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World Catholicism Week 2022

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​View conference videos here. ​

​​The Church of Now: Young People and Global Catholicism Today​​​​

This international conference recognizes that young people are not just the Church of the future--they are the Church of the present as well. As Pope Francis pointed out in his 2019 apostolic exhortation, Christus Vivit"Young Catholics are not merely on the receiving end of pastoral activity: they are living members of the one ecclesial body." The whole Church needs to find new ways to listen to and empower young people. This conference brings together scholars and activists from Lebanon, Indonesia, Nigeria, India, Brazil, Burundi, Central African Republic, China, Mexico, the Philippines, Uganda, and the United States. Panels will address questions of:

  • Vocation and discernment 
  • Faith formation
  • Trauma and moral courage
  • Sustainable development
  • Young people's leadership in the Church

Keynote Speakers 

Hosffman Ospino, PhD

  • Chair, Religious Education and Pastoral Ministry, Boston College
  • President, Academy of Catholic Hispanic Theologians of the United States, Boston, MA

Brenda Noreiga

  • Vatican's International Youth Advisory Body
  • Member, Maryknoll's Young Adult Empowerment Team, Brighton, MA

Agatha L. Natania

  • Vatican's International Youth Advisory Body
  • Executive Director, Youth Organization of Association of Southeast Asian Nations

Émile Abou Chaar

  • Vatican's International Youth Advisory Body (Beirut, Lebanon)
  • Clinical Pharmacist & Spiritual Care Practitioner, Centre Neuchâtelois de Psychiatrie (Neuchâtel, Switzerland)

Roundtable Speakers

  • Most Rev. John Akinkunmi Oyejola, PhD (Bishop of Osogobo Diocese--Osogobo, Nigeria)
  • Fr. Antony John Baptist, PhD (National Biblical, Catechetical, and Liturgical Center--Bangalore, India)
  • Fr. Guillermo Campuzano, CM (DePaul University--Chicago, IL, USA)
  • Sr. Elizabeth Titilayo Aduloju, SSMA, PhD (Catholic Institute of West Africa--Port Harcourt, Nigeria)
  • Cesar A Kuzma, PhD (Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro--Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
  • Jessica Joy Candelario, PhD (Pastoral Program CICM Bukal ng Tipan--Taytay, Philippines)
  • Prince Papa (Laudato Si' Movement--Nairobi, Kenya)
  • Saúl Zenteno-Bueno (International Movement of Catholic Students Pax Romana--Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Mexico)
  • Marinel Ubaldo (Laudato Si' Generation Steering Committee--Tacloban City, Philippines)
  • Fr. Joe Fitzgerald, CM, PhD (Longtime missionary among the indigenous Ngäbe of Panama--Soloy, Panama)
  • Jeramie Molino, PhD (Saint Louis University--Baguio City, Philippines)
  • Rito Baring, EdD (De La Salle University--Manila, Philippines)
  • Fr. Charles Ssennyondo, STL, STD (St. Mary's National Seminary Ggaba--Ggaba, Uganda)
  • Jodi Mikalachki (University of Burundi, Bujumbura, Burundi)
  • Flora S. Pasquereau (UN Special Criminal Court--Bangui, Central African Republic)
  • Kin Sheung Chiaretto Yan, PhD (National Catholic Seminary--Beijing, China)

Thursday, May 5

Pre-Conference Session: Undergraduate Research Poster "Feedback Session"

Respondents

Flora S. Pasquereau

Hosffman Ospino

Kin Sheung Chiaretto Yan

Undergrad Reasearch Posters & Videos

Juliet DiPadova

"The Catholic Response to Boko Haram Insurgency in Nigeria"

(video)(poster)

Rafal Jasielec

"The Church, the Pope, and the Clergy: Catholicism's Impact on Solidarity"

(video)(poster)

Juan Sanchez

"The Influence of Liberation Theology in Chiapas"

(video)(poster)

Kelly Maganini

"How Las Casas' Arguments Go Against the Interests of the Spanish Crown"

(video)(poster)

Anna Hickey

"The Catholic Church and the Anti-Mining Movement in El Salvador"

(video)(poster)

Bernardo Renteria

"The Sebastian Acevedo Movement Against Torture in Chile in the Late 20th Century"

(video)(poster)

Kira Damo

"Beyond Marcos: Will People Power Continue?"

(video)

(Moderator: William T. Cavanaugh--CWCIT Director and Professor of Catholic Studies; DePaul University)

Friday, May 6

ROUNDTABLE: Faith & Formation

  • Jessica Joy Candelario--From the WOunds and Hopes of the Young: A Church in the Post-Pandemic
  • Elizabeth Titilayo Aduloju, SSMA--Media Mindfulness: An Essential Tool for Faith Formation of African Youth in the Era of Digital Media Technology
  • Cesar Kuzma--Brazilian Youth and the Challenge of New Pastoral Dynamics: Choices, Hopes, and the Horizon of the Common Home

(Moderator: Megan Mio--Director, Global Mission Office/Society for the Propagation of the Faith; Archdiocese of Chicago)

ROUNDTABLE: Trauma, Violence, and Moral Courage

  • Kin Sheung Chiaretto Yan--How Young Catholics Live their Faith & Navigate Changes in China
  • Jodi Mikalachki--Choosing Love in Contexts of Political Violence: The Martyrs of Fraternity of Burundi
  • Flora Pasquereau--Innovative Advice and Guidance in the Face of Trauma

(Moderator: Stan Chu Ilo--CWCIT Research Professor and Associate Professor of Catholic Studies; DePaul University)

Saturday, May 7 

ROUNDTABLE: Youth Leadership in the Church 

  • Jeramie Molino & Rito Baring--Reviewing Catholic Youth Leadership in the Church through Religious Identity from a Filipino Sample
  • Fr. Charles Ssennyondo--Catholic Youth in a Relativisitic World
  • Fr. Joseph Fitzgerald, CM--Taking Charge of Their Roots: Indeginous Youth Leadership in Church and Society

(Moderator: Slavica Jakelic--Associate Professor of Humanities & Social Thought, Christ College, Honors College; Valpariso University)

KEYNOTE PANEL

  • Agatha Natania--Young People and the Church: A True Journey of Walking Together
  • Brenda Noriega--There is Hope: Young People & Catholic Social Teaching on Solidarity
  • Émile Abou Chaar--Rooted in Our Mission, We are the Salt and Light of the Middle East

(Moderator: Carolina Pérez--Ministry Coordinator, Catholic Campus Ministry, Division of Mission & Ministry; DePaul University)

ROUNDTABLE: Environmental & Sustainable Development 

  • Marinel Ubaldo--The Role of Filipino Catholic Youth in Environmental & Sustainable Development
  • Prince Papa--Catholic Youth and their Response to Climate Change and Development in East Africa
  • Saúl Zenteno-Bueno--The Jugglers of Development

(Moderator: William T. Cavanaugh--CWCIT Director and Professor of Catholic Studies; DePaul University)

Sunday, May 8 

ROUNDTABLE: Vocation and Discernment

  • Bishop John Oyejola--African Youth and the Imperative of Holistic Formation for the Future of Global Catholicism
  • Fr. Antony John Baptist-- The Changing Attitude of Young Adults towards Religious Vocations Today in India
  • Fr. Guillermo Campuzano, CM--Communal Discernment in the Context of the Synodal Process: Listening to the Voices of Young People

(Moderator: Michael L. Budde--CWCIT Senior Research Professor and Professor of Catholic Studies; DePaul University)

KEYNOTE PRESENTATION--The Fluid Reconstruction of Religous Identity among U.S. Hispanic and Latin American Catholic Youth across Cultural and Diasporic Borders

Hosffman Ospino

(Moderator: William T. Cavanaugh--CWCIT Director and Professor of Catholic Studies; DePaul University)

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