Sacred Heart Colloquia Series Probes Climate Change

Christina Zenner, associate professor of theology, science and ethics at Fordham University, came to Sacred Heart recently to lead a discussion about climate change.

The event, titled “Climate Change: The Urgency of Values and Ecology According to Pope Francis,” attracted an audience large enough to fill the University Commons auditorium.

Zenner used Pope Francis’ letter, Laudato si’, as a guide for her talk about the environment and why climate change is important in relation to the Church. The main focus was the belief that negative effects in the environment will lead to negative effects on impoverished people, creating a moral issue. The talk was interactive, as Zenner asked the students questions and encouraged them to participate in the discussion.

Zenner then went on to talk about what exactly constitutes climate change and what it means in our lives. She explained how it may not be affecting SHU students directly, but it can affect those who are not able to make a change; those who live in the margins of society.

“I think that college is a time where you have an opportunity to read really widely and to think about the way that the different kinds of systems are set up, and you can call into question the things that many of us who are stuck with a mortgage or going to the grocery store take for granted, and so it’s a time of real imagination at the intersections of thinking about how we should live and what would a good society look like,” said Zenner. 

“I thought this talk was very important, as climate change has been a big topic of conversation lately, and hearing another point of view on the topic really opened my eyes about what is going on and what needs to be changed,” said junior Colette Dabaghian.