Preserving Creation: Faith and Ecology in Times of Climate Change – Seminar as Part of the 104th German Catholic Congress

The Katholikentag is a major event of Catholic laypeople, which is characterized by numerous panel discussions, workshops, church services and concerts. Katholikentag are places where believers from all over Germany celebrate their faith and reflect on the present in the light of the Gospel. The 104^th Katholikentag in Würzburg is being held under the motto "Have courage, stand up!" (Mark 10:49).

In keeping with the theme of the seminar, the participants will visit selected events and then reflect together on their experiences.

Since the 1980s, the preservation of creation has been one of the fixed themes of the Catholic Conventions, often linked to issues of peace, global justice and social responsibility. In view of advancing climate change and its visible consequences, ecological issues have taken on a new urgency. The encyclical "Laudato si'" by Pope Francis (2015) provides important guidance in this regard. In it, he emphasizes that "everything is connected to everything" and that ecological issues are inextricably linked to social justice, solidarity and a sustainable lifestyle.

In Würzburg, church services, panels and liturgical celebrations illustrate how spirituality, prayer and practical action belong together. This makes it possible to experience that the preservation of creation is not a marginal issue, but an expression of lived faith.

The KAAD will be represented at the Katholikentag with around fourty scholars from twenty countries. Together, they will attend events on climate change and responsibility for creation and reflect on them in a daily meeting. At the same time, KAAD will be setting its own accents in the program: with podiums, a workshop, a church service and a stand where employees and scholars will present the scholarship work and talk to visitors to the Katholikentag. The aim of participation is to experience the Katholikentag as a place of church and social self-understanding and to gain impetus for responsible ethics of creation from a global perspective.