“Family, Care for Creation!” This is the theme for the study day organized by the Pontifical Council for the Family and the nonprofit Greenaccord and scheduled to be held on March 29 at the St. Pius X Auditorium, Via della Conciliazione, 5. The first working session will be opened with greetings from Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, President of the Council, and from Alfonso Cauteruccio, President of Greenaccord, and will feature an address by Ambrosius, Orthodox Metropolitan of Helsinki, entitled “Restraint in relations with Creation.” The economist Luigino Bruni will speak on “The Vulnerability of the Family in the Face of Consumerism.” Jeffrey Sachs, Director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University, will discuss “Economic Ethics, Environment and Human Development”; and Felix Finkbeiner, founder of the international children’s movement, “Plant for the Planet,” will address the question of new generations as the hope for the future. Mario Bosco and Valentina Binno, President of Giovani Impresa Coldiretti Piemonte, will examine the question of agriculture as a life choice for young families.
In the afternoon session, Father Guido Innocenzo Gargano, a Camaldolese monk from the Abbey of San Gregorio al Celio, will speak about “Simplicity and Sacrifice for a Life that is Richer and in Harmony with Creation.” Gary Gardner, a researcher at Worldwatch Institute, will discuss “Bottom-up Change: the Role of the Family.” Leonardo Becchetti, an economist at the University of Rome Tor Vergata, will examine “Economy that is Accountable and Human-sized”
Concluding the event, one of the families that participated in the project “Earth is Your Home” and a family from Tierra del Fuego will discuss their experiences. The “Earth is Your Home” project was organized by Greenaccord and the Archdiocese of Naples to encourage adoption of sustainable life styles. The closing address will be given by Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri, Secretary General of the Synod of Bishops.
Click here for the full program of events
