On December 3, 2026, the International Union of Superiors General (UISG) will host a hybrid event entitled Responding to the Cries of Our World, bringing together women and men religious, church leaders, diplomats, and others of good will to reflect on ways to heed and respond to the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor in these times.

●    Date: Thursday, 3 December 2026 
●    Time: 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. (Rome time)
●    Language: English, Italian, French, Portuguese, Spanish
●    Registration: https://forms.gle/3w9RNvz1svNJ4hB9A  

We are not faced with two separate crises, one environmental and the other social, but rather a single, complex socio-environmental crisis. The guidelines for the solution require a comprehensive approach to combating poverty, restoring dignity to the excluded, and at the same time caring for nature. (Pope Francis, Laudato Si’ 139)

Inherent in this approach is that of being guided by the Gospel and Catholic Social Teaching to listen, reflect, and respond to the global challenges, embracing the principles of justice, peace, solidarity, human dignity, and care for creation in our discernment, our choices, our communities, and our presence in the world.

Organized by UISG’s anti-trafficking network Talitha Kum, the International Migrants and Refugees Network, and the secretariat of Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation (JPIC), the event’s panel of speakers will represent diverse voices from the world of faith-based action for the protection of all people and of our common home. Following the panel discussion, a Q&A session open to all participants will invite further reflection on concrete commitments we can make as individuals, religious communities, and Church in response to the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor.

Programme

Welcome: Sister Roxanne Schares, SSND, UISG Executive Secretary

Moderator: Amaya Valcarcel, JRS International Advocacy Officer

Speakers

Joy Ezekiel, Survivor Advocate - Listening to a survivor’s testimony of human trafficking 

Sister Sheila Kinsey, FCJM, Developer / Coordinator of Integrity for Nonviolence – The religious response to peace: nonviolence as our mission 

H.E. Amb. Paul Bekkers, Ambassador of the Netherlands to the Holy See - Responding to contemporary human rights challenges

H.E. Mons. Fortunatus Nwachukwu, Secretary of the Dicastery for Evangelization - Integrating the Church’s response to our times 

Co-hosts
 

Sister Abby Avelino, MM, UISG International Coordinator of Talitha Kum

Sister Carmen Elisa Bandeo, SSpS, UISG Coordinator of the International Migrants & Refugees Network

Sister Maamalifar M. Poreku, MSOLA, Executive Co-Secretary of UISG-USG JPIC Commission