ANNUAL LONERGAN COLLOQUIUM, 2025

Integral Ecology Colloquium on the 10th Anniversary of Laudato Si'

March 7-8, 2025
Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Call for Papers “Integral Ecology Colloquium on the 10th Anniversary of Laudato Si’” Hosted by the International Institute for Method in Theology March 7-8, 2025, Marquette University

FEATURED SPEAKERS Patrick H. Byrne, Boston College Monica Marcelli-Chu, Jesuit School of Theology Richard W. Miller, Creighton University Taylor Nutter, Mount St. Mary’s University Jim Robinson, Iona University

DESCRIPTION 2025 marks the ten-year anniversary of Pope Francis’s groundbreaking encyclical, Laudato si’. The first encyclical devoted entirely to ecological and environmental concerns, it offers a powerful, unitive, and (in many regards) novel vision for Catholic social teaching, environmental ethics, and systematic theology in the 21st Century. Nevertheless, many elements of that vision remain compact and inchoate in the document itself, and its reception both within and beyond the Catholic Church has often tended to be incomplete and ambivalent. This colloquium invites renewed reflection on Laudato si’, its reception, and the work still needed to meet the present moment. Sponsored by the Integral Ecology working group of the International Institute for Method in Theology, this conversation will be grounded in Bernard Lonergan’s dream of a collaborative and interdisciplinary research method to unite theology, philosophy, the natural and human sciences, and all other fields of human inquiry. As such, we are especially interested in projects that consider how Lonergan’s thought might either (1) contribute broadly to the vision of Laudato si’ or (2) be extended or challenged by the new insights emerging in this and parallel conversations. However, in the collaborative and dialogical spirit of both Lonergan’s work and of Laudato si’, we invite submissions reflecting on a broad range of topics, including but not limited to:

• The importance of theological method in relation to eco-theology and environmental ethics

• The meaning(s) of and barriers to “ecological conversion,” considered individually,corporately, and/or culturally.

• The potential role of emerging technologies (artificial intelligence, geoengineering, alternative energy sources, etc.) in addressing ecological crises and/or the attendant risks.

• The challenge of global environmental cooperation in the context of 21st Century geo-politics, and, perhaps, the role of Lonergan’s “Cosmopolis” in addressing this.

• The Catholic Church’s efforts/failures to engage meaningfully with indigenous and first-nations peoples and traditions.

• The subsequent development or refinement of the vision of Laudato si’ in Querida Amazonia, Laudate Deum, and elsewhere.

Proposals (approximately 300 words) should be sent to benjamin.hohman@salve.edu by December 30, 2024. Notification of acceptance will be sent by January 3.

NB: While would prefer in-person presentations, please indicate if you would prefer or require the capacity to present remotely instead. All proposals will be considered regardless of preference.

PUBLICATION OPPORTUNITY In conjunction with Marquette University Press, we plan to publish selected papers from this conference in an edited volume dedicated to the 10th Anniversary of Laudato Si’, to be released in 2027. If selected, authors would have ample time to revise, expand, and edit their manuscripts after the conference.

For any additional questions or information, please contact Ben Hohman at benjamin.hohman@salve.edu

Sponsored by the International Institute for Method in Theology.