable energy before 2050 to keep global temperature below a 2-degree Celsius rise in temperature.

The most effective “Action” may well be the divestment movement. We need to force the financial industry to end the subsidizing of fossil fuel extraction. The presentation concluded with several examples of Hope in the face of the many challenges of climate change - young people stepping up with great clarity to push back at the status quo, others challenging government practices such as auction of public lands to extractive industries, young people staging hunger strikes in DC, and others engaged in contact with local officials. Actions will also include participation in the Laudato Si Action Platform. Erin invited the young people to become involved as Laudato Si Animators by way of the online training now available.

The Summit concluded with small group exchanges and a very engaged discussion of future partnerships and actions on behalf of the Laudato Si Action Platform.

As we take in the realities of the opening decades of the 21st century, Thomas Berry’ words from the close of the 20th century resonate deeply: “As the human community experiences a rather difficult situation in its relation with the natural world, we might reflect that a fourfold wisdom is available to guide us into the future: the wisdom of indigenous peoples, the wisdom of women, the wisdom of the classical traditions, and the wisdom of science. We need to consider these wisdom traditions in terms of their distinctive functioning, in the historical periods of their florescence, and in their common support for the emerging age when humans will be a mutually enhancing presence on the Earth.”

Our evening reflection was prompted by remarks from Sr. Kathleen who clarified her intention to focus specifically on how Thomas draws our attention to the wisdom of women. Her remarks will be posted in full below. A sample is recorded here: She reminded us that recovery begins with rehabilitation; that we are attempting to undo habits laid down over millennia. Our other wisdom streams- from the classical world, the indigenous world and the world of science - will be addressed in subsequent gatherings of this Circle. Tonight we review how women suffer and dissolve gender calcification and go about raising new communities for our new world order. We note that this liberation can also bring disorder but it is vital for human persons to seize control of their own destiny - it is a feature of emancipation. All is in process. “Still-becoming” is an important feature of Berry’s challenge to “re-invent the human at the species level. ”

Part of our difficulty has to do with how men over time have confined women too often to the home and appropriate for themselves those significant occupations outside the home. This centering of men has contributed immeasurably to the detriment of women and the “terrors” they have had to bear and the trauma they have passed down owing to the patriarchal dominance endured. Now women are revealing western patriarchal dominance and in effect , showing the wrongness of this form of western “civilization.” How to proceed will be the path to re-birth.

After a Centering exercise we heard from Sr. Kathleen and then opened the floor for discussion. Comments ranged widely and deeply among the 24 participants. A sample is given here: it is not the responsibility of the victim of oppression to right the wrongs, is proper relation to Mother Earth a necessary part of the solution, the beauty and truth of evolution need lifting up, indigenous men have no trouble accepting nourishment from Pachamama because all need nurturing, the pandemic has actually assisted in some ways for people to be part of this evolution, the challenge to the patriarchy will help us dream into new questions still, Berry still holds the male - female binary and does not rush to a newer blurring of these distinctions, the sense of the sacred can still save us, we are coming to new paradigm as envisioned by Thomas Kuhn in "The Structure of Scientific Revolution," we need to cooperate as human beings and allow the newness to emerge, empires tend to be monolithic but ecosystems tend to be diverse, we can learn from the diversity of life new ways of human flourishing, we can step away from patriarchy, racism and militarism, communities need to unfreeze institutions, Laudato Si teaches us we need a new economy, loving my dogs teaches me daily, the loss of the maternal has led to the overbearing male gaze that sees women as “deficient” and thus marginalized.

The video recording is posted below along with portions of the chat with further links for study. The next Circle is May 19 and an e-blast will be forthcoming.

Berry Forum Presentation with Edmund Rice International

“See, Judge, Act in Our Global Emergency”

On April 5, 2022, Br. Kevin Cawley of the Thomas Berry Forum for Ecological Dialogue at Iona University delivered Enrichment Training for participants with Edmund Rice International  and Misean Cara, the Ireland -based charitable foundation.  The online training engaged participants  across the world (over 18 time zones) from New York to New Zealand. The  90-minute exercise employed the See-Judge-Act paradigm of Catholic Social Teaching regarding care of Earth. Kevin partnered with Ms. Ann Nichols, Network Facilitator  for Edmund Rice Schools, England who assembled the images for the slide presentation.

The overview of the presentation was delivered by Br. Tino D’Abreu of Edmund Rice International in Geneva.  Br. Kevin Mullan of the ERI Team in Geneva introduced the speakers.

First came a broad overview of the linkage between Laudato Si, the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the most recent report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).  Kevin and Ann alternated presentations accompanied by slide images showing the IPCC dire warnings in IPCC Third Assessment which dropped on the morning of April 4, 2022. 

The “Sustainable Development Goals Agenda 2030” (2015) have been under threat from world events such as the COVID pandemic, climate change and now the Russian invasion of Ukraine with its global fallout in oil disruptions, food insecurity and refugee crisis. The United Nations calendar calls for the systematic review of the SDGs including a High Level Political Forum gathering in New York at UN Headquarters in July of this year where 45 nations are to deliver their self- assessments in a “Voluntary National Review” process. 

Ann spent some time linking Laudato Si to the ongoing global crises as well as the new complexities of the war in Ukraine sparking a fuel emergency and the potential for wider food insecurity as the war drags on.  Ann linked the efforts of the IPCC with the recent Conference of the Parties (COP 26) in Glasgow where most leaders congratulated themselves on the outcomes, but most civil society players rated the COP as a significant failure on key issues:

• Targets for limiting global warming to 1.5 C were not renewed 
• Agreement on use of coal was not ‘phase-out’ but reduced to ‘phase-down’
• Not enough invested by global north into loss and damage for global south
• Lack of women and young people in decision-making
• No global courts or mechanisms to enforce pledges – progress rests on pillars of goodwill

Kevin included notes on freshwater shortages, especially in Africa where millions of hours are lost annually by women and girls having to travel great distances to retrieve water for basic household functions. 

Breakout sessions with the 44 participants culminated in a lively exchange as the event drew to a close. Chat commentary as well as presenter responses will be forwarded to all participants along with the slide presentations and the event video. 

The ERI trainings are ongoing and continue with a May 5 presentation of the mechanisms for Advocacy in the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. Following in  June: Engaging the Human Rights Council, July: Towards a Culture of Advocacy, September: Report on the HLPF Outcomes, October: Reflections on Advocacy and Brotherhood, November: Preview of COP 27, December: 2022 Series Concludes.

Please see the video posted below along with the reflection on the Lectio.

Tonight, we spent some time with Thomas as he reflects on the energy present in and around our Earth as we confront present dangers. His context was 30 years before our current moment, but we cannot fail to hear some language that sounds disturbingly current in our Lectio as we open discussion on “The Dynamics of the Future.”

We read that the human venture depends on a quality of awe and reverence for Earth; how we feel about ourselves, and Earth are questions of utmost urgency.  We see how present danger is on a scale not seen prior to our historical moment.  Fossil fuels have become a weapon of mass destruction, both for war in Ukraine and in the climate crisis.

The discussion grew by means of the following observations from participants:
Teilhard especially reminds all of the anguish of the human condition as he observed the horrors of the first World War- something was trying to happen despite the conflict.  We are still maintaining a space to continue to listen.  We have emerged from life before us; we are not the end and we must tend our Mother Earth. Sometimes we see only progress in technology and not in human behavior. We can all learn to “Think Like a Mountain” as Aldo Leopold has recounted.  Recall the words of Thomas, “psychic energy increases with use, while physical energy is diminished.”  We need to collect allies for Laudato Si.  We must remember the power of ritual as a massive expression of sanctified behavior  - learning to receive the Eucharist.  Sometimes technology frees us to think more broadly and allow all creatures to do their best to speak of God. We need to pay attention to current struggles: what is trying to emerge?

Concluding offerings:  comfort, community, rebirth, courage, cell, seed, forgiveness, grace, building a garden and letting go.  (21 Participants)

Next Circle:  April 21, Fourfold Wisdom

Reflection
The Great Work by Thomas Berry (1999)
Chapter 15: The Dynamics of the Future
p. 166-175

Many reports in this moment necessarily carry the horrific accounts of the suffering in Ukraine.  We cannot ignore these  cataclysms and we cannot readily process what we are seeing and hearing.  Feeling powerless, we often turn away to relieve our own uncomfortable helplessness. We remain in unceasing prayer.

Tonight we will spend some time with Thomas as he reflects on the energy present in and around our Earth as we confront present dangers. His context was 30 years before our current moment but cannot fail to hear some language that sounds disturbingly current in our lectio we open tonight:  “The Dynamics of the Future.”

We read that the human venture depends on a quality of awe and reverence for Earth; how we feel about ourselves and Earth are questions of utmost urgency.  We see how present danger is on a scale not seen prior to our historical moment.  Fossil fuels have become a weapon of mass destruction, both for war in Ukraine and in the climate crisis. At its roots, this is a conflict that has been bankrolled by the coal, oil and gas industries.

We hear echoes of these truths in the teaching of Pope Francis in Laudato Si: 
“There is a tendency to believe that every increase in power means “an
increase of ‘progress’   itself”, an advance in “security, usefulness,
welfare and vigor; …an assimilation of new values into the stream of
culture”, as if reality, goodness and truth automatically flow from
technological and economic power as such. The fact is that “contemporary
humans have not been trained to use power well”, because our immense
technological development has not been accompanied by a development in
human responsibility, values and conscience.”  (105)

As Thomas says, “We have created a technosphere incompatible with the biosphere.”  

Looking back to the Neolithic age around the birth of agriculture some 5,000 years ago, we know that the energies around the human were perceived ultimately as spirit forces- Earth as Great Mother;   the era was the “Age of the Gods.” Mythic values prevailed for a long interval until we are presented now the myth of evolution as a creative process  - moving from lesser to greater complexity and from lesser to greater consciousness. The context of an emerging universe now presents the human project with a way to understand itself. We can see the outlines now of the full universe as the expression of existence itself - a Celebration, if you will.

Succeeding ages  have found here primordial cultural support; mythic values that underlie myriad ancient cultures.  But we can see how physical energy and psychic energy diverge in expression.  Physical energy is diminished by use- our extractive habits have been reducing  the stored energy of the planet.   But we  also notice that psychic energy is increased by use- the joy, spirituality, music, dance, art and celebration increase with use by the number of people participating; This resonance increases in celebration.

In our time the survival of the planet will depend on human actions and one human action we need to engage is the WILL.  It is here that we must place our hope -- a further stage of the evolutionary process as we lift up the burdens of responsibility and move forward.  We must consciously will the further stages of the evolutionary process and not be intimidated or frightened away from our challenge here.  We cannot afford to be indecisive as the climate clock continues to tick and the atmosphere warms and seas rise everywhere. 

We have begun to look at the world as more than a collection of resources. And we recognize that our responsibility to Earth is not simply to preserve her; but it is also our responsibility to be PRESENT to Earth and the sacred expression of the power that brought Earth into being.

We might recognize that we are supported by that same power, the power that spun the galaxies into space, that lit the sun and brought the moon into orbit.  We can join those forces because they are still present.  Thomas reminds us - we are not isolated in the chill of space with no aid of any power.   The human is an expression of the universe come to consciousness- we are  indeed cosmic persons expressed by the universe!  And we must ultimately connect to this sea of energy not by domination, but by invocation.                            

Thank you.  Br. Kevin

“Women, Work, and Reform in the Global Garment Industry”

A Presentation of the Deignan Institute for Earth and Spirit and the Thomas Berry Forum for Ecological Dialogue

March 22, 2022
Live and Online in the classroom of Dr. Christina Carlson, Associate Professor of English:
ENG 352 Shifting Selves: “Disney Princess Culture”

The global garment industry plays a direct role in the lives of all people. Every day, we get dressed— yet how often do we think about the conditions under which our favorites clothes are made? Or who makes our outfits?

Iona Alumna Céire Kealty explores the state of the global garment industry, with commentary on labor and environmental exploitations inherent to the industry.  She centers on women, who overwhelmingly dominate the industry, and whose voices play a critical role in enacting reform.

Céire reveals important details the fruits of (women) garment workers’ labor — not only clothes sewn within the factory, but the unions fashioned secretly among laborers, their protests and collaboration with lawmakers and journalists in Bangladesh, the United States, and other countries.

The Deignan Institute called on Governor Hochul today to block the Greenidge power plant on Seneca Lake, which is burning fracked gas for cryptocurrency mining.

The kind of cryptomining used to make Bitcoin, known as “proof of work,” uses thousands of computers to solve complex math equations. These computer farms are extremely energy intensive. According to the New York Times, this practice consumes more power than some entire countries.

If power plants are allowed to be used for Bitcoin mining operations in New York, it would promote fracking, pollute our air and water while drastically undermining the state’s climate goals established under the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA).

The Greenidge plant’s air quality permit is currently under review – with a March 31 deadline – so now is the moment for Governor Hochul to determine whether she’ll allow cryptocurrency mining to undercut New York’s climate goals.

The industry has spent $1.5 million to lobby against regulations of the industry in New York and views Greenidge as the crucial foothold in NY state, which is host to 20% of all cryptocurrency mining in the nation. What happens at Greenidge could set off a domino effect for many other retired or retiring fossil fuel plants and derail any possibility of meeting our state’s climate goals.

The Deignan Institute for Earth and Spirit and the Thomas Berry Forum for Ecological Dialogue at Iona University today submitted comments to the NY State Public Service Commission to register our objection to CHPE and the subsidizing of the CHPE proposal.

CHPE (Champlain Hudson Express Project) cannot be considered clean safe renewable energy. It is a false solution to the renewable energy goals of NY State and to our goal of reducing NY State’s contribution of greenhouse gases to the global climate. Stop CHPE.

We stand with the indigenous communities in Canada whose rights have been ignored, and lands and livelihood destroyed. One of the effects of building hydroelectric dams is the buildup of methylmercury which accumulates in the water and fish that serve as a critical food source for Indigenous peoples and others, leading to the risk of mercury poisoning and as a result needs to be removed.

Toxins in their land and water have poisoned the food web which they have depended on for thousands of years.

“Jet Plows” installing the transmission cables in the Hudson River would tear up habitat in a river trying to recover from centuries of damage. They would sir up contaminants in an already poisoned food web and eventually threaten drinking water supplies for communities along the river in upstate New York and eventually other communities along the proposed route.

The cables, once installed, would generate magnetic fields that could interfere with fish behavior and their ability to navigate home to the Hudson River to spawn. The project would be an uncontrolled experiment on the river and its’ endangered species.

To power NYC, let’s bring truly sustainable, low carbon energy from within New York State. Bring clean energy to NYC, not Canadian hydropower.

“The task of our time might be expressed as a single sentence with seven phrases:
The historical mission of our time is to reinvent the human—at the species level
with critical reflection, within the community of life systems, in a time developmental context, by means of story and shared dream experience. I say “reinvent the human” because the issues we are concerned with seem to be beyond the competence of our present cultural traditions.”

The evening began with Danny Martin bringing all to quiet, centered presence and then giving the floor to Brian Brown who opened the Lectio for us in a deeply thoughtful exposition of the Berry essay under study. Brian noted several challenges presented by Thomas, among them the problem of our jurisprudence being insensible to all but human harm and all else reduced to “mere property”. The guiding principles for movement to the new human must be subjectivity , differentiation and communion as proposed by Berry. The wisdom of cosmogenesis must prevail and overcome the derangements of our technocratic hubris. Ultimately the basic wisdom of the “gene” will allow new norms to emerge, allowing the human to retrieve itself in communion. Brian’s full text will be available in the “Illuminations” that will be sent to all subscribers shortly.

Comments followed as participants grappled with the text and its implications.  Some samples are noted here:  how the “gene” might work in this effort, the importance of awakening the cellular knowledge, reclaiming the deep intelligence of who we are, absorbing the message that the “glory of the human has become the desolation of the earth”, need for constant communion with our bio-region, humans have pushed out a human based version of culture and the change will be the work of generations,  religious traditions have lost their vitality, religious celebration must recover its imagination and vitality, people must change systems, we must pay attention, Berry contends the universe must have been dreamt into existence - an amazing leap into the ineffable, mention of "A Walking Life" describing the upright human face to face and changing mental patterns that resulted,  mention of book, "The Upright Posture," mention of book, "Braiding Sweetgrass," concern noted about global threat to peace as Eastern Europe reaches the precipice of active conflict, and final brief gather of impressions in phrases- reciprocity, wonder, connect, gratitude, thankfulness, dialogue, swords to ploughshares, communion of subjects.  Kathleen Deignan concluded our time with a prayer of surrender and the call for the courage to be ecstatic.

The recording can be found below.

Danny Martin brought the group together in a centering exercise and introduced Brian Brown for a Reflection as is our practice. Brian refreshed us on the significance of this chapter in "The Great Work" which featured language of the “Ontological Covenant” of the Universe. The universe is its own evidence since there is no further context in the phenomenal world explaining the universe. Science does not explain the universe. We must grasp that the only security of any life expression on Earth is in the diversity of the comprehensive community of life. As soon as diversity is diminished all else is diminished. Humanity over the majority of its time was faithful to the ontological covenant right up until recent times. But philosophical reductionism and a massive shift of jurisprudence that gave all rights to the human resulted in a concentration of all significant power to corporations. These corporations have determined to exploit the resources of the planet for financial gain over all considerations. Whence will come the psychic energy to counter our despair? The trials of the future have now arrived in our time.

Danny now moderated our exchange for the remainder of our time. Some of what we said is captured in these brief notes: splendor of nature in sunsets and sunrise is to behold “the face of God”; sharing these moments of astonishment is like having the covenant emerge in us; it no longer makes any sense to mistreat the Earth; to experience the light of the sun is to experience our interdependence; when people speak from the place of their searing, they create a loving force; the “battery” focus of our energy search has led us to Bolivia and its vast stores of lithium in its 4,000 square miles of salt flats (photo) in the altiplano but the threat to indigenous and Earth resembles sadly the 16th century conquests by European powers in South America to extract silver; a visit to the Cliffs of Moher (Ireland) evokes a mystical recollection of beauty; consulting on energy issues for local governments has shown the need that this New Story needs to be told and quickly; reminder at our close of the thought of Teilhard : the human choice may be reduced to suicide or to worship; Laudato reminds us that all beings are praising God; the Book of Revelation is invoked as a divine wedding feast with room for all.

Adjourn 8:15 p.m.
20 Participants
Next: Thursday , January 20, 2022

Reading from "The Great Work," Chapter 11, The Corporation Story

Our evening began with a centering exercise followed by a Reflection offered by Dr. Brian Brown, Professor Emeritus of Religious Studies at Iona University.   Brian recalled highlights of our reading for Chapter 11, The Corporation Story including the concerns of Berry regarding a colonized consciousness with pre-cursors in the original Royal Charters for lands in the North American colonies of Great Britain.  The Charters reduced the lands to a brutal instrumentality with any reverence for the natural world sadly diminished by a fear of the wild.  The subjugation of the human population went forward with little regard for the possibility of rights to the native human inhabitants because the settler alignment was the enrichment of the shareholders of the various companies (corporations).    Eventually the corporation was elevated to benefit from the status of personhood under the “equal protection” clause of the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution.  This of course has led to no little mischief leading to the catastrophe of the Nowhere does a society more clearly reveal its true values than in the institutions and priorities that govern its economic life. In our case, our economic institutions reveal the extent to which we love money over life itself. As the new story awakens our love of life, we face the challenge of recreating our economies to life’s service.

In embracing this challenge, we recall the 2010 decision of the Supreme Court to lift all restrictions on political donations as inherently part of “free speech.”   The US in particular has yet to reckon with these disturbing, irresponsible outcomes of the original error of colonization with no regard for who and what was already here.

Discussion followed and these observations were offered; the influence of corporations on COP 26 just concluded in Glasgow; the hope that Faith groups could yet make an impact on the corporate ethos;  we seem to be losing the depth of the mandate of “person” in its widest meaning; a member noted he was in a corporate setting for his work but was able to offer a meditation practice to colleagues; a member suggested viewing the film, “The Economics of Happiness”; reference to COP 26 included the joy of being in the demonstrations in the street and listening to the quiet wisdom of Katharine Hayhoe and religious leaders joining together;  Robin Wall Kimmerer writings  on the meaning of “kin” were noted; in Laudato Si, we note the concern of the Church for holding on to the concept of “the common destination of goods”; for some the extent of data on the internet can overwhelm and lead to anxiety and even terror as we are overwhelmed by the corporate reach; the average American can identify over 100 corporate logos but only 10 species of plants.  Concluding thoughts: spread kindness; I am a person; we are lucky that we are; hopefulness is helpful; hope is a discipline; students are always a ray of hope for teachers.

A Global Ecological Renaissance:
Three Movements
Toward a Future Ecological Civilization
Dr. Joseph Holland
Thomas Berry Forum Visiting Scholar 2020-2021
November 9, 2021, Celebration of Birthday of Thomas Berry

"Imagining and Inhabiting Ecological Communities for the Future"

SESSION III:  7 - 8:45 p.m. online
"Imagining and Inhabiting Ecological Communities for the Future"
with the Eco-Community founders of:

• Agape Community, Hardwick, MA   
• Benincasa Community, Guilford, CT 
• Freedom Farm Community, Middletown, N.Y.

Our evening began with introductions by Dr. James Robinson who welcomed the 34 participants on our call, and briefly recounted the very rich career of Dr. Joseph Holland. Next, Dr. Holland  reminded all of the  important spiritual links to Iona in Ireland and Scotland, the original “Columban Church.”  He presented an outline of his program and his statement on global ecovillages and his project Pacem in Terris Ecological Alternative based on Catholic Social Teaching.  He links all to the vision of Peter Maurin and Dr. Holland’s three Appalachian Pastoral Letters. We hope you can spend time with the recording and the powerful summaries of the thinking of Dr.Holland as he unpacks the current desperate situation we find ourselves facing.  Ecovillages offer a prospect for the human family to move to postmodern ecological civilization that will cooperate with nature.   We urgently need many more Ecovillages.  Beginning with “Six Long Waves of Catholic Spiritual Energy,” he led us through the challenge and response method of addressing history.  The current set of issues, most especially the prospect of climate change facing the world will be a significant test of these ideas. 

Joe recalls the social encyclicals from 1740 based on the Aristotelian plan that becomes “See , Judge, Act” of Catholic Social Teaching.  Please take some time with the video recording of his very rich offering in this program.

Our representatives  this evening of Agape, Benincasa, and Freedom Farm brought encouraging examples of lived experience in our own days of what is possible with refounded spiritual vision in restorative agricultural models.

Informative Readings for Our Session by Dr. Joe Holland

Chapter 9, “Peter Maurin’s New Lay Ecological Monasticism,”
in Postmodern Ecological Spirituality (Pacem in Terris Press, 2017.)

The 1995 pastoral letter At Home in the Web of Life 
by the Catholic Bishops of Appalachia. Pages 40-99. 

Tree Planting on Friday, November 5, 2021, 2:30-3:30 p.m.

In May of this year, New Rochelle passed an important climate resolution in recognition of the negative effects of climate change locally and globally, and to establish climate resilience in solidarity with the recommendations and steps taken by numerous organizations and governments over the past decades, the New Rochelle City Council voted unanimously to declare a climate emergency, calling for "an immediate emergency mobilization to restore a safe climate.”

On Friday, November 5, 2021, Br. Kevin Cawley of the Thomas Berry Forum for Ecological Dialogue at Iona University attended a public ceremony of recognition for this City Council resolution. Br. Kevin was invited to the event by Marisa Rodriguez, a former Iona student of Sr. Kathleen Deignan. Marisa is now working with the Federated Conservationists of Westchester County.

Mayor Branson and City Council Member Kaye addressed small gathering on City Hall front lawn followed by the planting of a Red Maple tree.

Br. Kevin spoke briefly with the students and officials.

• Marisa Rodriguez marisa@fcwc.org (former Iona student of Professor Christina Andruk and  Professor Kathleen Deignan)
• Anne Jaffe Holmes, anne@fcwc.org , program director for Federated Conservationists of Westchester County

Anne expressed interest in a Berry Forum speaker at their next webinar. Marisa would like to connect with Iona students for environmental efforts. KC will subscribe Anne and Marisa to Carbon Rangers as a first step in making connections.

 

Kevin Cawley led us in a centering exercise followed by a reading of the prayer of John O’Donohue, “May the Light of Your Soul Guide You”. Brian Brown led the proceedings with his dependable insights as he opened the writings of Thomas and their aptness for our current moment. He linked concerns noted by Thomas in this essay with ongoing global negotiations toward preserving biodiversity for an ecological civilization in the Kunming Declaration at the recent conference on biodiversity. The China gathering marks the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 15). The work of this Convention on Biological Diversity will come to completion in Kunming, China, in May 2022. The conference took note of the enormity of extinctions in the plant and animal kingdoms in recent decades and further noted the necessity of preserving the fundamental strata of the biosphere that supports all life. Brian reminded us of the admonition of Thomas that the “human must re-invent itself at the species level” if we are to be in right relationship with Earth going forward; to retrieve our identity in communion with Earth. Our intimacy with Earth must overcome our present fascination with the values and norms of the plunder mindset of our industrial processes.

Discussion opened with several comments that revealed the group holding a deep and painful anguish at our present predicament; a sense of rage, a feeling of being overwhelmed; that our democracy as well as our biosphere were at risk. How will I be able to access resources when all cars are electric but too expensive for my means? These sentiments were followed by remarks on recent signs of hopefulness - watching the living non-human creatures in the world going about the tasks of their world- one participant noted a film about bees in an English garden, another a film on the octopus. Time spent in quiet conversation with intimates at family gatherings added a note of peace. We need to hold the brokenness and the beauty while we resist the destructive systems we have allowed to flourish. These systems plunder widely, while calling for “sustainable development” and avoiding the basic issue of care for our common home.

There were 22 participants in attendance.

This presentation is inspired by Pope Francis writing in "Laudato Si: On Care for Our Common Home" on the sacredness of all life on Earth.

“But it is not enough to think of different species merely as potential 'resources' to be exploited, while overlooking the fact that they have value in themselves. Each year sees the disappearance of thousands of plant and animal species which we will never know, which our children will never see, because they have been lost forever. The great majority become extinct for reasons related to human activity. Because of us, thousands of species will no longer give glory to God by their very existence, nor convey their message to us. We have no such right.” (pg. 33)

The additional context for our concerns comes from the September 2021 meeting of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. This World Conservation Congress convened with around 6,000 participants on site in Marseille, France, and 3,500 more people attending online. In its closing document, the Marseille Manifesto, the Congress highlighted dual existential crises for the planet – climate change and biodiversity collapse.

The Convention on Biological Diversity is an international treaty to safeguard:

• the conservation of biodiversity
• the sustainable use of the components of biodiversity
• the equitable sharing of the benefits derived from the use of genetic resources

With 196 state signatories, the Convention has near universal participation. The Treaty opened for signature at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 and entered into force in December 1993.

There have been multiple conferences on this issue since then. And now we are at the 15th such conference of the parties. The COP15 conference is in two parts. Currently the opening sessions are online only from October 11-15. The second part of the conference will take place with member state representatives gathering in China from April 25 to May 8 to conclude negotiations.

Our Panelists are Iona University professors. First up was Dr. Christina Andruk, Assistant Professor of Biology at Iona University. She is a plant ecologist who studies the impacts of non-native species and changing disturbance regimes on the conservation and restoration of biodiversity. Our second Panelist was Dr. Kimberly Spanjol, Assistant Professor in the Department of Criminal Justice. Her research interests are in Green and Non-Speciesist Criminology, and she teaches courses such as Environmental Crime, Species Justice, and Animal and Human Health.

Dr. Andruk and Dr. Spanjol share their insights on the components of biodiversity, including genetic diversity, ecological diversity, and species diversity. There were references to the background rate of extinction on the planet and our lack of knowledge as to the true number of species yet unknown to us. Loss of habitat is the largest threat to biodiversity currently. We were directed to see animal protection as a social justice issue; green criminology will include harm not only to humans but to the other -than -human as well. All oppression is connected. One key solution to these challenges will be education that extends profound respect to all creatures including respect for the other-than-human. Public policy that subsidizes the meat industry and no other facet of agriculture needs to be examined and changed.

Number of attendees: 37
Session adjourned: 12:52 p.m.

Gathering Under the Ginkgo. The Deignan Institute for Earth and Spirit in partnership with the Thomas Berry Forum for Ecological Dialogue hosted a community gathering on Tuesday, October 5 at the Ginkgo Tree in the Quadrangle to mark the conclusion of the annual Season of Creation. The ceremonies began at noon with a small procession led by Iona Pipers escorted the speakers to the podium in front of our majestic Ginkgo.

Land Statement. An Iona student read our Land Statement acknowledging that we stood on the ancestral homeland of the Lenape People. Br. Kevin Cawley spoke briefly of the significance of the Ginkgo in the natural world as the placeholder for the evolution of the plant kingdom. To our knowledge the Ginkgo species is the lone survivor of plants that began their time on Earth over 200 million years ago. It may be regarded as the oldest surviving plant species and so we are especially grateful for its careful nurturing on our campus since the founding of the college.

COP26 in Glasgow. Br. Kevin went on to remind us of the critical importance of the United Nations meeting coming in November in Glasgow where the nations of the world will make public their national plans to reduce carbon emissions to limit further warming of the atmosphere. The Glasgow meeting is the 26th such gathering in the past 30 years, hence its designation as “COP26” by news media. It has grown in importance since the Paris Agreement in 2015 when nations first agreed on limits on greenhouse gas emissions. We offered our prayers that this Glasgow event would generate sufficient ambition to turn the world in the right direction for the future of the planet.

Laudato Si: On Care for Our Common Home. Sister Kathleen Deignan reminded all of the commitment of Pope Francis to the Care of our Common Home by his encyclical Laudato si. Sr. Kathleen called our attention to the presence of Mr. Michael O’Donnell of Facilities as she asked us to bless Michael for his attentive stewardship of the beautiful grounds of the college, especially its multiple trees and shrubs. Sister read the Prayer of St. Francis accompanied by spirited bell ringing of several students in attendance. Dr. James Robinson read early paragraphs of Laudato si for our reflection.

Blessing of Animals. Fr. Enzo Del Brocco was invited to say few words and then to bless the animals that are always a part of these ceremonies to honor St. Francis. Animals not present were celebrate by their images on multiple iphones raised in the audience to receive the blessing of water from our local Pine Brook from Fr. Enzo.

Tupelo Planting. Dr. Christina Andruk came forward to tell us about the tree we were planting shortly as a marker for our St. Francis Day- a black gum or Tupelo tree. This plant is a native species to N. America, with delicate white flowers in spring and a berry in fall to feed the many birds who take advantage of the fruit. It is the longest-lived hardwood species in the eastern United States, and probably ranks among the longest-lived hardwoods anywhere in the world. We hope it enjoys life at Iona. The ceremonies concluded with the usual distribution of animal crackers and a procession off the Quadrangle led by our Pipers and out to the back gate to Montgomery Place for the planting ritual. We adjourned at 12:50pm.

September 22, 2021

"CREATING A NEW ECOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY FOR THE GLOBAL ECOLOGICAL RENAISSANCE"

Joe Holland and Heather Eaton in Dialogue

Dr. Joe Holland is an eco-philosopher and Catholic theologian exploring the intellectual-spiritual breakdowns of Modern Industrial Civilization to recover intellectual-spiritual seeds of a regenerative Postmodern Ecological Civilization.

Dr. Heather Eaton is an Eco-feminist theologian and Berry scholar who teaches at Saint Paul University, Ottawa, Canada. Her whose work is focused on peace and conflict studies at the intersection of gender, ecology, and religion.

We are in a transition from Cenozoic to Ecozoic, but we have not dealt with the ecological failure of modern philosophy; the fundamental errors in modern philosophy, including a problematic cosmology. We are witnessing the breakdown of ecology by the modern western industrial colonial system -now globalized. We must acknowledge an intellectual breakdown as well, and a spiritual breakdown. Our institutions were designed in a misunderstanding that humans were not an integral part of the biosphere.

The postmodern holistic university will be open to all traditions of the human family. The difficulties for the university can be traced at least to Descartes who appropriated material cosmos borrowed from Epicurus, who was a favorite of 18th century intellectuals such as Thomas Jefferson. Epicurus theorized all matter was made of tiny particles and this led ultimately to the standard model of matter in our physics. If everything is in small particles, it is hard to comprehend how everything is deeply interconnected.

Heather Eaton comes to us as an eco-feminist philosopher who sees that everything is everything is relational across the universe. Heather sees a religious response to ecological crisis. There are links possible between religion and science. Heather begins with a question: “What helps us think well?”

Universities train young people but Berry always asked, trained for what? What happens when people are trained to be ecologically destructive? It is obvious now that we are in an ecological decline. Has the university taught how to face ecocide? Berry insists we need a New Story because the Old Story is not working. We have a problem with knowing how to dialogue. How to collaborate. How to talk about vision and values. What is our vision? What is our worldview?

Berry teaching is a place from which we will act. We are part of a living universe. We evolved from a living Earth. We are Earth-derived. We are part of the Earth community. Universities should be teaching this truth. We belong to a coherence, but our cultural systems are fragmented. Berry is calling us to a deep intimacy with this deeper reality. What is the horizon now? Who is speaking our visions and values?

Sadly, capitalism reigns supreme, politics are polarized, most students focus only on getting a job. Berry wants us to educate to be a member of a living earth community; we need real knowledge, knowledge of intimacy with the natural world. Berry proposal orients us to respond to the issues of our era. New Story language is important because all cultures operate out of story. What is the role of the university now? Educating for what future? Humanities and social sciences are critiqued by government funders, but these disciplines help us to think; how to analyze; how to recognize injustices. Universities can challenge status quo- what if ecocide were a crime?

Religious Studies have been talking about Earth and the sacred, the natural world as having a spiritual foundation. Iona mission- liberating power of education for a greener future and grounded in ecological justice. Iona mission statement speaks of ecological consciousness and spirituality. Lack of access to resources is not the only issue. What about access to hope? Vision and values and hope are all needed.

Joe reports that great movements can also be swept away. Unless you master the tradition, you will not be able to change it. Take care to move with understanding to expose the bankruptcy of modernity.

Heather suggests the problems of modernity, the techno view, dualism, have all been exposed before. More exposition not needed. People unable to understand the values that are already operating. Who knows where their food comes from? Berry was criticized for a meta-narrative that was oppressive. Heather says this was not accurate.

Joe allows that the theological community is still trapped in the epicurean paradigm There is tenacious power in Epicureanism. There are philosophers writing now who say reality is relational. Key is epicurean atomism. Standard model prevails and runs the social sciences. The modern project is fragmented.

Audience comment- concept of the living Earth seems a simple enough idea. Joe answer: They are blocked. They are imprisoned in the old paradigm without knowing it. They must break through the mental frame of reference first. Resembles an addiction. This problem pervades all institutions. Heather notes the concept of living Earth. how to develop and ethic for the living communities around us.

Kathleen comments that the power of the university is still real. Ecological education must be comprehensive. Universities train the teachers. One way to see the transformation is scholarly friends at Iona began to have influence beyond the choices of the administrators. These faculty began to have influence. Eco leaders for a while but we cannot depend merely on the leaders. We must build Ecozoic education into university structure. The university plays out its mission in other formats of education in differing levels. The teacher must do the right thinking and clear thinking. Clarifying our minds all the time. Heather- Earthlings first. That could be a starting point. A foundational reality. Religiously informed. Earthling is primary truth. Joe says this ecology is, “news to them” in the law school where he teaches.

Heather - Berry more radical. Children can understand the universe story. Greta and others are anthropocentric movements. Not everything is intellectually blocked. I see shifts. We are not commensurate with the ecological crisis. Universities are slow to change. Heather wants a whole generation of young activists. A school of Gretas!

Joe - Epicurus said all there was was matter. Now we have global warming as the result of global billionaire club- the will to power is thriving across the board. This philosophical program is triumphing all over the globe.

Question: how can university play a role to find a viable pathway? Joe: we had to learn how to do this. inertia was pumping thousands out the other door. does not like a deconstructionist label for his work. Analyze the university. social analysis is what joe does. we are a few years away from the catastrophe. most are still doing the old cosmology.

Joe - third session in November will be about ecovillages. New society needed. The model is the Irish monks in the 5th and 6th centuries founded new centers of learning across Europe: Vienna, Paris, etc. Irish Celtic effort led to a medieval renaissance. Now we need an intellectual renaissance. Coherent vision. Needs to happen across planet Earth. Not coming from N. America and Europe. The West will follow the global South. END.

This season, a deep and continuous reading of Thomas Berry's The Great Work. The Lectio for this session: The Great Work: Chapter 9: Ethics and Ecology.

Dr. Danny Martin led us to a focus on the evening lectio. Dr. Brian Brown shared his thoughts to prompt our reflections. Brian’s remarks included these insights: Climate catastrophe presses in across the USA. Harvard divests fossil fuel holdings. We had the evidence for climate change 50 years ago. Human has shaped identity through values and norms guiding decisions small and large. Human capacity for ethical determination is a settled feature of human thought. But our ethics remains human - centered. The Natural World is neglected. We find ourselves ethically destitute as earth’s systems are closing down. Religion surrendered to Bacon and Descartes and Earth became vulnerable to the industrial mechanization and market capitalization of the 19th and 20th century. Mercantile juggernaut promised surfeit in consumer wonder world even as it reduced Earth to a waste world. The human yet has access to psychic energy for the transformations necessary. Prior to culture, the genetic code of the human is the point of intimate communion with Earth. We need to awaken to this primordial intimacy with the Earth to make our conversion in time.

Discussion

Pope Francis calls for ecological conversion; a call to turn around; a cause for hope in the roots of our being; a note on return to mother’s roots in Iowa. RIP 3 yrs ago.; half our DNA comes from the eggs carried by our mother and grandmother; Prairie Woods center visit wonderful centering experience; horizon of our future- frustrated and angry response to Lectio at first; in and out of tears from the reading by Brian; scared by the news every day; the Earth that sustains us - we are killing it; gratitude for a vacation recently; more in relationship with Nature now especially after the chance to see the Milky Way in a darkened sky over the Pacific Ocean; this Circle is space to hold grief as well as our hopes for future; International Regenerative Agriculture movement has projects all over the world resurrecting old food -Hopeful to many; genetic transmission borne by the female; women are born with all the eggs they will ever have; touched by hearing another participant admitting he is shaken; each life form has a niche to thrive in; Berry has a particular way of delivering his thought; how to take a different attitude; looking at the world in linear fashion rather than an open system; not just cause and effect; we return to ineffable causality; report of Iona class today where our slide show on our dilemma and truth and equity of our predicament provoked deep anxiety in the students; we did not have time to present the slides on hope and Laudato si; is wisdom still available; shifted to what are you feeling?; responses were desolation, fear , despair, and sadness; speaker tonight reported “felt something kickstart in me.”; some energy in me; watching documentaries on WWII; how did people survive that? ; Genetic anger comes up with power; Celtic spirituality-our grief work now coming up everywhere… center cannot hold… surely some revelation is at hand; recent book, All We Can Save is a bestselling anthology of writings by 60 women at the forefront of the climate movement; false image that everything you need is manufactured; everyone is so distracted, and we might use that for good; stay with the hollow grief and be led to hope; prayer is passion, not anger- the life force, not despair.

Ecumenical Season of Creation 2021
A Home for All?
Wednesday, September 1, 2021

In Conversation with Dr. Erin Lothes, Environmental Theologian and Energy Ethicist

The evening began with a brief introduction by Sister Kathleen on the call of Pope Francis for a Season of Creation and its ecumenical foundation with Patriarch Bartholomew of the Orthodox Church. The universal theme chosen for this Season was announced by Kathleen: “A home for all? Renewing the Oikos of God.“ The introduction was followed by our opening prayer offered by Br. Kevin Cawley of the Thomas Berry Forum. The prayer led to the introduction of Dr. Lothes by Dr. James Robinson of the Iona Religious Studies Department.

Here is the brief biography: Dr. Lothes is an ecological theologian and Energy Ethics researcher who holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Princeton University, a master’s degree in Theology from Boston College, and a Doctorate in Theology from Fordham University. She is on the faculty of St. Elizabeth University and served as an Earth Institute Fellow at Columbia University. Erin is the author of two books, Inspiring Sustainability: Planting Seeds for Action and The Paradox of Christian Sacrifice: The Loss of Self, the Gift of Self, as well as articles on energy ethics and faith-based environmentalism. A longtime activist within the Catholic and interfaith environmental and divestment movement, Dr. Lothes now serves as SENIOR PROGRAM MANAGER, LAUDATO SI’ GLOBAL ANIMATORS PROGRAM. She lives in New York with her husband and two sons.

Erin began by sharing the foundations for her faith-based environmental commitment and her growing concern that the Church needed deeper engagement on these questions. She shared the video of Pope Francis thanking members of the Laudato si environmental movement inspired by his 2015 encyclical.  Erin shared the video, “Abraham’s Tent” as a symbol of our Common Home.  She recounted that we are beginning to see stronger statements from various bishops’ conferences around the globe, Ireland, the Philippines, and Korea, for example. We were encouraged to sign on to Healthy Planet, Healthy People Petition, https://thecatholicpetition.org , which is the Laudato Si' Movement (GCCM) petition for the COP 26 on climate and the COP 15 on biodiversity.  Edmund Rice International is a co-sponsor of the petition.  Both United Nations conferences will take place in the next few months, concluding with  COP 26, the UN Climate Change Conference taking place in November in Glasgow.

The 75 participants were held in attention by Dr. Lothes explanation of the Laudato si movement initiatives across the globe and her slide presentation is available in the recording of our event that will be provided below.    Br. Kevin, as UN representative for Edmund Rice International brought some firsthand reporting on the impact of faith groups at the United Nations, particularly the strong influence they supplied at the Paris Conference in 2015 shortly after the publication of Laudato Si.   Erin noted the distinction arising between “hope” and “optimism” and that we must live in hope in these difficult days of climate change manifesting so urgently.  The Global Catholic Climate Movement was founded as a prelude to Laudato si and is still actively engaged.  

Erin reported on the key question of fossil fuel divestment as a means of turning around the heating of the planet.  She cited the recent work of the International Energy Agency (IEA) calling for a path to net zero emissions by 2050.  This conversion moment came as a shock to many in the industry as the IEA was founded by the fossil fuel industry in the early 1970s.  This was their first call to end the use of fossil fuels.   Erin went on to say some words about the program of Laudato si animators, especially the surge of young people to this kind of activism.  The programs focus on eco-conversion, advocacy and sustainable lifestyles. Erin went on to reflect that her research on Faith groups and care of Earth revealed her conviction that living a sanctified life - a life of awareness, sustainable production and consumption - will eventually lead to deeper flourishing for all.  The Season of Creation is more than a pious practice- it is the public work of the people of God.  The structural challenges of “original sin” and its implications must not prevent us from bold renewal now in our crisis moment.  Audience members were able to offer several examples of modeling the good behavior of care of Earth in local parishes, including the idea of a “sacrifice meter” to encourage others.   Our session concluded after 90 minutes with many deeply felt “thank yous” to Erin and to the Deignan Institute and Iona University for its sponsorship of these events.

Download the chat from this Video

My name is Kevin Cawley. I live in New Rochelle, N.Y. I am Executive Director of the Thomas Berry Forum for Ecological Dialogue at Iona University.

Please reject the air quality permits for the proposed Danskammer Energy Center fracked gas plant in the town of Newburgh. The proposal would turn the plant from part time peak energy usage into to a full-time power plant running on fracked gas. That means full-time emissions and full-time climate destruction.

This fracked gas plant poses very serious risks to local air and water. It's also completely out of step with the state's climate goals. With New York's energy mix sitting at only 5% wind and solar, we ought to be doing everything possible to speed the transition away from fossil fuels and toward 100% renewables.

Methane, the primary component of fracked gas, is 87 times more effective at trapping heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide over a span of 20 years. Building out fracked gas power plants like the Danskammer would make it impossible for New York to achieve its climate goals.

I understand numerous public officials and others have spoken in favor of this proposal for its claims of employment and vital boost to the local economy, but I ask the DEC to take the long view and align with the N.Y. State Climate Goals moving toward 100% renewables. We can devise a just transition for workers displaced by ending this unwise construction that attempts to prolong the dangerous burning of fossil fuels. We cannot put off the decision any longer. The signs of massive damage from our burning of fossil fuels daily assault us with evidence of climate change. We are postponing important actions, vital to a renewable energy future, by building more fracked gas infrastructure.

Pope Francis in his writing Laudato si: On Care for Our Common Home, has this to say:

“As often happens in periods of deep crisis which require bold decisions, we are tempted to think that what is happening is not entirely clear. Superficially, apart from a few obvious signs of pollution and deterioration, things do not look that serious, and the planet could continue as it is for some time. Such evasiveness serves as a license to carrying on with our present lifestyles and models of production and consumption. This is the way human beings contrive to feed their self-destructive vices: trying not to see them, striving not to acknowledge them, delaying the important decisions, and pretending that nothing will happen”. LS 59

“Reducing greenhouse gases requires honesty, courage and responsibility, above all on the part of those countries which are more powerful and pollute the most.” LS 169

“Results take time and demand immediate outlays which may not produce tangible effects within any one government’s term. That is why, in the absence of pressure from the public and from civic institutions, political authorities will always be reluctant to intervene, all the more when urgent needs must be met. To take up these responsibilities and the costs they entail, politicians will inevitably clash with the mindset of short-term gain and results which dominates present-day economics and politics. But if they are courageous, they will attest to their God-given dignity and leave behind a testimony of selfless responsibility.“ LS 181

“There is an urgent need to develop policies so that, in the next few years, the emission of carbon dioxide and other highly polluting gases can be drastically reduced, for example, substituting for fossil fuels and developing sources of renewable energy.“ LS 26

The proposed Danskammer plant will increase air pollution and threaten public health, especially for the poor and minority populations that must live near the plant. Please do show courage on this issue and resist the urge to settle for short term gain; there is no time to waste.

Thank you.

Submitted for the Record on August 27, 2021

My name is Kevin Cawley. I am from New Rochelle, New York. I am the Executive Director of the Thomas Berry Forum for Ecological Dialogue at Iona University and represent Edmund Rice International at the United Nations. I urge Governor Kathy Hochul and the DEC to deny NRG’s Astoria Gas Plant proposal.

• The proposed Astoria plant is incompatible with NYS Climate Law. The proposal to build the Astoria fracked gas power plant is incompatible with New York’s climate law (the CLCPA) and climate justice and equity principles. NY has only 19 years to transition to an emissions-free grid. Continued investment in fracked gas at Astoria would lock us into prolonged reliance on fracked gas power, limiting our ability to meet New York’s climate commitment of a zero-emissions electric sector by 2040. Allowing Astoria to be built after we passed the nation’s boldest climate law would set a dangerous precedent for NY and tell the fracked gas industry that they can continue building out climate-destroying infrastructure in our state.
• The proposed Astoria NRG plant will increase air pollution and threaten public health. Pollution and associated respiratory illnesses are already elevated in Astoria and the surrounding area, which has been nicknamed “Asthma Alley” for the disproportionately high rates of respiratory illness.

I am personally against the Astoria NRG plant because…

The signs of massive damage from our burning of fossil fuels daily assault us with evidence of climate change. Nearby communities received 9 inches of rain in a single day over the past weekend. Climate change has already arrived. We are postponing important actions, vital to a renewable energy future, by building more fracked gas infrastructure. These proposals must not go forward.

Pope Francis in his writing Laudato si: On Care for Our Common Home, has this to say:

As often happens in periods of deep crisis which require bold decisions, we are tempted to think that what is happening is not entirely clear. Superficially, apart from a few obvious signs of pollution and deterioration, things do not look that serious, and the planet could continue as it is for some time. Such evasiveness serves as a license to carrying on with our present lifestyles and models of production and consumption. This is the way human beings contrive to feed their self-destructive vices: trying not to see them, striving not to acknowledge them, delaying the important decisions, and pretending that nothing will happen. LS 59

Reducing greenhouse gases requires honesty, courage and responsibility, above all on the part of those countries which are more powerful and pollute the most. LS 169

To take up these responsibilities and the costs they entail, politicians will inevitably clash with the mindset of short-term gain and results which dominates present-day economics and politics. But if they are courageous, they will attest to their God-given dignity and leave behind a testimony of selfless responsibility. LS 181

There is an urgent need to develop policies so that, in the next few years, the emission of carbon dioxide and other highly polluting gases can be drastically reduced, for example, substituting for fossil fuels and developing sources of renewable energy. LS 26

Governor Kathy Hochul and her Department of Environmental Conservation must reject NRG’s Astoria proposal and make it clear that they will not approve any new fracked gas power plants.

The Circle began with Danny Martin calling us to a stillness in our body, mind and emotions permitting gratitude to flow to the spirit power in each of us. Brian Brown then unfurled his perspective on our Lectio from Thomas Berry’s The Great Work, Chapter 8: Ecological Geography.

Brian led us through his understanding of Berry around intimacy with the world nearest us and the grievous impact of the consumptive practices that have led to the current devastation. He noted the special dangers elucidated in the recent report of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) which outlined the impacts of unequivocal human influence on our Earth. The harm detailed in the IPCC Report can no longer be pushed aside to await later action. Thomas Berry has earlier showed us one of the major causes of our problems is the consistent psychic failure of human self-restraint in our impulse to break out of our human “niche.” Recognition of limits is lost. The “law of limits” has been overridden by human industrial processes. These violations of the norms of limitation may yet cause us to awaken the human to the Earth predicament. Humans may yet renew the code to protect the integrity of what holds us.

Responses from the group followed in a prayerful atmosphere: we see the fundamental need for a New Story to distance us from our technological fantasies; we recognize the spiritual powers in nature; many religious women are taking powerful steps; we recognize anew the spiritual powers that inhabit our world; we grope to see the “high purpose of human presence on the Earth”; we see again the human trespass of Earth boundaries noted in the IPCC; we need a hermeneutic of suspicion whenever we are pulled away from intimacy with Earth; good plants make it easier to love the Earth; a renewed sense of the sacred is essential to save us from our plundering industrial economy; mourning doves show us shared Earth in an urban setting; we need to recover human goodness to the Earth; community non-violence is both means and end; recall Pope Francis in Laudato: “everything is the caress of God”; we need our voices to share this intimacy and are grateful for these engagements.

DEIGNAN EARTH AND SPIRIT INSTITUTE AND THOMAS BERRY FORUM FOR ECOLOGICAL DIALOGUE AT IONA COLLEGE
COMMENTS SUBMITTED JULY 30, 2021, TO THE US NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION ON HOLTEC’S PLANNED SHUT-DOWN ACTIVITIES REPORT (PSDAR) FOR INDIAN POINT REACTOR SITE, N.Y.

The Deignan Institute and the Berry Forum have concerns specifically with the eco-justice features of the proposal.  The 2015 publication of Pope Francis concerning the care of Earth, Laudato si: On Care for Our Common Home, bring these ecojustice perspectives into sharper focus.  We begin with a selection from Laudato si:  “It needs to be said that there is little in the way of clear awareness of problems which particularly affect the excluded…Indeed, when all is said and done, they frequently remain at the bottom of the pile. This is due partly to the fact that many professionals, opinion makers, communications media and centers of power are far removed from the poor, located in affluent urban areas, with little direct contact with their problems...This lack of physical contact and encounter, encouraged at times by the disintegration of our cities, can lead to a numbing of conscience and to tendentious analyses which neglect parts of reality…  Today, however, we have to realize that a true ecological approach always becomes a social approach; it must integrate questions of justice in debates on the environment, so as to hear both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor.” (LS49)

We believe that the operation and decommissioning of nuclear power plants, as well as transportation and storage of spent nuclear fuel disproportionately impacts poor communities - often situated in “sacrifice zones’ for such plants and similar industries with toxic reputations.  The transport routes and final destinations also tend to be clustered in or near marginalized communities. Examples are ready to hand, such as the Dine peoples near the Trinity Atomic Test Sites.  We recall the language of “free, prior and informed consent” for those impacted.  Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) is a specific right that pertains to indigenous peoples and is recognized in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (2007). It allows them to give or withhold consent to a project that may affect them or their territories.  These communities should not be forced to host spent fuel canisters from nearly 100 reactors across the United States.  The reactors often benefit the most affluent among us. Why should the poor bear the burdens of such waste having had little benefit from their use and no voice in their final disposition?

Specifically, we believe Holtec’s plans for off-site transport of radioactive waste - shipping Indian Point’s spent fuel to New Mexico to be stored at Holtec’s “interim” storage facility - are unacceptably dangerous. They violate the principles of environmental justice and they violate federal law, which prohibits “interim” storage before a permanent repository is sited.    We ask that the NRC not permit Holtec’s be the final word on how to proceed with this inherently perilous undertaking at Indian Point.  This is a chance for the NRC to end its practice of routinely granting waivers and exemptions for the industry. They must finally put public health, public safety and environmental justice before industry profit.

Thomas Berry Contemplative Ecologists Circle
Thursday, July 15, 2021
(Online meeting with 30 participants)
Hosts: Br. Kevin Cawley and Sr. Kathleen Deignan
The Great Work Chapter 7: The University

Opening Reflection: Dr. Brian Brown began by observing how climate change now menaces the Earth in multiple forms and multiple regions. Thomas Berry holds that the human insight found in the University provides guidance that is not found in religion, in law or culture. The University identifies Earth’s eminence beyond the failings of culture. The University demonstrates the interdependence of the context in which humans emerged leading to the Earth as Noosphere. The central pathology that led to the end of the Cenozoic now leads to the discontinuity between the human and the non-human. We now must work to reset the human-earth relationship toward a mutually enhancing engagement. The Universe reveals itself as story in diverse modes of consciousness. The spontaneity of each being is expressed in diverse personalities. The University weakens the power of philosophical arrogance that drives much human trauma such as the 17th century notion of Cartesian dualism, among others.

Offerings of participants this evening included: ways to approach the night sky with its offerings of starry companions as subjects not objects; engaging in saving all that we can save by starting as small as composting at home; engaging more directly with indigenous wisdom, for example, the work of Robin Wall Kimmerer drawing on her life as an indigenous scientist, a mother, and a woman, in her book Braiding Sweetgrass; another participant reminded us of the Four Wisdoms from Berry- Wisdom of Indigenous, Wisdom of Classical Learning, Wisdom of Science, Wisdom of Women; the sadness of our having lost touch with the universe and how universities continue to provide space to experience alternative modes of understanding outside of corporations, and governments and larger institutions; you cannot love what you do not know- small practices can have impact such as asking ecology students to “adopt a tree” near their home to observe and journal; noticing the natural world with respect even to the extent of welcoming a praying mantis that may enter your living space for a time; inviting your local church group into your garden; follow a local practice to get in touch with the natural world - such as blueberry picking; finding ways for universities to respond to the current climate emergency; knowing that as we open to the lessons of the natural world, God gives us more to see; appreciating the resilience of nature as exemplified in the persistence of plant life protected by seeds over time; finally a reflection on how the mystery of communion is happening in your life.

Thomas Berry Forum Contemplative Ecologists Circle
June 17, 2021. 7-8 p.m.
Lectio: The Viable Human
Online Gathering of 23 participants

Danny Martin began by leading participants to a centering experience, evoking the natural breathing mindfulness to bring us to a receptive posture for our time together.

Brian Brown began our reflection time with remarks on the thinking of Thomas about the present human destructiveness of the natural environment as not ultimately conclusive. The Journey, the Cosmic Tree, the Great Mother are all evoked as we explore and expand human consciousness via the unfolding creativity of the human. We can join the movement to a restored Earth via intense discipline of the restored human. But presently the human has been captured by the corporate culture that takes from the Earth what it sees and desires and externalizes all the real costs to the planet in service to the greed of the corporation mindset even as we deplete the natural world.

The group offered a number of responses over the next 45 minutes:
Thomas calling us to re-understand how we understand and that this space is an opening where such a movement can take place; we are at a kind of new beginning; major change is knocking on the door; we must be take care to not “language the whole thing” without changing behavior; there have been efforts to frame this challenge in the Earth Covenant and the Earth Charter; Earth belongs to itself and needs to receive our gaze much as a child might gaze at her grandmother; accenting the Mother image is helpful because it evokes untiring generativity and moves us away from productivity toward creativity when needed; coming back from retreat experience in simple living to the conveniences of modern life compels reflection and gratitude; everything we do has ripples- as Thomas said, “you cannot do one thing.”

Reflections provoked further thoughts in the group: participant noted how in awe she was at how clearly Thomas thinks but how difficult is the task he asks of us as humans; we need to cultivate respectfully our relationship with Earth; the viable human mode of the future will be acknowledge that the primary educator, primary lawgiver and primary healer with be the natural world; recovery of the natural world will require a new economy and conversion experience of the human psyche; how to scale up the transformation of the human psyche.

Final thoughts moved to reflections on the plight of the indigenous peoples , especially those living in the Amazon basin so devastated by COVID; the radical orientation to live with the questions of how my next thought word or deed is celebratory of Earth and how does it recognize the poor and ultimately how to learn to “gaze” with love at our planet.

The next Contemplative Circle will be on Thursday, July 15 at 7 p.m. Notice will be sent by Kathleen. Brian’s text from tonight will be posted on the Iona Earth and Spirit web page under “Illuminations”. Tonight’s recording can be viewed on YouTube (see below).

 

This event gathered attendees from multiple Assisi Conferences honoring the legacy of Fr. Thomas Berry. Sr. Kathleen was invited to offer the online keynote by the organizers in recognition of her lifetime of service to the Berry legacy and her deep integration of ecological spirituality in her multiple ministries at Iona University and elsewhere.

Kathleen drew us to a reflection in the spirit of dialogue and discernment on the Great Work of sustaining our Common Home. How to accelerate movement for creation care especially among generations to come. Reflections linked Thomas Berry with St. Francis of Assisi who opened us to new insights on understanding our common home eight centuries ago. Laudato Si: Care for Our Common Home, Pope Francis’ encyclical in 2015, brought St. Francis’ message forward to bring new harmony to our planet amidst our present destructive distractions. A new Earth is now being dreamt by us in this era with the help of Thomas Berry and Pope Francis. How Thomas Berry helped us to see and hear the babble of a civilization gone mad and to challenge us to a new harmony now today. Here is a brief response by the committee organizers with a link to Sr. Kathleen’s remarks.

Ecological Spirituality for a Critical Moment

To all who joined us for the gathering on Saturday, it was a joy to see you and hear what you had to say - I left feeling hopeful, energized, and fulfilled. On behalf of the board and planning committee, we thank you for your conversation and participation. We plan to have further conversations soon and will keep you updated on their happening. If you missed the reunion or would like to listen back, please click the link below to hear Sr. Kathleen Deignan's inspiring message! Feel free to share the link with anyone who may be encouraged.

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For a transcription of this podcast, please contact Sr. Kathleen Deignan at kdeignan@iona.edu.

Host: Br. Kevin Cawley
Facilitator: Sr. Kathleen Deignan

The lectio of Chapter 5 of The Great Work allows Thomas Berry to open the lens of his thinking to a reflection on the human presence up against the wild component, developing a sense of the wild beyond human control. He reminds us the beginning of wisdom is a reverence before the mystery of existence. We need to know how to participate creatively in the wildness of the world around us. The natural world demands a response beyond rational calculation, beyond philosophy, beyond science. We hope for a new dawn, an Ecozoic era- to be present to the Earth in a mutually enhancing manner.

Dr. Brian Brown invited us into this reflection with his illumination of the words of Thomas for a point of departure for reflection - even as the commercial, industrial human seeks to harness the world for itself it has propelled the Earth toward its present desolation.

Our role is not to domesticate the planet. We are here to become integral with the larger Earth community not to terminate the Cenozoic period. Ongoing universe emergence is operative in multiple events culminating in our region with the Sun and its planets. The structure of Earth provided the stability and atmosphere to blossom living cells. The contemporary human has wisdom to suggest new modes of Ecozoic living that includes moving away from fossil fuel dependency and toward Earth - informed jurisprudence among other practices.

The group responded with comments around contemplation as essential to finding the deep wisdom the world is presenting - often beyond words but unmistakably present in experience. Some noted that contemplation is not always found in stillness- ecstatic knowing can come in dance, in play, in making music and even swimming in the wild ocean!

The human imagination will break through and the wildness is often the norm of authenticity. Our appreciation for the wild may come in our sudden apprehension of the staggering achievements of our fellow creatures who are other than human but compel our admiration as we come to understand their astonishing complexity and durability.

NEXT CIRCLE : June 17

Edmund Rice International hosted Br. Kevin Cawley as he explored the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a framework to understand and address current issues like Quality Education, the Water crisis and Climate Change.

Br. Kevin, Director of the Thomas Berry Forum for Ecological Dialogue at Iona University, was the invited presenter on May 6, 2021, for the 4th session of the Edmund Rice International program on Human Rights and Advocacy. Over 200 participants engaged in various segments of the five - week program hosted by Edmund Rice International. Participants linked via Zoom with ERI in Geneva, Switzerland from more than 20 nations on six continents. Sessions were 1.5 hours each offered on 5 consecutive Thursdays and included small group breakouts as well as Question and Answer opportunities for all to engage with the presenters.

Programs took place in two independent time frames. Those online from Asia and Pacific regions joined the session launched at 6 a.m. New York time. The Europe, Africa and Americas took part in the later session offered at 2 p.m. New York time on the same day. A wide array of Edmund Rice ministry partners took part in these trainings over the several weeks of offerings. Participants joined the presentations from Ghana, India, Zambia, Papua New Guinea, Kenya, Australia, Sierra Leone, United Kingdom, South Africa, Liberia, Ireland, Canada, Italy, New Zealand, USA, United Arab Emirates, South Sudan, Nigeria, Philippines, Switzerland, Bolivia and Peru.

Br. Kevin offered a training session presentation that included an overview of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. He included a number of links to the teachings of Pope Francis in Laudato Si: On Care for Our Common Home (2015) and the UN efforts to reverse climate change. The SDGs followed on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) first promulgated in 2000 by the United Nations as method to help governments to focus resources on the most intractable challenges facing humanity entering the 21st century. Approaching the end of the 15 - year calendar for the MDGs, the UN opened dialogue on the best plan of action for the next 15 years of global challenges - of following on the original goals and targets envisioned in 2000. This follow - up produced Agenda 2030: Sustainable Development Goals, a plan for the next 15 years.

Kevin’s role as Edmund Rice International UN Representative to the United Nations in New York since 2006 afforded a unique perspective on the genesis and crafting of the SDGs. One of the dynamics of this 3-year enterprise producing the outcome document known as Agenda 2030 was the influence of Pope Francis via the Holy See UN delegation in helping to drive the larger discussion to include care of Earth and care for the poor. The UN General Assembly ratified the sustainable development resolution on September 25, 2015 following the address of Francis to the United Nations during his visit to the United States. These dynamics played heavily in the final results of negotiations in New York as well as the Paris Climate Agreement later in December of that year. Kevin shared his conviction that timely intervention of Pope Francis and faith-based organizations strengthened the outcome documents on behalf of those nations and peoples that otherwise might have few champions on their behalf on the world stage.

Br. Kevin Cawley of Thomas Berry Forum Presents Training with Edmund Rice International

On Monday, April 19, 2021, Edmund Rice International joined  in a training program with Edmund Rice Schools, UK, under the direction of Ann Nichols, Network Facilitator for the Edmund Rice English Schools’ Office.  The webinar attracted representatives from 23 schools in 8 countries from Chicago, Illinois to Mongu, Zambia.   The training takes place on consecutive Mondays beginning April 19.  Brother Brian Bond and Br. Kevin Cawley offered the first session in the series.  The second week will focus on Laudato Si: On Care for Our Common Home by Pope Francis and the concluding event will take a close-up look at the impact of climate change in Australia, South-East Asia and Asia Pacific island nations.

The training program aims:

• To inform and promote Climate Crisis awareness
• To encourage Climate Action in our communities
• To explore the key message of Laudato Si & its impact on ourselves and our school communities

The initial presentation by Brian Bond and Kevin Cawley took the participants through the current crisis and how it is now speeding up disturbingly.  The narrative begins with the story of the Paris Climate Agreement and leads through the five years since Paris and how nations have been making progress and where we have fallen short.  The Paris Agreement and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change presented the challenge of keeping warming under 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2030.  Sadly, the world is not on track to achieve this goal and currently we are more likely to raise the temperature by 3.3 degrees or more with catastrophic outcomes likely if that happens.  Brian and Kevin showed recent events that mark the trajectory of wildfires, refugees displaced, ice sheet loss and sea level rise all converging to make a very difficult scenario even more fragile.

The second half of the program moved toward several encouraging developments, notably the encyclical of Pope Francis mentioned above and the rise of youthful climate activists inspired by Greta Thunberg. We spent some time sharing the work of "Project Drawdown" which has gathered the 100 best solutions for reducing the carbon emissions linked to human activity.  Many of these solutions are within reach if the world can summon the will power to make the changes needed. Much enthusiasm has been building around the implementation of the "Sustainable Development Goals" endorsed by the UN General Assembly in 2015. The 17 SDGs lay out a program of action that can direct planetary resources equitably and speedily if nations can gather themselves and organize the focused response. A brief section of the presentation took extra time to unpack the alarm growing over the coming scarcity of fresh water for the human family if present trends continue. The human right to water got special attention in Laudato Si because Pope Francis recognized the problem will impact the poor most dramatically and well ahead of the impact on the rest of humanity.

A Series of Contemplative Discussion of Writings of Thomas Berry

The Great Work Chapter Four - The North American Continent

Br. Kevin Cawley served as Moderator with Sr. Kathleen Deignan. Dr. Brian Brown led off the evening with brief remarks that featured several insights from Thomas Berry on the clash of European settlers with the native peoples of the continent. The indigenous relationship can be framed powerfully in the Omaha people blessing of a new child with the cry to all creation, “a new being has come into your midst”. Sadly, the N. American continent remained completely vulnerable to the European stance that placed the human at the center and the sole bearer of all rights. Only the reinvention of the human at the species level will begin the healing of the planet.

Several participants commented on the feelings of sadness as we contemplate the state of creation at this juncture in the history of human life on the planet. A sample of tonight’s offerings: even the animals have pity on us; film- “My Octopus Teacher” cited as moving report of interspecies relationship; diversity of tribal customs needs exploring; get to know specific plants; the good news that a native person is appointed now as US Secretary of Interior; suggestion presented to help learn about local plant species via an app PlantNet (see icon above); expand the circle of kinship; fear of becoming the oppressor is always present; creature burdens to lift if I pay close attention; how might I become indigenous again?

We had thirty-one participants this evening. Next Circle is Thursday, May 20 at 7 p.m. Sr. Kathleen will send a reminder via e-mail.

The following reflection was offered by Brian Edward Brown for The Thomas Berry Forum for Ecological Dialogue in its Contemplative Ecologists Circle for April 15, 2021 based on Thomas Berry’s complete essay “The North American Continent” in The Great Work: Our Way into the Future, pp. 33-47:

In his essay on the North American continent, Thomas Berry continues to reflect on the dynamic creativity of the universe as it reached a critical, indeed dangerous, moment in its billionfold long self- emergence. The drama arose and still seeks resolution in two quite distinctive modes of consciousness within the human sphere of universe expression: that of the First Peoples who became indigenous to the continent on the one hand, and that of the much later European colonizers on the other.

Beginning some 16,000 years ago the First Peoples, migrating from Asia across the Bering Straits, settled among the vast expanse of the North American continent's land and water mass with its mountain ranges; prairies and grasslands; rivers and valleys; coastal shores and their adjacent plains; eastern forests; southern swamplands; western deserts and deep canyons. While the first two millennia of their presence had a severe impact on continental fauna, their succeeding generations conformed and adapted to a more sustainable living within the biological constraints imposed by the regional climate variations and the respective communities of plants and animals abiding therein. Over time it was their intimacy with those other-than-human beings among whom they dwelt that became so notable a feature of First Peoples sensibility and consciousness. Highly differentiated across the range of geographic locale and among the hundreds of languages they spoke and the cultural traditions and life ways they developed and observed, the Native Peoples nevertheless shared an attentiveness to the continent’s communion of subjects whose wisdom and guidance gave zest and resilience for the rigors of life's journey.

One of the most impressive examples of such an orientation, such a mode of consciousness, may be found in the ceremony of the Omaha people upon presenting a newborn to the cosmic community that it might be blessed in traversing the four hills of childhood, youth, adulthood, old age and final return to the First Spirit:

"O you sun, moon and stars
All of you that move in the heavens,
I bid you hear me,
Into your midst has come a new life.
Consent, I implore, make its path smooth
That it may reach the brow of the first hill.
O ye winds, clouds, rains, mist,
All of you that move in the air,
I bid you hear me,
Into your midst has come a new life
Consent, I implore, make its path smooth
That it may reach the brow of the second hill.
O ye winds, valleys, rivers, lakes, trees, grasses,
All of you that belong to the earth,
I bid you hear me.
Into your midst has come a new life.
Consent, I implore, make its path smooth
That it may reach the brow of the third hill.
Birds, great and small, that fly in the air;
Animals, great and small, that dwell in the forest;
Insects that creep among the grasses and burrow in the ground;
I bid you hear me,
Into your midst has come a new life.
Consent, I implore, make its path smooth
That it may reach the brow of the fourth hill.
All of you in the heavens, all of you in the waters, all of you in the earth,
I bid you - all of you - to hear me.
Into your midst has come a new life.
Consent, consent,
All of you consent, I implore,
Make its path smooth that it may travel beyond the fourth hill.”
(The Book of the Omaha: Literature of the Omaha People, pp.5-6)

Not only at birth, but consistently over the course of a lifetime through the richly varied ceremonialism of Native liturgies, human consciousness integrated and embedded itself within that encompassing community of subjects. In addition to more explicitly communal rituals, there were those, like the Lakota " Crying for a Vision" which afforded individual tribal members, through solitary mountaintop prayer, to intensify their relationship with all one's other- than - human relatives. " All these people are important " explains Black Elk the Oglala holy man " for in their own way they are wise and they can teach us two-leggeds much if we make ourselves humble before them... This will help you to understand in part how it is that we regard all created beings as sacred and important, for everything has a ‘wochangi’ or influence which can be given to us, through which we may gain a little more understanding if we are attentive." (The Sacred Pipe, pp.58-59). This profound receptivity to be tutored and enriched in intimacy with the numinous dimensions of the North American continent's communion of subjects found no resonance in the colonizing mentality that overwhelmed its shores with the European onslaught.

In stark contrast to the cosmo-biocentric orientation of Native consciousness, the European mindset was fatally closed in upon, and captivated by, its own extreme anthropocentrism. Formed by the influence of the Greek humanist tradition; the primacy of the divine - human relationship in its Judeo-Christian tradition; the subordination of land to mere property with the human as sole bearer of rights in its legal tradition; and the maximization of profit through commercial - industrial exploitation of resources in its ascendant mercantile tradition; -- combined, all four cultural conceits defined a European mode of consciousness in the isolation of its own inflated self-absorptions with minimal regard for any inherent value in the commodified world of its conquest. “The insuperable difficulty" writes Thomas Berry " inhibiting any intimate rapport with the continent or its people was this European-derived anthropocentrism… That is why the North American continent became completely vulnerable to the assault from the European peoples. To the European settlers the continent had no sacred dimension. It had no inherent rights. It had no way of escaping economic exploitation. The other component members of the continent could not be included with humans in an integral continental community. European presence was less occupation than predation." (p.45)

We now live in the aftermath and several centuries into continental - become - planetary ruination. Ours is the challenge to initiate concrete, practical choices and policies for the protection, preservation and healing of what remains. The determination and effort required will be immense, for the venture involves nothing less than the reinvention of the human at the globalized species level. We dare not assume the daunting task before us by our own devices alone, but turn in hope to the cosmic community that yet extends itself for the rebirth now upon us. And so we invoke:

“All of you in the heavens, all of you in the waters, 
All of you  in the earth,
We bid you -  all of you - to hear us.
Into your midst has come a new life.
Consent, consent,
All of you consent, we implore,
Make its path smooth
That it may ascend this most arduous and steepest hill.”

Thank you,
Brian Edward Brown, Ph.D., J.D.

Br. Kevin Cawley participated in a Hearing for the NY State Public Service Commission recently on the question of fracked gas power plant proposed for Newburgh, NY, on the Hudson River. The Commissioners took public testimony online for nearly nine hours on March 31, 2021. Speakers were allotted 3 minutes each. Many addressed the deep concerns for the quality of life that is threatened by the plant, the environmental justice issues of placing the plant in an area that is home to a majority population of people of color and of limited means, and the special threat of air pollution that will impact children with asthma in the region. The speakers spoke forcefully and poignantly of their feelings of sadness that the plant was taking the region in the wrong direction - now is the time to be moving toward renewable energy, not the time for extending fossil fuel infrastructure. More than 120 speakers - including a number of young people and adolescents - addressed the evening session of the hearing which was extended to 10:30 pm due to the volume of participants. Those who were still waiting to be called when the session ended were encouraged to submit their statements online.

Here are the concerns as assembled by the coalition to prevent the project going forward.

The Danskammer Generating Station, an old power plant in Newburgh, operates only a few days a year. Owner Danskammer Energy has proposed replacing it with a fracked gas plant that will run nearly/almost all the time.

If approved, a new Danskammer plant would:

● INCREASE AIR POLLUTION & THREATEN OUR HEALTH. A new Danskammer could add over 25 times more health-damaging particulate matter and volatile organic compounds (VOC) to our region. The pollution could contaminate our agricultural lands, negatively impact tourism, and exacerbate respiratory illnesses, which are already elevated in Newburgh and the surrounding area.
 ● WORSEN THE CLIMATE CRISIS. A new Danskammer would increase the region’s fossil fuel dependency and would emit up to 40 times more greenhouse gases at a time when NY state is supposed to be reducing greenhouse gases by 85% by the year 2050.
 ● HARM PEOPLE OF COLOR AND LOW-INCOME COMMUNITIES. The new Danskammer would add to the pre-existing environmental racism in Newburgh, a city already struggling with PFO/PFA drinking water contamination from Stewart Air National Guard Base.
 ● BE AN UNNECESSARY RISK. A new Danskammer is not needed as a power source even with Indian Point closing, as New York State continues to rapidly increase its renewable energy portfolio with storage and energy efficiency measures.
 ● POTENTIALLY FLOOD. A new Danskammer would be constructed on a known floodplain which was severely flooded less than a decade ago by Hurricane Sandy--and damaged the existing power plant to the extent it was slated to be sold for scrap.
 ● BE A STEP BACKWARD. A new Danskammer plant would need to be phased out no later than 2040 (per the NY’s state energy policy- the Climate Leadership & Community Protection Act), and likely sooner. If built, it will very likely be a stranded asset- the plant owners will declare bankruptcy and the surrounding community will be left holding the bag. 

Here is the text of Kevin’s statement as read:

My name is Kevin Cawley and I live in New Rochelle in Westchester County NY. I am Director of the Thomas Berry Forum for Ecological Dialogue at Iona University and a member of Metro NY Catholic Climate Movement.

The environmental writer Bill Mckibben has noted that every time you build something new that connects to a flame, you’ve chosen not to build that solar panel, not to build a wind turbine. The first principle of fighting the climate crisis was simple: stop lighting coal, oil, gas, and trees on fire, as soon as possible. a corollary to the first rule: definitely don’t build anything new that connects to a flame.

It is encouraging to hear John Kerry declare, early in his run as global climate czar, that he didn’t think we should be building more natural-gas infrastructure. Kerry said, “The problem with gas is, if we build out a huge infrastructure for gas now to continue to use it as the bridge fuel—when we haven’t really exhausted the other possibilities—we’re going to be stuck with stranded assets in ten, twenty, thirty years.”

And Pope Francis has said:
There is an urgent need to develop policies so that, in the next few years, the emission of carbon dioxide and other highly polluting gases can be drastically reduced, for example, substituting for fossil fuels and developing sources of renewable energy.

The proposed Danskammer plant will increase air pollution and threaten public health, especially for the poor and minority populations that must live near the plant.

I ask that the Siting Board and New York State Leaders reject Danskammer’s proposal and make it clear that new fracked gas power plants are incompatible with the NY Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act.

THANK YOU.

Thomas Berry Contemplative Ecologists Circle in Dialogue to Deepen Our Commitment to Save and Heal Our Living Earth

"Now, after these centuries of experiencing the planet as being a collection of objects for scientific analysis and commercial use, we must ask: where can we find the resources for a reevaluation of our activities? How can we obtain the psychic energies needed to disengage from our plundering industrial economy?"

We welcomed 30 participants on Thursday evening March 18 for reflective exchange on Chapter Three of The Great Work: “The Earth Story”. Following the centering exercise led by Br. Kevin Cawley, Dr. Brian Brown offered the opening reflection with reference to links of human intimacy with the broad cosmic reality. Brian referenced several cultures that placed the human at the heart of the cosmos; celebrated the rhythms of the seasons and recognized the whole community of life as kin. He moved us to see that these earlier traditions arose in a context quite different from where we now find ourselves. Today we need transformative stories as we engage the emergent universe in the reality of not merely cosmos but “cosmogenesis”- ever coming into being.

Speakers followed with generous comments that touched on ritual as integral, the need to link to “energy sources”, our need for music and poetry in these efforts, the pain of Church recent pushing back against same-sex unions, the need to honor those who came before us as well as honoring those who will follow, the recurring need for art, literature and music to foster our “entrancement” , links to Teilhard’s omega point, human as cosmic event leading toward the Noosphere, spirituality as anticipation, our need to become integral beings and co-creators and always the challenge to remain grateful.

Next Contemplative Circle is Thursday, April 15 at 7 p.m. Sr. Kathleen Deignan will be alerting us with another beautiful and inspiring e-blast as the day approaches.

On Thursday, March 11, 2021, Iona joined with GreenFaith fellows and partners around the globe to call attention to the plight of planet Earth and call all people of good will to commit to reversing the current devastation of the Earth.

At more than 400 grassroots religious actions in 43 countries, thousands of people of faith called on political and financial leaders to meet a series of ambitious climate demands at COP26, with support of over 200 high-level faith leaders. Alarmed by the massive gap between what is required to limit global rise and actual climate change commitments by governments and financial institutions, grassroots religious activists released a set of powerful demands for world leaders to address the injustice and impacts that the climate crisis is inflicting on communities worldwide.

Iona University joins this effort with a special commitment arising out of the Iona mission to foster all graduates as ecological citizens. A foundational document for this curriculum is the encyclical of Pope Francis released in 2015 and now celebrating its 5th anniversary year: Laudato si’: On Care for Our Common Home.

Today we once again join Iona in public commitment to these teachings by way of the leadership of Dr. Seamus Carey, President of Iona University, who addressed our gathering by way of prepared video remarks.

A Global Ecological Renaissance - Three Movements Toward a New World
Engagements with Dr. Joe Holland
Thomas Berry Forum Scholar in Residence

TUESDAY, MARCH 2, 2021
"Returning to Nature": An Historical Framework for Activating the Ecological Renaissance

On February 24, 2021, Professor Silmilly Toribio hosted “Embodying Eco-Justice at Freedom Farm: A Conversation with Edgar Hayes” in her Columba Cornerstone course at Iona. The event was facilitated by the Thomas Berry Forum for Ecological Dialogue. Sr. Kathleen Deignan, Ph.D. and Br. Kevin Cawley, Ph.D. provided an introduction to the Berry Forum's work and welcomed Jim Robinson, Ph.D., of the Berry Forum and Edgar Hayes, co-founder of Freedom Farm. Jim offered an overview of eco-justice and its relevance to the present moment before inviting Edgar to offer a presentation on Freedom Farm as a community that actively incarnates eco-justice. Jim entered into dialogue with Edgar on these themes, and a number of students and attendees joined into the conversation, sharing their questions and insights. Throughout the event, Edgar fleshed out the history of Freedom Farm and its eco-justice efforts, highlighting the community’s daily rhythms of prayer and work, their commitment to fostering a dynamic farm-to-city relationship, and their efforts to build community by growing, teaching about, and sharing sustainably grown food.

"Earth is a magic planet in the exquisite presence of its diverse members to one another so this movement into the future must in some manner be brought about in ways that are ineffable to the human mind." TB

On Thursday, February 18, 2021, twenty-five participants gathered for reflection and sharing on the Berry essay, “The Meadow Across the Creek” which appeared in The Great Work: Our Way Into the Future, first published in 1999. “A clear headed, clear hearted reflection,” wrote Bill McKibben at the time.

The Zoom format has become our routine engagement in the past 12 months and we were guided first by Danny Martin who brought us to the quiet interior of our consciousness with the image of each of us in a “meadow” moment. Then we were given a brief reflection by Brian Brown, who opened the assignment Lectio for us in his own quietly passionate gloss on the text to help us frame our discussion. Brian reminded us of Berry’s awareness of the deep human longing for connection and the need for intimate human rapport to be re-established in our present time. This offering was followed by individual reflection across the next portion of the hour. Several first-time participants were welcomed as their offerings were shared. We learned of the connections between “care” and “grief” and several speakers shared experience of the natural world resembling the “meadow” event described by Thomas. Danny brought us home to Mary Oliver calling us “to love what is mortal… and then to let it go…” Kathleen closed with a prayer and words of encouragement - “as we manifest the ground of hope and the intimacy we must revive to dream the new human into being.”

Thank you to all participants. The next circle is scheduled for March 18 at 7 p.m.

The Berry Forum Conveners invites you to join us at 7 p.m. on the third Thursday of every month for the Thomas Berry Forum for Ecological Dialogue Contemplative Ecologists Circle.

Dates

• 1/21/21
• 2/18/21
• 3/18/21
• 4/15/21
• 5/20/21
• 6/17/21
• 7/15/21
• 8/19/21
• 9/16/21

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Br. Kevin Cawley, Director of Berry Forum served as Moderator for a program on how to respond to the need for action in Congress to counter the increasing peril of climate change.

The program included Climate Crisis Policy (CCP) group, the creator of The Earth Bill Network and the Adopt-A-District Program. The Earth Bill Network is a growing group of people and organizations focused on the urgency for new legislation in the US to address the threat of climate change. Members of the Metro NY Catholic Climate Movement have been participating in these discussions for some time. Several are members of the Faith Team cohort of the CCP. We have been especially impressed by the vision and commitment of the main organizer of Climate Crisis Policy, Mr. Todd Fernandez, who agreed to join us on our panel.

Overview
We believe we are at an inflection point in the global efforts to reverse the impact of climate change. The Paris Agreement of 2015 set a goal of keeping global temperature increase below 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2030 to avoid the worst outcomes of a warming atmosphere. Sadly, the collective commitments of nations who endorsed the Paris Agreement have fallen short. Recent efforts to ramp up ambition prior to the 5 yr. follow-up to the Paris Agreement -when nations gather for COP26 in Glasgow this fall- have also disappointed.

Turning to the US, we believe we have a 2-year window to make a legislative impact in our Congress. The urgency of the Paris Agreement shortfall looms large. US leadership is crucial. President Biden returned the US to the Paris Agreement officially on Feb 19 of this year. The cry of Pope Francis in his encyclical Laudato Si: On Care for Our Common Home remains clear. The original alarm voiced in Paris by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warned we had only a window of a few years to reverse dangerous warming. Today’s speakers drew our attention to the challenge to make a lasting impact. We are answering the question heard quite often when the enormity of climate change comes to the fore: “What can one person do?” We answer: Stop being one person. Our collective voice as Catholics will be essential.

Today we offered a path that anyone in the audience can step onto and walk with purpose. I refer to the challenge from Climate Crisis Policy to “ADOPT A DISTRICT.” Panel members shared perspectives and offered links to contact AAD. We everyone will consider taking up the urgency of this challenge. The discussion supplied specific reference to how we all might engage our congressional representatives in sponsoring legislation impacting the root causes of climate change. We touched on these areas:

• Catholic Leadership on Climate and Advocacy as a Catholic Call
• Priorities of the Administration, the Legislative Budget Process, & Key “Opportunity Areas”
• Introduction to Climate Crisis Policy and the Earth Bill Network
• An Overview of the CCP Priority Bills
• Grassroots Engagement: What does it mean to “Adopt-A-District” – your district?

The session concluded with encouragement- We recall the language of Pope Francis in Laudato Si:

A strategy for real change calls for rethinking processes in their entirety, for it is not enough to include a few superficial ecological considerations while failing to question the logic which underlies present-day culture. A healthy politics needs to be able to take up this challenge.

Presenters:
Brenna Davis- Ignatian Solidarity Network
Jim Walsh- Food and Water Watch
Todd Fernandez- Climate Crisis Policy Group
Bob Simon - Maryland Catholics for Our Common Home
Organizers: Nancy Lorence and Terry Michaud of Metro NY CCM

Br. Kevin Cawley, Director of the Thomas Berry Forum, provided the keynote address for the recent international webinar of Edmund Rice Schools, UK, under the direction of Ann Nichols, Network Facilitator for the Edmund Rice English Schools’ Office. The webinar highlighted the student efforts to end wasteful practices so as to show better care for our common home. The inspiration for the project was the encyclical of Pope Francis, Laudato si’: On Care for Our Common Home. There are currently 12 schools in the Edmund Rice family in England. The schools are connected with the world-wide family of Edmund Rice communities and schools throughout Africa, and in Australia, New Zealand, Oceania, India, and South and North America. The headquarters for the Edmund Rice Schools’ Office is located in Woodeaves, Hale Barns, Altrincham, Cheshire, United Kingdom.

The Webinar on February 26 linked Staff and Pupils from St. Joseph’s School, Stoke on Trent, CBC St. John’s School, Cape Town, South Africa, St. Aidan’s Catholic Academy, Sunderland, U.K. and St. Vincent’s High School and Technical School in Asansol, India. Jacquie Ayre of the British Council also spoke to the students and the session concluded with remarks by Br. Brian Bond, Director of Edmund Rice International, Geneva.

Watch Now: Br. Kevin Cawley presents at Edmund Rice Schools, UK

Thursday, November 19, 2020
7-8 p.m. (Online)

Topic: Reinvention of the Human at the Species Level

Reading Selection taken from Thomas Berry (1914-2009): The Christian Future and the Fate of the Earth.

This “Contemplative Circle” is an ongoing series of monthly reflective conversations sponsored by the Thomas Berry Forum on Ecological Dialogue at Iona University. The meetings are online and take place on the third Thursday of the month. A brief report on the conversation in this Contemplative Circle of November 19 is offered here.

“Our sense of who we are and what our role is must begin where the universe begins.” Thomas Berry spent much energy on the concept of the reinvention of the human with emphasis on reinventing the human “within the community of life systems.” Brian Brown’s preliminary reflection on Thursday evening emphasized the need for human creativity to coalesce within and for the body of Earth. Humanity must shape itself to align with all our neighbor species on the planet as we come to the close of the 67-million-year period of the Cenozoic era. We need to awaken our sensitivity within the community of life.

The evening discussion and reflection was led by Sr. Kathleen Deignan who first commented on the wonderful enthusiasm of Thomas in the video clip that accompanied the readings sent to all participants ahead of tonight’s call. Participants shared insights and impressions and reflected on the comments of others for the remainder of the hour which passed quickly as always. We say a special thank you to Mary Evelyn Tucker and John Grimm who were with us on the call.

Here are selected comments from a rich array of the offerings this evening: the illusion of separateness, bridging the interior and exterior, the difficulty of loosening attachment to our prior world views, how the Earth speaks to us, the problem of the moment in the suffering of people of color, the role of current structures in human suffering; the need to hear the pain of other voices, the awakening to “white privilege”, our shifting identities from private self, social self and political self, how the door has now opened for a fresh look at these issues; the truth that our own future is inseparable from the world; realization that COVID has led to the greatest suffering among the most vulnerable of the poor; sense now of a new psychic power laying the foundations for the new ecozoic era; the human capacity for expanding our compassion and the ways that God is the horizon calling us forward.

Several participants took a moment to thank Brian and Kathleen in particular for their thoughtful fostering of these conversations. There were 27 participants. The call adjourned at 8:15 pm.

November 10, 2020

Thomas Berry Forum recently assisted Chestnut Hill College and the American Teilhard Association for their online presentation by Professor Donald Viney: “Evolution’s God - Teilhard de Chardin and the Varieties of Process Theology.” Br. Kevin Cawley, Executive Director of Thomas Berry Forum for Ecological Dialogue, served as a Facilitator for Discussion following the presentation by Professor Viney at Chestnut Hill College on November 10, 2020. The two-hour presentation and discussion took place with nearly 150 participants at the online gathering.

Donald Wayne Viney, Ph.D., is Professor of Philosophy at Pittsburg State University, Pittsburg, Kansas. His presentation is summarized briefly: In 1953, Teilhard asked, "Who at last will give evolution its God?" His own endeavor to answer that question often bears striking similarities to the process theism of his contemporaries, Alfred North Whitehead and Charles Hartshorne. Yet, the differences can also be striking. All three are rightly classified as promoting versions of process theology, but they show by their divergences that process thought, especially process theism, is far from yielding a monolithic viewpoint on the theistic question.

There are clear echoes of Teilhard in the thinking of Thomas Berry and in particular we might note this reference in Professor Viney’s discussion: “…Teilhard proposes the audacious ideas that purpose is being worked out on a cosmic scale and that life on earth, and specifically human life, is an integral part of the plan. He envisioned an organic and vectored relation from past to future. Teilhard invites us to give ourselves to a universe that resonates to what is highest in ourselves, which he identified with what is most personal within each of us.” As noted by Mary Evelyn Tucker, “In this context of our growing understanding, Berry proposes we live not simply in a cosmos but in cosmogenesis, namely, an evolving universe. This changes everything. Humans are participants in this great journey of the universe because we are born out of this great unfolding. What Berry underscores, drawing on Teilhard de Chardin, is that from the beginning the universe has both a spiritual and physical expression.”

November 9, 2020

On Monday, November 9, 2020, the Thomas Berry Forum for Ecological Dialogue at Iona University celebrated the birthday of Thomas Berry with the awarding of the inaugural Great Work Award at Iona University (online).

The First winner of this Award is Dr. Joseph Holland, eco-social philosopher and Catholic theologian at St. Thomas University in Miami Gardens, Florida. Dr. Holland's work develops the legacy of Thomas Berry, focusing on the postmodern philosophical-scientific "New Cosmology" and its implications for eco-social ethics in the emerging Global Civilization and Catholic World Church.

Joe Holland befriended Thomas Berry many decades ago and both served several summer teaching engagements in Assisi as part of an ongoing moving seminar on the writings of Thomas Berry and how they might inform contemporary understanding of our place in the universe. Numerous students joined them in these encounters with the city of St. Francis serving as the essential setting for discussion of themes centered on care of Earth.

Professor Holland is the author of 17 books and numerous articles. His focus is philosophically and theologically in research and writing on the contemporary transition from Modern Western Industrial-Colonial Civilization to Postmodern Global Electronic-Ecological Civilization. Joe also writes about the wisdom tradition of Catholic Social Teaching in relation to this deep transition.

Professor Holland serves as Emeritus Professor of Philosophy & Religion and Adjunct Professor in the School of Law at Saint Thomas University; as President of Pax Romana / Catholic Movement for Intellectual & Cultural Affairs USA, headquartered in Washington DC; as Vice-Chair of Catholic Scholars for Worker Justice, headquartered in Boston MA; and as Corporate Secretary for the Spirituality & Sustainability Global Network (SSGN), based in Northern Virginia.

Joe will take up the role of Thomas Berry Scholar-in- Residence at Iona for the spring 2021 semester as eco-social philosopher and Catholic theologian. These programs will explore the scope of Dr. Joe Holland's contributions to an authentically postmodern global ecological renaissance, at once artistic, intellectual, and spiritual, and developed in loving dialogue with world religions and people of good will. We further hope to explore the impact of contemporary theological thinking on the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor.

October 30-31, 2020

Georgetown University
Washington, D.C., U.S.A.

This special conference explored the life and legacy of ecologist and theologian Thomas Berry, with presentations on his intellectual journey, “The New Story,” the “Journey of the Universe,” Laudato Si and the “Dream of the Earth,” and the challenge of “The Great Work.”

Sr. Kathleen Deignan, and Dr. Brian Brown, both Conveners of the Thomas Berry Forum at Iona, contributed Papers in presentation at this Georgetown University conference in October 2019.

Fr. Berry founded the Riverdale Center for Religious Research to facilitate reflection on modes of spiritual transformation through experiencing the great mysteries of reality. Particularly concerned about the growing ecological crisis, he wrote The Universe Story with Brian Swimme, later expanded into the Journey of the Universe project. At the age of 80, he returned to North Carolina, continuing to lecture and write as a cultural historian and later a “geologian” until his death in 2009. Berry pioneered in-depth, study of religions in U.S. Catholic higher education, establishing a history of religions program in the Fordham University Graduate Department of Theology in 1966. He encouraged generations of scholars of Asian traditions, comparative studies, interreligious dialogue, and religious reflection on ecological challenges. While president of the American Teilhard Association, he expanded his vision, writing, and lecturing in the emerging field of religions and ecology, especially writing on the cosmology of religions. This conference celebrated Thomas Berry’s intellectual journey and "The Great Work,” underscoring his contributions to the study of religions and cultures, Teilhardian studies, religions and ecology, and the Earth community’s way into the future.

October 26, 2020 - Week of the Peacemaker at Iona University

The Thomas Berry Forum and the Committee on Environmental Sustainability sponsored a presentation by South Bronx Unite, a local eco-justice organization linked to Iona by the work of Dr. Meryl Nadel of the Social Work Department.

Mychal Johnson of South Bronx Unite addressed the online gathering concerning his work on behalf of the poor and minority youth of the neighborhood. Michal has been a long-time campaigner for eco-justice in the South Bronx. His group ultimately lost their battle against the placement of large depot for Fresh Direct in the residential area of Mott Haven. They were pushing back against the inevitable increase in particulate matter as more and more large trucks moved through the neighborhood to service the depot. Mott Haven reports a large proportion of asthma afflicting young people. Particulate matter from truck exhaust has been identified as main driver of the disease cluster in these neighborhoods. The EPA under the Trump administration has refused to adjust their standards to account for the massive increases in asthma cases near large urban transportation centers. Mott Haven in the South Bronx is a classic example where black and Hispanic residents experience a particularly insidious “environmental inequality.” They need asthma hospitalizations at five times the national average and at rates 21 times higher than other NYC neighborhoods.

The question of eco-justice rises immediately as a concern in these locations. A clear message from Laudato Si has been a focus on the poor in a degraded environment. “We have forgotten that we ourselves are dust of the earth (cf. Gen 2:7); our very bodies are made up of her elements, we breathe her air and we receive life and refreshment from her waters.” (LS 9) Clearly Mott Haven qualifies as a prime example of current challenges to clean air.

October 9, 2020

Br. Kevin Cawley, Executive Director of the Thomas Berry Forum for Ecological Dialogue, offered the opening address for the DePaul University symposium. Kevin had responded to the invitation of Fr. Guillermo Campuzano, Vice President for Mission & Ministry. DePaul, founded in Chicago in 1898 by the Congregation of the Mission, is now the largest Catholic University in the nation with over 22,000 students.

Kevin prepared remarks accompanied by selected images of our (nearby) universe courtesy of NASA, and our home planet Earth and the created world to illustrate several aspects of the thinking of Thomas Berry. The address attempted to unpack the insights offered by Berry regarding the place of the human as the universe come to consciousness of itself. The implications for this insight continue to unfold, especially in light of our newest appreciation for the impacts of human caused climate change on the planet. Berry calls us to act on this knowledge by shifting to a more benign human-earth relationship that will foster the well-being of the planet to allow the human and other -than- human to flourish anew. The full text is appended below.

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De Paul University
October 9, 2020
Differentiation, Subjectivity, Communion, - Catholic, Vincentian, Urban: “Thomas Berry and Sustainability Consciousness”
Br. Kevin Cawley, Ph.D.

1. INTRODUCTION: Greetings to all. I thank the organizers of this wonderful celebration of the Vincentian charism for inviting me to share with you my thoughts on this topic. I am Br. Kevin Cawley an Edmund Rice Christian Brother from Iona University in New Rochelle NY where, beginning in 2012, I am Executive Director of the Thomas Berry Forum for Ecological Dialogue. I have represented the Edmund Rice Christian Brothers at the United Nations headquarters in NY since 2006 as the Main Representative for Edmund Rice International.
2. The term “Sustainability Consciousness“ has a broad reach certainly, and there are numerous paths forward in opening the idea for discussion. In this context, thank you for inviting me to present some remarks on the thinking of Thomas Berry, a Passionist priest and self-described “geologian” who passed away in 2009.  
3. SLIDES- For our discussion here I am also sharing images to add some visual richness to the conversation. The images attempt to bring us closer to an appreciation in particular of the primordial expression of the universe- its overwhelming variety of manifestations in space and time and consciousness.  
4. Thomas Berry offered numerous insights on our world and how the universe unfolded. In in these few moments I will attend most directly to his thinking as to how the universe presents itself using three basic principles; differentiation, subjectivity, and communion
5. These governing principles have controlled the evolutionary process of the entire universe from the moment of its explosive origin some fourteen billion years ago to the shaping of the planet Earth the emergence of life and consciousness, and so through the various ages of human history.
6. Differentiation is the primordial expression of the universe. In the fiery violence of some billions of degrees of heat, the original energy dispersed as radiation and as differentiated particles...that were further shaped into galactic systems, our own solar system and planets. Life on our home planet Earth finds expression in an overwhelming variety of manifestations beginning with that fiery first instant. “As the early universe rapidly stretched, its scorching heat spread over an ever-widening expanse, diminishing in intensity and cooling steadily.
7. Everything arose from that single point. The differentiation continues to move in myriad directions...in particular our home planet now teeming with uncountable species of living expressions of the expanding universe...And now- viruses, much in the news, - an amount of biomass that is equivalent of about 25 billion human beings.
8. “Life is recognizable from the collective behavior, the large-scale organization, the overarching coordination of an enormous number of particulate constituents—even a single cell contains more than a trillion atoms.
9. Earth, as far as we know, is the most highly differentiated structure in the universe, beginning with the first hydrogen atom to the first bacteria , life in the ocean, to our early ancestors who stood up in the plains, life has been expanding in ever greater complexity and mystery. When fully awake to these immensities, we stand mute in awe. How does an acorn know to become an oak tree?
10. A second primary manifestation is that of increased subjectivity. We see that each individual is not only different from every other but has its own inner articulation. the sacred depth of the individual entity is one’s subjectivity. In the human, Increasing self-expression or self-organizing led to increased complexity out of which unfolds the development of the human brain and self-conscious awareness in the human.
11. We experience the world as emergent diversification and differentiation; each particle has its own interiority. Every particle has its own identifying inner structure, its inner being. In a sense , everything participates “in person,” as it were, everything has its voice. (Berry and Clarke p, 15) 
12. From the shaping of the hydrogen atom to the formation of the human brain, interior psychic unity has consistently increased along with a greater complexification of being. This capacity for subjectivity involves increased unity of function through ever more complex organic structures. Increase in subjectivity is associated with increased complexity of a central nervous system... In this manner planet earth becomes ever more subject to the free interplay of self-determining forces. With subjectivity is manifest the numinous quality that has traditionally been associated with every {differentiated} reality of the universe. And yet, nothing is completely itself without everything else. We need one another. We belong in communion...
13. Which brings us to a third principle of the universe ---the communion of every reality of the universe with each other. Here our scientific evidence confirms, with a magnificent overview, the ancient awareness that we live in a universe, a single, if multiform, energy event
14. The unity of the entire complex of galactic systems is among the most basic experience of contemporary science. Although this comprehensive unity of the universe was perceived by indigenous peoples , nowhere was the full quantum entanglement and genetic relatedness of the universe presented with such clarity as by the scientists of the twentieth century.
15. We now can see that distant galaxies are all on the move. They’re all rushing away. And the pattern of their exodus—the farther the galaxy, the higher the speed—agreed with the mathematical output of general relativity’s equations. With mathematical data now supporting physics, even Einstein eventually embraced wholeheartedly the conception of a universe that had a beginning.
16. “Communion”- sometimes expressed as the entire universe bonded so that the presence of each subject is felt through the entire spatial and temporal range of the universe.  Everything speaks itself and everything is receiving something from every other particle of the universe. Hence, we grasp the communion of subjects. The universe itself is the primary sacred community.
17. It takes a universe to bring humans into being, a universe to educate humans, a universe to fulfill the human mode of being. But...it is clear now that too much focus has gone into human - human interactions or human-divine interactions. Not enough focus has gone into human-earth relations. That is our challenge now...
18. In the emerging Ecozoic era, we experience the universe as a communion of subjects, not as a collection of objects. Earth exists and survives only in its integral functioning. We cannot save the earth in fragments- the earth is a single reality.
19. We have words of caution on the fragility of Earth’s creatures from Pope Francis in his encyclical Laudato Si: On Care for Our Common Home: “It is not enough, however, to think of different species merely as potential “resources” to be exploited, while overlooking the fact that they have value in themselves.” Their value lies in their creation by God and we do not have the right to cause their extinction and take away their ability to live their purpose and give glory to God, simply by their existence. “Because of us, thousands of species will no longer give glory to God by their very existence, nor convey their message to us. We have no such right.” (LS33)
20. Francis is calling to us to see more clearly our responsibility to the larger frame. We are beginning to recognize that the human is a subsystem of the Earth systems and that our first obligation is to the entire system. 
21. For Thomas Berry, Differentiation, Inner Articulation and Communion are realities emerging from the scientific understanding of the universe. The human must embrace the truth that our own physical and spiritual shaping began with the forming of the universe.
22. Differentiation, Subjectivity and Communion are primary principles governing ethical formation and spiritual shaping of human consciousness. All are derived from the cosmological process...Evolution has both a physical and psychic process; matter has its physicality “without” and its psychic “within.” This is what Berry called subjectivity—in his formula , “the universe is “a communion of subjects.” Justification for such a view of inwardness in matter lies in inductive observation, -namely- if interiority exists at one point (as in human consciousness) it must exist throughout the evolutionary process.
23. This dynamic becomes evident in the increase in complexity and consciousness over the arc of evolutionary time. In this sense, human consciousness is not situated as an aberration or addendum, but as arising from out of the evolutionary process. Cosmology yields now to cosmogenesis. Everything is evolving. The present does not remain; our understanding of what it means to be human continues to evolve. It is an error to assume the current manifestation of the human is the final product of the evolving universe. Study, if you will, our gradual adjustments to the question of gender identity in recent years. What will we understand differently a hundred years from now? We are, it is true, OF the universe and we can claim that we ARE the universe in some sense “the universe conscious of itself” at last. How shall we proceed with this insight? What does it mean to be the universe conscious of itself? What responsibilities accompany this discovery?
24. These 3 values of differentiation, subjectivity and communion must be respected because they are the values prescribed by the universe. Sadly, our present course can be seen as violating these principles in their most basic expression.
25. We need to turn our focus, in Berry’s formulation-toward THE GREAT WORK. For Berry, the dynamics of our living universe call for active attention and awareness as well as profound and deep commitment to the GREAT WORK to highlight our participatory action in ongoing evolution.
26. Berry heard the call in this way: “The Great Work before us, the task of moving modern industrial civilization from its present devastating influence on Earth to a more benign mode of human presence, is not a role that we have chosen. We did not choose.  We were chosen by some power beyond ourselves for this historical task. We do not choose the moment of our birth, who our parents will be m or our particular culture. We do not choose the status of spiritual insight or political or economic conditions that will be the context of our lives. We are, as it were, thrown into existence with a challenge and a role that is beyond any personal choice. The nobility of our lives, however, depends upon the manner in which we come to understand and fulfill our assigned role.”
27. Berry affirmed and expanded this insight saying, “The spirituality of Earth refers to a quality of Earth itself, not a human spirituality with special reference to the planet Earth...The Human and Earth are totally implicated, each in the other. If there is no spirituality in Earth, then there is no spirituality in us.”
28. The interconnections of the human in this process changed profoundly the role of the human for Thomas. The human could no longer be seen as something “created” apart from the whole of evolution. As Thomas would say: “The human is that being in whom the universe reflects back upon itself in conscious self-awareness.” WE ARE THE UNIVERSE COME TO CONSCIOUSNESS OF ITSELF.
29. This deepening of interiority in the mind and heart of the human gives cause for participation in the all-embracing processes of universe emergence. For Thomas Berry the implications for such an encompassing planetary consciousness and a commitment to ecological awareness were clear. They constitute an ontological and ethical imperative for human understanding and action. We must all commit to the Great Work. These insights have been given wide expression most recently in the encyclical of Pope Francis referenced earlier.
30. Gus Speth, a founder of NRDC, former Director of UNEP, Dean of Yale School of Forestry offers this perspective: “I used to think the top environmental problems were biodiversity loss, ecosystems collapse and climate change. I thought that thirty years of good science could address those problems. I was wrong. The top environmental problems are selfishness, greed, and apathy, and to deal with these we need a cultural and spiritual transformation. “
31. We mentioned viruses earlier in these remarks as they are very much on our minds in these astonishing days. In the entreaty below from Pope Francis, we can hear echoes of Thomas Berry calling for a more benign mode of human presence: "The current pandemic has highlighted our interdependence: we are all connected to each other, for better or for worse. Therefore, to emerge from this crisis better than before, we have to do so together; together, not alone...We must do it together, all of us, in solidarity." -Pope Francis General Audience September 2, 2020. 
32. (Final note not in text added on Voyager I photo of Earth taken in 1990 at 6 billion kilometers away: “Pale Blue Dot”. That dot is home and, as far as we know, the only place humans can be found in the universe.)

Acknowledgements

• John Grim in Teilhard Studies: Shared Perspectives of Chardin and Berry (2017)
• Befriending the Earth: A Theology of Reconciliation Between Humans and Earth by Thomas Berry with Thomas Clarke, S.J. (1992)
• Thomas Berry: Selected Writings on the Earth Community - Selected with an Introduction by Mary Evelyn Tucker and John Grim (2014)
• The Great Work: Our Way into The Future by Thomas Berry (1999)
• The Christian Future and the Fate of the Earth by Thomas Berry edited by Mary Evelyn Tucker and John Grim (2009)
• Until the End of Time: Mind, Matter and Our Search for Meaning in an Evolving Universe by Brian Greene (2020)

October 7, 2020

Thomas Berry Forum and Kathleen Deignan Institute for Earth and Spirit joined in presenting a program on Laudato Si: On Care for Our Common Home in White Plains, N.Y., to conclude the universal Church's 2020 Season of Creation. The Holy Father has invited all the faithful to participate in this annual season of increased prayer and effort on behalf of our common home." As the Holy Father said, "this is the season for letting our prayer be inspired anew," a season "to reflect on our lifestyles," and a season "for undertaking prophetic actions...calling for courageous decisions...directing the planet towards life, not death." Pope Francis's message, which calls us to attend to the "immense hardship for the most vulnerable among us," is particularly relevant in the light of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Berry Forum Laudato Si event took place in the historic Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel (at left) with a socially distanced congregation on site and a larger audience online. Our lady of Mount Carmel is linked with the Church of St. John the Evangelist nearby. Presenters Sr; Kathleen Deignan and Br. Kevin Cawley had been invited to the parish by Sr. Maco Cassetta, CND, and the Parish Care of Creation Team. They had organized a series of events under the Franciscan rubric of SEE, JUDGE, ACT. The parish Administrator, Fr. Willem Klaver, M.H.M. welcomed all graciously.

Sr. Kathleen and Br. Kevin delivered an introduction to Laudato Si using a series of visual images and text from the document to highlight the structure and significant arguments. Kevin added a series of data points to illustrate several political and scientific realities noted by Pope Francis. Special attention was devoted to explaining the outcomes of the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement of the United Nations. The October 3rd presentation reminded all that the Paris Agreement still needs all nations to ramp up their ambition to make the needed changes in the consumption of fossil fuels. We trust that this offering proved to be an inspiring reflection on Pope Francis’ Encyclical, Laudato Sí that will move all to ACT for “care for our common home.”

We conclude this summary with a note of encouragement from Laudato Si: "The universe unfolds in God, who fills it completely. Hence, there is a mystical meaning to be found in a leaf, in a mountain trail, in a dewdrop, in a poor person’s face. The ideal is not only to pass from the exterior to the interior to discover the action of God in the soul, but also to discover God in all things. Saint Bonaventure teaches us that “contemplation deepens the more we feel the working of God’s grace within our hearts, and the better we learn to encounter God in creatures outside ourselves." (Pope Francis, LS #223)

Watch the recording oF this event on YouTube.

10/7/2020

Beginning with the New Year observance in 2018, and later expanding at the ecumenical celebration of the Season of Creation, the Thomas Berry Forum for Ecological Dialogue at Iona University has been hosting a monthly “Contemplative Circle” for dialogue and exploration of the writings of Thomas Berry. Originally located at the Iona University Edmund Rice Chapel, the Circle has now migrated online as the world reshapes in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Recent reflections included a selection from Berry’s “The World of Wonder” in The Sacred Universe pp. 174-76: “We need to begin to see the whole of this land...The communion that comes through these experiences of the wild, where we sense something present and daunting, stunning in its beauty, is beyond comprehension in its reality, but it points to the holy, the sacred.”

To mark the events around “Indigenous Peoples Day” (Columbus Day) the Circle reflected on Berry’s insights regarding the colonial powers encounter with native North Americans beginning in the 15th century. Our Lectio included reference to the well - known Chief Seattle, a 19th century indigenous North American leader and wisdom figure. Thomas Berry begins his reflection thus: “At the time of his treaty with the European settlers in 1854, Chief Seattle of the Squamish tribe along the North Pacific coast is reported to have said that when the last animals will have perished, “humans would die of loneliness.” This was an insight that might never have occurred to a European settler. Yet this need for more-than-human companionship has a significance and an urgency that we have begun to appreciate in more recent times.”

At the third Thursday of each month an online invitation is extended and a Lectio is suggested for reflection as preparation for the event. At 7 p.m. Eastern time on the Thursday evening, a moderator from the Berry Forum welcomes participants to the online meeting and a brief prayer and recollection is offered to gather the group. The Group Process follows as below.

Purpose, Focus, Method

Our purpose in these gatherings is to develop a simple way to deepen our experience and understanding of the ecological perspective of Thomas Berry. Our process is contemplation rather than discussion, and reflective exploration rather than intellectual analysis. The method below is a supportive structure that will be absorbed and integrated as we practice.

Pre-Gathering

You will receive a notification with a Berry reading/theme and a reflection to use as preparation, and you will be reminded of our intention and approach. You will also be invited to prepare a ‘contemplative space’ in your home – a candle, flower, etc. – and in your heart.

The Gathering

• 6:55 - We will enter our collective space in silence. A bell will remind us to maintain the silence.
• 7:05 - Welcome, Theme, Reminder of our intention and approach.
• 7:10 - Mindfulness Exercise to help us Connect with ourselves, each other and the present moment.
• 7:15 - Reading, Reflection, Reminder of our process of “Contemplative Exploration”
• 7:20 - Silence
• 7:22 - Sharing: speak from this richer place of connection, reflect on a word or phrase that touched you, listen actively (try not to rehearse what you are going to say), focus on deepening mutual understanding (not the same thing as agreement)
• 7:45 - Discovery: Silence. Hold any tension (of differences), Listen FOR what you hear US saying or what you hear emerging, Build insight together.
• 7:55 - Distill (echo a phrase or two of the original Berry reading)
• 8 - Close (reminder to continue with ourselves and reach out to others…)

The Thomas Berry Forum Contemplative Ecologists Circle has posted a meeting schedule through August 2021.

Every Third Thursday of the Month

• October 15, 2020 7 p.m.
• November 19, 2020 7 p.m.
• December 17, 2020 7 p.m.
• January 21, 2021 7 p.m.
• February 18, 2021 7 p.m.
• March 18, 2021 7 p.m.
• April 15, 2021 7 p.m.
• May 20, 2021 7 p.m.
• June 17, 2021 7 p.m.
• July 15, 2021 7 p.m.
• August 19, 2021 7 p.m.

Br. Kevin Cawley
Executive Director

6/14/2020

“Everything is Connected,” a webinar on the 5th Anniversary of the release of Pope Francis’ encyclical on the environment, Laudato Si: On Care for Our Common Home, took place on Sunday, June 14, 2020.   “Laudato Si,” (“Praise be to You, Lord,”) are the first two words in the Tuscan dialect that intone the Canticle of Creation of St. Francis.

Speakers. Our panelists were Dr. Nancy Tuchman, Founder and Dean of the Institute for Sustainability at Loyola University, Chicago and Dr. Erin Lothes, Professor of Theology at the College of St. Elizabeth in Convent Station, New Jersey and an Earth Institute Fellow at Columbia University.  

Br. Kevin Cawley, Executive Director of the Thomas Berry Forum for Ecological Dialogue at Iona University and Main Representative at the United Nations for Edmund Rice International, served as Moderator.

Kevin Tuerff, of St. Francis Xavier Parish, was the Zoom host for this event and handled the technical aspects of the afternoon with great skill. Nearly 130 participants joined the presentation online.

Global Context. At the time of the release of Laudato Si, the earth was warming at an alarming rate, and world leaders were having annual meetings about the issue assisted by periodic reports from the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)  There was also a push on the part of the United Nations to eradicate global poverty with the Sustainable Development Goals Agenda 2030.

Pope Francis Engagement. Looking back at 2015 we can see three important markers where Pope Francis was attempting to “put his thumb” on the scale of history in the crucial interval from May through December 2015. The spring and summer revealed final text of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a global commitment summarized in 17 goals following three years of deliberations at the UN. The SDGs are to serve as guidelines over the next 15 years for UN member states.  They are designed to assist governments on civic priorities for sustainable development in their respective national circumstances. Member states are to report on progress at selected intervals.  Pope Francis reminding all, “the cry of the earth is the cry of the poor”, had been following the UN discussions and the Holy See was an active participant at the New York meetings. The Holy Father was careful to time the release of the encyclical to support the release of the SDGs.  He arranged to be in New York for the General Assembly session in September 2015, when the SDGs, known as Agenda 2030, were unanimously adopted on the day of his formal address to the General Assembly.  Pope Francis went further by challenging the world leaders to a meaningful commitment on reducing global warming at the upcoming December 2015, UNFCCC- Paris Climate Conference (UN Framework Convention on Climate Change).

Fifth Anniversary of Laudato Si. Here we are five years later taking a look at the impact of the encyclical. Our first two speakers were animated by Laudato Si and have incorporated it into their lives and their work.   The panelists presented reports of activities at their institutions and related efforts to bring to life the teachings of Laudato Si.

Dr. Tuchman delivered a striking set of images on the extensive work underway on the campus of Loyola. Innovations include a campus Greenhouse, Aquaponics offerings, and an Urban Garden along with  initiatives in a Biodiesel program and a Clean Air/ Clean Water monitoring program. The university has supported a sustainability fund for student projects, a ban on bottled water and a community farmer’s market.  Dr. Lothes recalled her delight when she first heard reports that the Pope was preparing an encyclical on the environment.  She has been very energized by the Pope’s message but raised concerns that there does not seem to be sufficient urgency in the political arena for the deep change that is required.  She also lamented the absence of forthright engagement of the US Catholic hierarchy who seem generally preoccupied on other issues.  Dr. Tuchman expanded on her comments by endorsing the phrase, “celebrate and accelerate” used by boosters of Laudato Si as we enter the anniversary year.  She notes that the Catholic hierarchy was not generally enthusiastic on this issue and salutes Pope Francis for his “bravery” in so boldly taking the initiative. More of the laity need to advocate.

Dr. Lothes led us to discussion of environmental racism and the general practice of placing large public infrastructure for industrial power and waste disposal in poor urban neighborhoods leading to increases in asthma and other childhood ailments in nearby residents.  Eco-justice must be addressed. We need to move to renewable and sustainable sources of energy.  Such a shift can help to de-escalate this disturbing pattern of sacrifice zones for these dangerous installations in poor neighborhoods in the USA. Dr. Tuchman underlined the truth of “everything is connected.”  Dr. Lothes later made the point that the laity can ask good questions about where their donations are going at the local parish.  Are they still supporting the burning of fossil fuels in the parish or are we moving to safe, clean, sustainable, renewable forms of energy? There is a good rationale to give people language in the solutions that they can relate to- for example, offshore wind installations can mean more high paying employment for laid off oil workers.

Three Case Studies
The panel presentation was followed by three case studies.   First presenter was Bernie Yozwiak, who is the head of the Care for Creation Team in the parish of Holy Name of Mary in Croton-on-Hudson, a town of 8,000 people along the Hudson River just north of the city. His parish team is part of the Metro NY Catholic Climate Movement.   They sponsor local presentations at the parish in a program called Sustainable Sundays, they also do Interfaith work with the community – the local project for the town is called “Croton 100.”

The second case study was brought forward by Brigid McCabe, a rising senior at Notre Dame High School in mid-town Manhattan.  Brigid, along with three other classmates, attended the Arrupe Leader Summit, a 3-day training course in Catholic Social Teaching  addressing the concerns of the times.  Brigid presented a series of slides illustrating what is going on with the young women at her high school and what plans are going forward.   In Education:  school assembly speakers; the Lennon Wall; in Advocacy:  participation in the student strike in September; in Action: recycling and composting.  The goal is to provide students with initiatives they can take up immediately, especially if the action relates directly to their future.  These efforts are aided by wide use of various social media platforms familiar to young people.   Brigid encourages engagement of her peers in local politics and is working on phone banks even if she is not yet old enough to vote.

We concluded with Nancy Lorence, an educator and member of St. Francis Xavier Parish in Manhattan. She helped found and coordinates the Metro NY Catholic Climate Movement (GCCM).  The founding group of five in her parish grew out of the Catholics organizing for the 2014 People’s Climate March; they affiliated with the Global Catholic Climate Movement in 2015 after Laudato Si was published. Nancy explained some of the background on the GCCM model with Spiritual conversion, Education as well as Advocacy and Action projects.

Gratitude. Nancy Lorence was the driving force behind this webinar presentation today and deserves our gratitude for her steadfast, purposeful organizing of this vigorous effort around Laudato Si.

Link to the Zoom recording of this Laudato Webinar including Chat box.

Additional Context on Current USA Turbulence:  All participants were operating under the restrictions imposed by a response to the global pandemic of coronavirus which had been raging in New York and other states since early March.   In addition, there loomed over all the horrific murder by police of George Floyd.  This crime took place in Minneapolis on May 25 recorded by cell phone video and subsequently viewed by millions resulting in hundreds of national and global protests against systemic structural racism and police misconduct. “Black Lives Matter” demonstrations have continued for several weeks.

Sponsors:
Environmental Ministry Program at St. Francis Xavier Church NYC
Metro NY Catholic Climate Covenant
Thomas Berry Forum for Ecological Dialogue at Iona University
Newark NJ Archdiocesan Environmental Justice Task Force
Catholic Charities of NY Department of Social and Community Development

6/13/2020

Beginning with the New Year observance in 2018, and later expanding at the ecumenical celebration of the Season of Creation, the Thomas Berry Forum for Ecological Dialogue at Iona University has been hosting a monthly “Contemplative Circle” for dialogue and exploration of the thoughts of Thomas Berry. Originally located at the Iona University Edmund Rice Chapel, the Circle has now migrated online as the world reshapes in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

At the second Thursday of each month an invitation is extended to the circle of Berry Forum subscribers and also those listed as supporters of the Deignan Institute for Earth and Spirit at Iona University. A lectio is suggested for reading and reflection as preparation for the event. At 7 pm Eastern time on the Thursday evening, a moderator from the Berry Forum welcomes participants to the online meeting and a brief prayer and recollection is offered to gather the group. The floor is then opened up. Participants are encouraged to offer brief reflections on the lectio and from time to time a keynote may be offered to start the evening discussion. Conversation is limited to one speaker at a time as is the custom with the Zoom format. The moderator observes the participants and calls on each in turn as they indicate their wish to speak. The hour passes quickly as it is clear that the speakers have done careful reflection and the quality of the offerings enriches all.

Geography is not an obstacle- we recently have had callers from British Columbia, North Dakota, Florida and several states in the Northeast USA. The common thread is a deep regard for the thought of Thomas Berry along with the drive to hear others with similar passion share their insight.

Recent topics included the wonder of the natural world as complementing the inner journey, the need for a greater courtesy toward the Earth, intimacy with the Earth as a primary manifestation of the awakening of the human consciousness, the implications for the human arising from the universe as the supreme manifestation of the sacred and the arising of the human as the moment when the unfolding universe becomes conscious of itself.

All are welcome to join the online discussion. Simply click the link on the emailed invitation each month to join us to deepen the intention and eco spirituality to serve our "Common Home”. To join the mailing list, please send an email to kcawley1@mac.com.

Thomas Berry photo courtesy of Lou Niznik.

4/28/2020

As we confront the climate crisis, it is critical to explore what it means to be Catholic and Buddhist. What aspects of these traditions contribute to factors that imperil life on the planet? Just as important, how might these traditions enable us to realize our highest human potential, the deep expression of compassion and love for each other, especially the most vulnerable among us — human and non-human — who bear the brunt of the suffering?

Watch a recording of the webinar here.

If you are interested in participating in a new initiative incorporating ongoing Catholic-Buddhist climate change dialogue with actions, please email Joshua Basofin at joshua@parliamentofreligions.org.

Please send your questions, comments and feedback to: joshua@parliamentofreligions.org.

2/7/2020

The Metro N.Y. Catholic Climate Movement has produced a Declaration of Celebration and Commitment to mark the Fifth Anniversary of the publication of Laudato Si in May 2020 as well as the 50th anniversary of Earth Day on April 22.

Laudato Si: On Care for Our Common Home is the encyclical of Pope Francis that has become a global cry for all people of goodwill to awaken to the deepening crisis of the planet due to climate change, unsustainable consumption and other ills that threaten the future of all living things.

In 2015, Iona University signed a Laudato Letter of Commitment along with many other Catholic colleges and universities that includes the following:

We commit ourselves as leaders in Catholic Higher Education to work together regionally and globally, through all the means available to and appropriate for our colleges and universities as institutions of higher learning, to study, promote, and act on the ideals and vision of integral ecology laid out by Pope Francis.

In this context, the Thomas Berry Forum recalls the words of Thomas Berry:

"The time has come to lower our voices, to cease imposing our mechanistic patterns on the biological processes of the earth, to resist the impulse to control, to command, to force, to oppress, and to begin quite humbly to follow the guidance of the larger community on which all life depends".

To receive a copy of and to sign the Declaration of Celebration and Commitment please contact Br. Kevin Cawley at kcawley1@mac.com.

12/20/2019

Br. Kevin Cawley delivered the presentation at “Sustainable Sundays” on December 8, 2019. The parish was interested in hearing the connections between the United nations global agenda and the wisdom offered by Pope Francis in Laudato Si.

The presentation drew a perspective on current issues regarding climate change including rising sea levels, forest degradation, ocean acidification, species extinction, displacement of peoples, water scarcity and other challenges. The second part of the presentation put a focus on the teachings of Laudato Si with respect to the current predicament of Earth. A portion of the presentation examined an extended description of the challenges to civil society encountered at the concluding sessions of negotiations on the Sustainable Development Goals at the United Nations in 2015. We spent some time examining solutions to the emissions challenge now facing humanity, with special attention of the work of Drawdown, examining some of the 100 best solutions to the carbon problem.

The Berry Forum presentations on the care for the Earth have included background on UN deliberations as they impact integral ecology concerns raised by Pope Francis. In particular the multiple references to the human right to water (47 times in Laudato Si) continue to inform discussions of the coming water scarcity and the disturbing trends toward privatization of this precious resource.

Photos: Kevin Cawley

12/18/2019

Celebrant: Fr. John Anderson

Advent Reflection by Dr. Brian Brown

Saturday Evening, December 14, 2019

"As we gather in the dark of this Advent eve, encircled round the verdant sphere of this liturgical wreath, we recall that larger sphere of Earth’s vitality, compacted by the physics of mass and gravity, and shaped on every side by the attractive cohesion of its innumerable interdependencies which we celebrate and bless.

The curvature of our planetary sphere envelopes us on all sides with an atmosphere that protects, shields and gives us respiration with its principal atoms of nitrogen and oxygen. Into these layers of Earth’s air, and on this Advent eve, we pray that we may yet learn Earth’s fragile atmosphere, to cleanse and purify it, preserve, cherish and heal it.”

The curvature of our planetary sphere holds us in the solidity of its mineral structure, its layers of slate, basalt and granite; obsidian, quartz and shale; marble, pyrite and sandstone. Among these and all the strata of its terrestrial massiveness, and on this Advent eve, we pray that we not weaken nor disfigure Earth’s topography, nor plunder its nutritive elements through fracturing, extractive and ruinous wastage.

The curvature of our planetary sphere surrounds us with the mantle of its watery immensity among whose shallows and depths, tides and currents, bays and lagoons, as solitary swimmers or innumerable schools of coordinated fins, Earth nurtures our bodies and colors our imaginations with mollusks and anemones, crustaceans and flounder, herring and halibut, plankton and whale, salmon returning to spawn, slowly gliding sea turtles, and all who swim in global migratory circuits.

From among these and their immeasurable kin throughout Earth’s fathomless oceanic expanse, and on this Advent eve, we pray that we be ever grateful for its prodigality, cognizant of its limitations, aware of its polar frailty, and measured in all our taking.

The curvature of our planetary sphere is shaded and fed by the rich canopies of ash, oak and beech; maple, juniper and spruce; walnut, poplar and willow, and the tens of thousands of tree species in the Amazon and Earth’s numerous temperate rainforests.

Standing amidst the silent germination of all manner of seeds, held firm by the rich tangle of intercommunicating and mutually fortifying roots and delicate webs of fungi, and on this Advent eve, we pray that we may marvel at the transubstantiation of photosynthesis, producing energy from solar light and oxygen from carbon dioxide, that so schooled we too may use the sun as fuel and sequester carbon in the trunks of the trees that we treasure.

The curvature of our planetary sphere buzzes and whirls in the billionfold teeming of insect caregivers, allowing the sacrifice of their bodies even as they immeasurably enrich those of far greater bulk and mass. In the very act of pollination, bees; butterflies; pollen wasps; ants; hover flies; midges; male mosquitoes; moths; and tens of beetle species offer themselves to feed fish; amphibians; reptiles; birds; bats; hedgehogs; moles; and shrew.

Dwarfed among Earth’s legions of creeping, crawling, flying, nibbling, ever small, yet ever diligent and constant providers as these, and on this Advent eve, we pray that we come to better admire and emulate the labor of these beings in the propagation and diversification of fruits and vegetables; in the steady maintenance of life’s chain of nutrition; in the enrichment and fertility of soil and root formation; as the removers, decomposers and medicinal treatment for pathogens, even as they themselves become novel forms of human sustenance in a food insecure world.

Finally, the curvature of our planetary sphere coalesced in the emergence of mammalian intimacy. Be it expressed in the meticulous grooming of primates perched in jungle trees; the protective stance of the elephant herd around the vulnerable calf; the playful tussling and pawing of tiger cubs exploring together the shared joy of life’s enthusiastic spontaneities; the mutual grazing of zebra and wildebeest on the common patch of savannah grass; or the extension of empathy’s embrace turning strangers into guests, migrants into neighbors, among ever widening circles of humankind; in all such expressions, Earth’s capacity for bonded communion still unfolds and expands.

From within that unrealized potentiality, and on this Advent eve, we pray that as we understand the fullness from which we arose, the fullness in which we partake, we cherish and heal this planetary body with that same Love for which you were born.

May we, for but a moment, stand in the stillness of what we celebrate."

Photos: Br. Kevin Cawley

12/10/2019

Br. Kevin Cawley addressed a student and faculty audience on Thursday, November 21, 2019 under the heading, "Laudato Si and the USA Catholic Church: The State of Play". Kevin shared images and data to show the current situation regarding climate change and general shortfall of meaningful action in the global response thus far. The presentation moved through the multiple challenges facing the planet – climate change, melting ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica, sea level rise that threatens millions of the poorest, forest degradation, rising inequality, stronger storms, longer wildfire seasons, and the failure generally to achieve the global goals to reduce carbon emissions enshrined in the Paris Agreement on climate. Laudato Si has been one of the bright markers in the world-wide struggle to achieve a coherent vision for a global response to these multiple crises. Pope Francis has been clear that the current situation is not just an environmental crisis but also an enormous failure of justice for the world’s poor. His repeated refrain, "The cry of the earth is the cry of the poor," has been carried forward on many fronts. Iona University has committed to advancing the message of Laudato Si and the Berry Forum along with Edmund Rice International continue to spread this message of the Holy Father.

12/3/2019

On Monday, November 18, 2019 at 7 p.m. in Romita Auditorium the Thomas Berry Forum for Ecological Dialogue of the Deignan Institute for Earth and Spirit welcomed journalist, author, filmmaker, and humanitarian Don Bosco Mullan to share his current global engagement: Africa’s Great Green Wall and the ‘Laudato Tree’ Project.  An enthusiastic audience of students, Iona faculty and members of the public were treated to a special presentation about a project that has begun to attract attention not only in Africa but lately in Europe as well.  Don Mullan has established a working relationship with the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), pioneered the Great Green Wall, and is negotiating support for the ‘Laudato Tree Project’ in Ireland where he was recently received by the President of Ireland, Mr. Michael Higgins.

Don spoke movingly of his early life in the difficult times during the political unrest in his native Northern Ireland, especially in Derry, his home city, as “the troubles” pulled so many of his contemporaries into the violent vortex.  His profound decision to move away from the violence and work for peaceful solutions changed the basic course of his life and career.  The account he rendered of the awful events of “bloody Sunday” became a best seller, an award-winning motion picture and ultimately generated the most expensive judicial review in British history. Don’s thirst for justice has now led him to the massive task he described to us at Iona. His recent engagement with the legacy of Wangari Matthai, Nobel Prize winner and powerful force behind the million-tree campaign in Kenya, has led him to take on a significant role with the Green Wall project which is also endorsed by the African Union.  His presentation moved across the difficulties of enrolling advocates and convincing sponsoring agencies to assist the United Nations Commission to Combat Desertification.  He elaborated the plans to screen the film of the project and begin to link 8,000 programs across the globe.  The 8,000 local efforts would link the project and stand symbolically as a sign of the 8,000-kilometer span of the finished Green Wall. Mullan has discussed with the UNCCD the importance of building a popular global movement to ensure the wall is completed by 2030. 

The presentation closed with Don engaging the group in heartfelt exchange about the great needs of the African continent.  He elaborated on his affection for its peoples along with the fact of the immense challenges of the largest population of youth on one continent just now coming of age and confronting the rigors and threats of climate change. They will need hope.
For further information on The Great Green Wall Project: www.greatgreenwall.org/

Photo credits: K. Cawley

11/18/2019

On Saturday, November 9, the Thomas Berry Forum for Ecological Dialogue welcomed members of the public to a special ceremony to celebrate the launch of a new biography of Thomas Berry. November 9 would have been the 102nd birthday of Thomas Berry and thus it was an auspicious day for the warm celebration in Arrigoni Center at Iona. Longtime friends of Fr. Thomas, Mary Evelyn Tucker and John Grim, traveled from Yale University to mark the occasion and preside over the public release of the biography they wrote together. Mary Evelyn and John presented in tandem a vibrant summary of the life of Thomas before he was a world figure; reporting many tender anecdotes of his N. Carolina upbringing and early signs of his spiritual journey that proved to be significant to many others later on.

There were additional insights on how Thomas negotiated the intellectual and pastoral challenges of his vocation as a priest of the Passionist Order who were at first confounded by the powerful thinking Thomas brought to the community. His brief sojourn in Asia proved decisive in turning his intellect to the larger world and speculation on the origins and destiny of humankind. Generally, Passionists committed more decisively to the missionary and preaching model of priesthood while Thomas found a home as a deep thinker and writer, and later as “sage” for a host of students at St. John’s University, Fordham and the Riverdale Center. Mary Evelyn and John treated the day as a deep celebration of the life and work of Thomas while recounting the enormous influence of his thinking and writing on the present generation of earth care advocates. So many are in his debt.

The second half of the afternoon was given over to celebrating the Thomas Berry Forum for Ecological Dialogue at Iona University. The Forum was honored by the Thomas Berry Foundation for ten years of commitment to the message of Thomas as a geologist and spiritual seeker who carried his message to several generations of like-minded practitioners of sustainable living and teaching. The Four Conveners of the Berry Forum – Kathleen Deignan, Danny Martin, Brian Brown and Kevin Cawley - were presented individual memorial plaques with a generous citation of their Earth Care work. Friends assembled from near and far including a number of Iona students in Kathleen Deignan’s classes. Several UN colleagues made the journey to Iona to help celebrate the Thomas Berry Legacy. Music was provided by Kathleen Deignan and Beth Bradley. A slide deck revue of images of Father Thomas and photos of the natural world accompanied the gathering.

Photo credit: Monica Hoyt

11/4/2019

On November 2 the Oblates of St. Mary’s Abbey at Delbarton School in Morristown, NJ, invited Br. Kevin Cawley of the Thomas Berry Forum to present perspectives on Laudato Si at their All Souls Day program. Kevin was contacted by Fr. Hilary, OSB, Moderator for the Oblates, to spend the day at the monastery and offer two presentations to the group of 16 members who were able to attend.

Kevin used a slide presentation to outline the current global predicament that humanity is now beginning to address with the guidance of the teachings in Laudato Si: On Care for Our Common Home. The presentation included a perspective on current issues regarding climate change including rising sea levels, forest degradation, ocean acidification, species extinction, displacement of peoples, water scarcity and other challenges. The second part of the presentation put a focus on the teachings of Laudato Si with respect to the problems listed above. The response portion of the presentation also included an extended reporting on the challenges to civil society encountered at the concluding sessions of negotiations on the Sustainable Development Goals at the United Nations in 2015.

The Berry Forum presentations on the care for the earth have included background on UN deliberations as they impact integral ecology concerns raised by Pope Francis. In particular the multiple references to the human right to water (47 times in Laudato Si) continue to inform discussions of the coming water scarcity and the disturbing trends toward privatization of this precious resource.

Finally, the afternoon program offered highlights of Drawdown: The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reduce Global Warming. The work is edited by Paul Hawken and offers carbon reduction comparisons identified by over 1,000 experts for the 100 most effective solutions ranked in order of effectiveness. The analysis looks at how much carbon is reduced based on the cost of implementation when compared to net carbon savings over 30 years. The surprise to the researchers was the discovery that improving the technology of air conditioning refrigerants was the number one remedy, surpassing even solar panels and wind power.

Photos: Kevin Cawley, Tom Stiff

10/23/2019

Students and Faculty from Colegio Cardinal Newman (Buenos Aires, Argentina), Colegio Mundo Mejor (Chimbote, Peru) and Stella Maris College (Montevideo, Uruguay) spent part of the day on the Iona campus on Wednesday, September 18. Br. Kevin Cawley, Director of the Thomas Berry Forum for Ecological Dialogue, greeted them and accepted their invitation to present current efforts to address world issues at the United Nations and in the work of Laudato Si.

Br. Kevin described in general terms the current predicament faced by Earth, Our Common Home, by framing the Universe Story of 13.8 billion years and the Earth flourishing after 4 billion years followed by the recent 300,000 years of human activity leading to our present era, the Holocene, as we approach the Anthropocene. The students, along with Br. Kevin, examined briefly the efforts at the United Nations to address the multiple challenges of the current climate crisis and the deep inequalities among and within nations. The Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Climate Agreement were also highlighted, as well as several points on the magnificent encyclical of Pope Francis, Laudato Si: On Care for Our Common Home.

The students and teachers were receptive and expressed gratitude for the work of the Thomas Berry Forum in organizing the presentation for their visit to the campus. Because of their full schedule of activities they did not have much free time to take in the sights of New York and, for many, this would mark their very first opportunity to travel from Latin America to the United States. The Christian Brothers have been present in the Latin American region since 1948 and have many connections to the ministries in that part of the world. In fact, one of the founding brothers of Iona, Br. Ignatius Doorley, spent the final years of his apostolate in Buenos Aires.

Photo credit: G. Bullrich

10/17/2019

The Thomas Berry Forum for Ecological Dialogue at Iona University sponsored this year’s all college lecture for the Core Curriculum. Ken Ilgunas is the author of this year’s common read for the Columba Cornerstone EARTH Courses, Trespassing Across America: One Man's Epic, Never-Done-Before (and Sort of Illegal) Hike Across the Heartland. Iona was delighted to offer all EARTH students, as well as students in the Environmental programs at Iona, the ICT "Stewardship of Earth" classes, other eco-focused classes, and all earth lovers an invitation to join Mr. Ilgunas in special sessions throughout his day-long visit.

ABOUT KEN ILGUNAS
Ken Ilgunas is an author, journalist, and backcountry ranger in Alaska. He has hitchhiked ten thousand miles across North America, paddled one thousand miles across Ontario in a birchbark canoe, and walked 1,700 miles across the Great Plains, following the proposed route of the Keystone XL pipeline. Ilgunas has a BA from SUNY Buffalo in history and English, and an MA in liberal studies from Duke University. The author of Walden on Wheels, Trespassing Across America, and This Land Is Our Land, he is from Wheatfield, New York.

Photo by Monica Hoyt.

10/15/2019

The Thomas Berry Forum for Ecological Dialogue, together with the Office of Mission & Ministry at Iona University, led a delegation of Iona students to New York City to participate in the School Strike for Climate on September 20, 2019. Organizers estimated the crowd at 250,000 participants. Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg and fellow climate activists led the march from Foley Square, a large plaza in lower Manhattan, approximately 2 miles south to Battery Park at the southern tip of Manhattan where music and speeches concluded the day. Greta thanked marchers as she ended her remarks with her challenge that all must keep battling. Her speech the following Monday to the General Assembly has become a sensation due to her bold, emotional and scathing denunciation of the “business as usual” approach that appears to be the default position of most larger member states at the United Nations.
Photo credits Monica Hoyt and Kevin Cawley.

9/28/2019

To celebrate the Season of Creation, Corpus Christi Parish hosted an afternoon of contemplative inquiry concerning the urgency of activating a robust Catholic commitment to care of our common home. Brother Kevin Cawley, CFC and Sister Kathleen Deignan, CND led a presentation and conversation about the current status of our Living Earth addressing the environmental, political, moral and spiritual features of our present ecological crisis. The conversation was informed by the legacy of Thomas Berry and the moral challenges of Pope Francis.

Photos by Monica Hoyt.

7/30/2019

All Photos by Kevin Cawley unless otherwise noted.

This event gathered over 230 environmental leaders in the US Catholic Church to outline a way forward for Laudato Si on the US Catholic landscape, including its vision, best practices and future actions. This meeting was intended to be an opportunity to learn more about Laudato Si and how to contribute to its integration in parish, school, religious community, or Catholic institution.

The conference vision included an expansion of hope. The climate crisis has deepened around the globe in these past few months and the United Nations will convene an emergency climate summit this September to ramp up ambition from member states to reduce the global consumption of fossil fuels releasing harmful emissions. Creighton University and the Catholic Climate Covenant under the direction of Dan Misleh must be commended for the organizing and conducting of this timely gathering. Participants come away well-fortified to engage their local institutions in raising the alarm and forming potent responses. Key takeaways were noted from the plenaries and eight ministerial tracks: Adult Faith Formation, Advocacy, Creation Care Teams, Energy Management, Higher Education, Liturgy, School Education, and Young Adult Ministry.

Dan DiLeo, Catholic Climate Covenant Consultant and assistant professor and director of the Program of Justice Studies and Peace at Creighton University led the conference.

President of Creighton, Fr. Daniel Hendrickson, S.J. welcomed all and reminded the audience that from the papacy of John Paul II, the ecological crisis has been recognized as a moral issue. He cited Gen. 2:15 : "Then the Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it."

The opening keynote address by Bishop Robert W. McElroy, Bishop of San Diego, laid out an argument for climate change to become "a central priority" for the U.S. Catholic Church. The model of the great poem of Milton, “Paradise Lost” framed the Bishop’s argument: the drama of the fall and rise the human. Titled "Paradise Lost: The Urgent Summons of Laudato Si' to the American People at This Moment in Our History," the bishop used John Milton's poem "Paradise Lost" as a frame to examine these estrangements — from God, nature, one another and truth itself — that have broken the relationship between people today and "the earth that is our common home."

Bishop McElroy called Laudato an 'urgent summons' to the American people. "Laudato Si' both unmasks our estrangement from the natural world and points to the pathway forward for us to move from alienation toward healing and the renewal of the earth. The encyclical is a “call to arms for those who would rescue our bruised planet from the forces that deplete and destroy it," McElroy said. "But Laudato Si' is so much more than this. For in its delineation of an integral human ecology, it emphasizes that the illnesses that plague our world on so many levels are interrelated, and that progress in any one dimension requires attending to the wholeness of the human person and the human family just as it attends to the wholeness of our planet earth."

The current fascination with a technological paradigm is one example of the human effort at mastery of the created world rather than humble engagement. We know that the “St. Francis response” was deeply respectful of the created world; very different from the technological response we are witnessing.

Pope Francis reminds us that solidarity is not simply social but ethical. We need now an initiative to empower children to summon hearts and souls to remind us of the spiritual identity of nature. Adam’s greatest pain in Milton was seeing the pain he brought down on his children. When Michael led Adam down the hill out of Paradise he lamented he had damaged his children. Later, in “Paradise Regained”, the first paradise had failed but now a fairer paradise for our savior has come down.

Megan Goodwin is Associate Director in office of government relations for the USCCB. She is the link to congress for the Bishops’ conference. Current initiatives include: USCCB backs carbon tax bill by Congress member Rooney of Florida. Bishops of Florida have met with Florida members of Congress. Megan urges U.S. Catholics to engage with local and federal leaders to keep them accountable.

Dr. Erin Lothes, Associate Professor of Theology at College of St. Elizabeth in New Jersey spoke of the upcoming Amazon Synod taking place in Rome in October. Focus on ecosystem. She reports that the preparation documents include good language. She reminds us that links to the landscape can bring the soul to peace. Local church of critical importance. Spirituality of LS (sections 11 and 66) is relational in its affection. We share Earth with all creatures so we don’t dominate. But we live with a dirty and dangerous energy system.

Africa challenges cited by Erin. Nigeria in particular is facing grave ecological danger due to the fossil fuel extraction that has long impacted the country. Technology has taken first position. The environmental teachings of the Catholic Church have yet to penetrate many governments in Africa at the policy level, even in those places with a strong Catholic presence in the education sector.

Fr. Joshtrom Isaac Kureethadam represented Cardinal Peter Turkson of the Vatican Dicastery for the Promotion of Integral Human Development, the office responsible for disseminating the lessons of Laudato Si. He has recently published a book, The Ten Green Commandments of Laudato Si. He noted that 2020 is 50th anniversary of Earth Day. He mentions Rachel Carlson’s Silent Spring, a pivotal book from 1962 as well as the now famous NASA Earthrise photograph taken from lunar orbit by astronaut William Anders on December 24, 1968.

The Laudato Conference at Creighton held many rich discussions and clearly made a deep impression on those of us who attended. Excellent presentations were offered by Rev. Kenneth R. Himes, OFM, on “Love in Action”, Professor Sacoby Wilson on ecojustice and Sr. Pat Siemen, O.P., founder of the Center for Earth Jurisprudence at Barry University, who was very enthused about the work of Fr. Thomas Berry.

This brief note in the Berry Forum web pages will I hope lead the reader to pursue further the lessons learned in Omaha. Links to the Catholic Climate Covenant are given here to speed your inquiry. www.catholicclimatecovenant.org/

6/6/2019

On Saturday, June 1, 2019, Sister Kathleen was among 6 Sisters in the Congregation of Notre Dame celebrating 50 years in religious life in a moving liturgy of song and prayer at the Eucharist celebrated with several hundred family, friends and colleagues. The gathering took place in Wilton, Connecticut at the motherhouse of the School Sisters of Notre Dame who shared their facility to host their sisters in faith. Sister Kathleen was essential to the founding of the Thomas Berry Forum for Ecological Dialogue at Iona University following the passing of Fr. Thomas in 2009.

Sister Kathleen joined the faculty of the Department of Religious Studies at Iona in 1981 where she founded the Iona Peace and Justice Studies Program and the Iona Peace Institute in Ireland (1988-1995). She is also the founding director of the Iona Spirituality Institute which sponsors a variety of programs for spiritual development (1992-present). Sister is a GreenFaith Fellow, having completed a two-year post-doctoral training for religious environmental leadership in 2008 . She received her Master’s degree in the History of Christian Spirituality and her Doctorate in Historical Theology from Fordham University in New York, where she studied with her mentor, the late geologian, Father Thomas Berry, one of the great inspirations of her life and ministry.

A sacred song writer and psalmist, Sister Deignan has composed over 200 sacred songs published in a dozen CDs by Schola Ministries, a project in service to the liturgical and contemplative arts. She is the author of Christ Spirit: The Eschatology of Shaker Christianity (Scarecrow Press 1992), Thomas Merton: When the Trees Say Nothing – Writings on Nature (Sorin 2002), and Thomas Merton: A Book of Hours (Sorin 2009).

5/6/2019

Iona students who completed the Yale course, "The Worldview of Thomas Berry," met Thomas Berry's official biographer and creator of the course, Dr. Mary Evelyn Tucker, at the American Teilhard Association Meeting in New York City, May 4, 2019.

5/2/2019

The Jeanie Graustein Lecture on Environmental Justice: "Thomas Berry: Prophet of the Ecozoic Earth Era"

Sr. Kathleen Deignan and Br. Kevin Cawley delivered the Jeanie Graustein Lecture at the St. Thomas More Catholic Center at Yale University in New Haven Connecticut on Sunday, April 28, 2019. The Graustein Lecture is an annual event at Yale to celebrate care of Earth.

Sr. Kathleen had given a full day Retreat on Saturday to the Campus Ministry staff at the Center and concluded the weekend with the Graustein lecture at the closing dinner.

Br. Kevin and Sr. Kathleen offered a glimpse of the wisdom of Thomas Berry in light of the climate crisis facing the planet. The program began with a summary of the predicaments that threaten the continued conditions to life on the Earth such as carbon emissions passing the limits agreed to in the Paris climate accord, the loss of ice caps and glaciers leading to sea level rise, food insecurity, heat impacts on health, spread of disease vectors, wealth inequality, extreme weather events, and displacement of populations fleeing these impacts, all received early attention.

The program was accompanied by images and texts with emphasis on the human toll of these challenges along with a link to global inequality that threatens current efforts at solutions. Participants were brought to see that the goals for carbon reduction set by the Paris accords were not within reach under current practice. We still need to reduce net carbon emissions to zero by 2050 in order to achieve a safe environment. Even if all countries kept their promises to reduce their carbon output, the Paris target of holding world temperature rise to 2 degrees Celsius was not within reach. Current trends show a likely increase of 4.3 degrees leading to a cascade of catastrophic outcomes as the land-based ice cover melts and enters the oceans. Dr. Gavin Schmidt of the Goddard Institute at Columbia University has warned that even if we were to end all carbon emissions immediately, the planet still faces centuries of warming due to the impacts already "baked in".

The work of Pope Francis in Laudato Si: On Care for Our Common Home, the UN Sustainable Development Goals, the Paris Agreement on Climate and the deep wisdom of Thomas Berry all formed a backdrop to the catalog of planetary degradation that remains ongoing and unabated in the business-as-usual model.

Thomas Berry had the foresight decades ago to frame the human-earth relationship more gracefully. His principles for a mutually enhancing human-earth relationship are the foundation for moving the human project from its devastating exploitation to a benign presence. It is especially important that we give young people some indication of how the next generation can fulfill this work in an effective manner.

The program included a brief video of Greta Thunberg, the Swedish teenager, who has been on school strike for climate action in her country. Greta has subsequently inspired more than a million young people worldwide to take to the streets in 120 cities on March 15, to share their dismay about the lack of action by political leaders on climate change.

Paul Hawken's project "Drawdown" was also noted. He has supervised a large group of young scientists and activists to publish the 100 best practices for removing carbon from the atmosphere and preventing further damage. Both Paul and Greta push back against the language of "hope". Greta tells leaders we don’t want your hope, we want you to act. And Paul Hawken notes that often: “…hope is the pretty mask of fear. You can’t have hope without fear, whether you’re aware of it or it’s subconscious. What we need to be is fearless, not hopeful.”

4/9/2019

The Annual Faculty Retreat for All Hallows High School convened this year at Iona University on April 5, 2019. Br. Jim Hamilton of All Hallows invited Br. Kevin Cawley to address faculty concerns regarding advocacy and care of Earth. The planning effort led to an extensive presentation on the current state of planetary crisis and a faith-based response. Br. Hamilton and the All Hallows administration hope the school can develop appropriate responses in curriculum and policy for the school community to move effectively as advocates for our Earth's environment. Br. Kevin outlined the current state of our planetary predicament using the Universe Story developed by Thomas Berry and joined this teaching to the recent encyclical of Pope Francis, Laudato Si, On Care For Our Common Home.

Participants met in Arrigoni Center for orientation, Eucharist, light breakfast and Morning Prayer preceding Kevin's remarks.  For his presentation, Br. Kevin outlined the planetary predicament, the climate crisis, related deterioration of the global environment, possible responses, current global advocacy efforts (especially the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Climate Agreement), and the timeline remaining for remediation. In addition to his role as Director of the Thomas Berry Forum for Ecological Dialogue at Iona, Br. Kevin also serves as Main Representative for the Congregation at the United Nations in New York. These duties allow him a privileged window to the deliberations at the UN and their links to faith – based civil society advocacy.  The presentation was aided by images and video which brought a fresh perspective to the faith-based efforts in particular. The Edmund Rice Christian Brothers and other religious groups at the United Nations were active participants in the 3-year deliberations that developed the sustainable development goals.   Kevin linked selections from Laudato Si to the public efforts of the UN Agenda 2030, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2015.

Pope Francis had lent his support to the SDGs with the publication of his encyclical in May of 2015 and his address to the General Assembly on September 25, 2015, the day the Resolution to adopt the SDGs was affirmed by the Assembly. Our April 5 presentation at Iona also related the appreciation of UN officials who were deeply grateful for the advocacy and support of faith-based civil society in the adoption of the Paris Agreement on Climate in December 2015. Particular attention at the All Hallows retreat was given to the recent surge in youth climate activism around the globe, especially in parts of Europe. March 15, 2019, saw over 1 million young people march for climate solutions in 123 cities following the inspiration of 16-year-old Greta Thunberg of Sweden. The video of Greta's address to the UN Climate Conference in Katowice, Poland, in December 2018, proved unusually compelling for many young people and was a main feature of the presentation delivered on Friday at Iona.

Photos by Kevin Cawley and Jim Hamilton

3/22/2019

On Friday, March 15, 2019, one of the largest climate actions in history linked hundreds of thousands of young people across the globe protesting lack of action on climate change. Known variously as "school strike for climate" and "student strike for climate action," the movement began in Sweden and was inspired by teenager Greta Thunberg, founder of the Fridays for the Future movement. Greta, age 16, began her protest last August by cycling from her home in Stockholm to sit on the steps of the Swedish Parliament each Friday to protest lack of action on climate change by Swedish politicians. She carried one homemade sign announcing her purpose and on most Fridays sat alone, regardless of the weather. Her actions eventually caught the attention of social media and particularly resonated among other teenagers. It culminated in Friday’s school walkouts in countries around the world, including Germany, Belgium, the UK, France, Australia and Japan. The walkout is thought to be one of the largest climate actions in history. In the interval, Greta was invited to speak at the UN Conference on Climate Change in Katowice, Poland in December, the DAVOS Economic Forum in Switzerland in January and, finally, the meeting of the European Commission in Brussels a few weeks ago.

“We have been born into this world and we have to live with this crisis—and our children and our grandchildren,” Thunberg said to the crowd gathered in Stockholm. “We are facing the greatest existential crisis humanity has ever faced. And yet it has been ignored. You who have ignored it know who you are.”

Br. Kevin Cawley, Executive Director of the Thomas Berry Forum for Ecological Dialogue at Iona University, joined in support at the gathering of approximately 3,000 protestors, mostly high school age students, at Columbus Circe in New York City. They were comprised of the original school strikers as well as Zero Hour youth from the USA, 350.org and the Sunrise Movement. The crowd moved slowly northward and ultimately finished the afternoon on the steps of the Museum of Natural History where the demonstration ended several hours later.

The demonstration brought to mind an early passage in Laudato Si by Pope Francis noting the urgency of our predicament: "Young people demand change. They wonder how anyone can claim to be building a better future without thinking of the environmental crisis and the sufferings of the excluded." (13)

Those gathered on March 15 hope to continue to draw attention to the plight of the Earth with steady public pressure and greater and greater numbers of engaged young people to carry the message forward.

(NYC event photos by Kevin Cawley)

2/26/2019

Br. Kevin Cawley delivered the keynote for a gathering of the Metro N.Y. Catholic Climate Covenant on Saturday, February 23, 2019 at Holy Name of Jesus Church on Manhattan's West Side. Nearly 100 participants assembled for a full morning of presentations and discussions. Approximately 16 parishes were represented at the "Care for Creation Workshop."

The group heard from a number of parishes on their local efforts. Nancy Lorence of the Metro Catholic Climate movement was lead organizer for the day, assisted by a number of parish leaders including Sr. Carol DeAngelo of Catholic Charities of New York. The morning sharing and networking allowed local parish leaders to link and support each other in their leadership roles to bring Laudato Si to awareness in many locations.

Kevin's remarks accompanied a slide presentation highlighting the current global crisis on climate change and responses by the Faith community to this global emergency. The thinking and teaching of Pope Francis in Laudato Si gave a framework to how humanity might best respond. The Universe Story, United Nations efforts, national initiatives, encouraging technology in renewable energy, local efforts at state and city levels in USA, the recent prominence of youthful climate activists globally and the writings of Thomas Berry all featured in a description of our predicament and possible ways forward.

2/5/2019

The Thomas Berry Forum for Ecological Dialogue and The Brother John G. Driscoll Professorship in Jewish/Catholic Studies at Iona University were host to master teacher and eco-theologian Lawrence Troster, Berry Forum Rabbi in Residence. His talk, entitled Reading the Whole Book of Life: Ecclesiastes on the Search for Meaning , focused on how the Book of Ecclesiastes (Kohelet in Hebrew) responds to the same spiritual and existential questions that many people face in their lives such as: What is the meaning of (my) life? Does God care about the world? Is there a pattern of existence or is everything random? Why do the righteous suffer? Is there some kind of existence after death?

While previous sacred texts like the Torah asserted that the world adheres to a pattern that is intelligible and moral, the author of Kohelet perceives no evidence of this.

Rabbi Troster's creative and original presentation used a fictional narrative of the life of the author of Kohelet, set in the 3rd century BCE, as told after his death by his student Joshua Ben Sira and incorporates poems, songs, novels, philosophy, rabbinic literature, and biblical texts, especially those from the books of Kohelet, Job and Psalms.

An appreciate audience of over thirty persons, including eighteen Iona students, were in rapt attention for the presentation which ranged over many challenging concepts and a wide swath of Middle Eastern history and scholarship. The author shows us that even if we do not see God, we are all in the Book of Life and our deeds are remembered. We can surely know great pain in this world but also great mercy. We can hope that people will look at the world honestly and not deny what we see. We must realize that while much of life seems to be "hevel, " (vanity, absurdity) evil is caused mostly by human greed and stupidity. We must realize the meaning of life is life itself. God does not forget us but shares our pain, rejoices with us in our good deeds and our joy, and cares for our lives. One of the audience members added that the Earth remembers what we do to Earth.

Rabbi Troster is the author of Mekor Hayyim: A Source Book on Water and Judaism. As the Rabbinic Fellow for the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL), he has published numerous articles and has lectured widely on eco-theology, bio-ethics, and Judaism and modern science. Rabbi Troster was honored by the Temple of Understanding, one of the oldest worldwide interfaith organizations, as an Interfaith Visionary. He is Rabbi at Kesher Israel in West Chester , Pennsylvania.

11/17/2018

"The Great Story Of Our Common Home -The Great Work Of Laudato Si"

In light of the most recent and urgent report of October, 2018, of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) people of faith and conscience are more challenged than ever to imagine a way forward, a way to restore "Our Common Home."

From the star-dust of pre-history to the carbon-dust of post-modernity, the climate of our Earth has undergone stupendous changes - and in this present age, the most challenging of all. How are we to comprehend this moment of destiny for human-kind, for living-kind? How are we to make our way forward to our common home, restored to stability and beauty? What wisdom will guide us, what spirit empower us?

The Thomas Berry Forum for Ecological Dialogue at Iona University has been grappling with these challenges in public programs on campus and in local faith communities. These questions were opened once again and explored on Saturday, November 17, 2018 in contemplative engagement with Father Joseph Mitchell, CP, whose mentor, Father Thomas Berry, CP, transmitted to him gifts of wisdom and insight to see the possibilities as well as the perils of our present global reality. 

The afternoon began with a welcome by Br. Kevin Cawley, Executive Director of the Berry Forum. Br. Kevin took some time to open a lens on the current progress on UN member states on reducing their carbon output as promised in the Paris Agreement of 2015. Sadly the news was not encouraging as noted in the October 8 IPCC report cited in the opening paragraph above.

Father Joseph took the group of over forty participants through distinctions between gazing at objects and our current predicament and took time to share how to see clearly and not be overwhelmed. 

Fr. Joseph then led us through a discussion of the human story and our understanding of the competing cosmologies describing our life on Earth and our understanding of God. We ended the explanations with the description of Earth as our "Common Home" as noted by Pope Francis in Laudato Si. Along this path of discovery we examined global poverty, the human right to water, energy usage, personal wellbeing and competing definitions of human happiness. We agreed that the sense of God as magnificent derives in part from our comprehensive embrace of the truth that we live on a beautiful planet - God's primary revelation.

 

Later, we examined our duty toward nature and the complications arising when only the human is granted rights because we only allow subjectivity in the human. Everything else is an object. Concerns were raised regarding recent USA judicial decisions granting rights to corporations. The earlier doctrine of the human having dominion over all creatures has been seen now as wrong understanding of the human place in creation. We saw that a just world is not possible if every nation consumed at the rate of the population of the United States of America. 

We came to the question of how does a human flourish in these times? The need for inner peace has begun to press on the reality we all must confront daily. We are experiencing a grief now but we must not turn away from grief because it is inviting us down to important depths of understanding. Grief is about love, not depression. Our New Cosmology, the New Story, can re-set the human-earth relationship as we come to consciousness of our place in the universe. The natural world is not simply a resource for our exploitation. As we grow in understanding we are better able to help our institutions shift to the wider understanding that nature is always transcending and including, like God.

More than half our audience were Iona students who are currently studying the world-view of Thomas Berry.  Here is a quote from a student who wrote to thank us for the day:
"I wanted to express my enjoyment and appreciation for Yesterday's event. Having Father Joseph Mitchell as the main speaker was a great victory for the day, as his engaging language seemed to draw me in, opening my mind to new ideas and reinforcing ones discussed in class."

Sr. Kathleen Deignan and Beth Bradley accompanied us with musical support, including a stirring version of "Amazing Grace" rendered as "Amazing Place" to honor Earth.  Fr. Joseph was a co-author of the new music.

Fr. Joseph was introduced by Dr. Danny Martin, a Convener of the Berry Forum.

The next Berry Forum event will be "Contemplative Ecological Mass" at 6 p.m. on Saturday, November 24, in the Blessed Edmund Rice Chapel on campus.

Photos:  Monica Hoyt

10/29/2018

Br. Kevin Cawley, executive director of the Thomas Berry Forum for Ecological Dialogue, was invited by N.Y. Catholic Climate Covenant to chair the opening panel at the Care for Creation Conference on October 27, 2018, in San Damiano Hall at the Church of St. Francis of Assisi in New York City. The theme for the day was taken from Laudato Si – "The Cry of the Earth is the Cry of the Poor." Sr. Kathleen Deignan of the Religious Studies Department and co-founder of the Thomas Berry Forum was also invited to support the program with musical accompaniment in spirituality and sustainability.

Br. Cawley highlighted the IPCC report, water issues (cited 47 times in Laudato Si), ocean temperatures impacted by climate change, plastic pollution – especially of oceans, desertification and the impact on food security, droughts increasing for over 2.5 billion people, forest fires growing in intensity, deforestation, overexploitation of global fisheries, and arctic warming. 

More than a dozen speakers addressed the meeting throughout the day. Speakers hailed from a number of Catholic parishes as well as universities in the New York City area and included Professor Meghan Clark of St. John's University, New York; Professor Erin Lothes, College of St. Elizabeth, New Jersey; and Energy Ethics Researcher and Sr. Carol DeAngelo, SC, Metro NY Catholic Climate Movement. Dr. Lothes had previously spoken at Iona University in 2016 as a guest of the Thomas Berry Forum. The keynote of the conference was delivered by Dr. Dan Misleh who is the founding executive director of the U.S. Catholic Climate Covenant of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Dr. Misleh previously spoke at Iona University in 2015 as guest of the Thomas Berry Forum.

Presenters stressed the urgency of the moment following the most recent report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The IPCC report was a summary for policy-makers submitted to government officials planning to attend the forthcoming meeting in Katowice, Poland, to follow up the Paris Climate Agreement (COP21) of December 2015.  The Conference of the Parties Meeting (COP24) in Poland in December 2018 will be an opportunity for government leaders to take stock of progress toward reducing carbon emissions since the Paris Agreement was ratified. Global rise in temperature must remain below 1.5 degrees Celsius in order to avoid catastrophic global warming with potential irreversible consequences coming as a result of rapid loss of Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets.

The Catholic Climate Covenant conference was organized by the New York membership of the covenant to take stock of the challenges outlined in the Paris Agreement and the IPCC, and design responses to the call of Pope Francis in Laudato Si. Organizers were at pains to present some optimism – moving forward with hope – despite the grim prognostications of the October 8 IPCC summary. Ideas at the parish and university level were outlined, as well as advocacy that will be required on issues such as fracking, fossil fuel infrastructure, environmental justice, and current legislative campaigns.