About The Conference

The conference was held and hosted at St. Mark’s College at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada from May 4 through May 6, 2023.

Pope Francis’ election in 2013 marked a new stage of post-conciliar reflection on the nature of the church and its mediation of God’s love for the world. Informed by his programmatic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel), Francis has set in motion a reform that challenges Catholics to rethink what it means to be the Church in the 21st century. The broad contours of this renewal are significant, and they require theological analysis and assessment.

Pope Francis and the Future of the Church responds to this call for reflection on a wide range of themes central to Francis’ pontificate and his vision of the church, including the legacy of Vatican II; synodality; accompaniment; reconciliation with Indigenous peoples in Canada and the US; integral ecology; and justice and concern for the poor and marginalized. 

The three-day event fostered engaging discussions, featuring over 40 paper presentations from scholars and practitioners—laypeople, clerics, and religious leaders—from across North America.

 

 

Listen to the Keynote Speakers

Massimo Faggioli

Villanova University

Laudato Si’ in a Time of Global Disruption

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Plenary session was held on May 4, 2023. 7pm

Emilce Cuda

Visiting Professor, Loyola University, Chicago

The Reform of the Church is Not a Change but a Commitment

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Plenary session was held on May 5, 2023. 3:30pm

Catherine Clifford

Saint Paul University

Leaning into the Distant Goal of Vatican II: Pope Francis and Christian Unity

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Plenary session was held on May 6, 2023. 12:30pm

45 SPEAKERS
CONCURRENT SESSIONS
Presentations and Interactive Discussion at St. Mark's College
PRESENTERES ABSTRACTS

Samuel D. Rocha

University of British Columbia
Realities, Ideas, and Magical Realism 

Mark Yenson

King’s University College at Western University
Pope Francis: Reflections from and for Christology

Jean-Pierre Fortin

University of St. Michael’s College
Indigenous Witness, Christian Confession:Decolonization as Integral Component of Pope Francis’ Theology of Mercy

David Henderson

Catholic Pacific College
Divine Accompaniment and the Journey of Faith: Pastoral Reflections of Francis, John Paul II, and the Second Vatican Council

Gerard Ryan, SJ

Regis College
Accompaniment as Mutual Recognition: Advancing the Pastoral Dynamism of Synodality

Andrew TJ Kaethler

Catholic Pacific College
Ressourcement as Aggiornamento: Luigi Giussani on Tradition and the Risk of Education

Christopher E. De Bono

Unity Health Toronto
Why Pope Francis’ Metaphor for the Church as a “Field Hospital” Advances Renewal in Catholic Healthcare and Social Services.

Katie Ward

Boston College School of Theology and Ministry
 Education for Truth and Healing: Culturally Sustaining/Revitalizing Pedagogy in Native American Catholic Schools

 Deogratias K. Fikiri, SJ

Marquette University
Theology of Pope Francis: Four theological concepts for future generations

Darren Dias, OP

Toronto School of Theology
University of St Michael’s College, University of Toronto
Pope Francis and Indigenous Peoples: Beyond the Papal Visit

James Magee

Vancouver School of Theology
Good Samaritans: Moving-Picture Clerics and the Inclusive Vision of Pope Francis in Fratelli Tutti

Paul L. Allen

St. Mark’s College
The Two ‘Green Popes’: Integral Ecology and Christian Metaphysics

Emmanuel Diaz

Aquinas Institute of Theology
An Interpretation of Social Justice through Laudato Si’s Foundation in Theology of the People

Hansol Goo

University of Notre Dame
Sacramental Dimension in Pope Francis' Vision for Migration

Carolyn Chau

King’s University College at Western University
Pope Francis and Ecclesial Renewal: A Conversion Program for an Authentic Church

Colman Okechukwu Nwokoro

Marquette University
Migrants and Refugees: A Great Resource for Social and Economic Growth in light of Pope Francis’s Teaching

Doris M. Kieser

St. Joseph’s College, University of Alberta
Pope Francis, Mary, and Women in the Church

Ramon Luzarraga

Saint Martin’s University
Pope Francis and the Death Penalty, an Encuentro Between Latin American Catholic Moral Realism and a U.S. Catholic Illusion

Marissa Nichols

Catholic Distance University
Reparations: Its Theological Basis, Rooted in the Catholic Tradition, Exemplified by Pope Francis

Chanelle Robinson

Boston College 
“Intergenerational Solidarity is Not Optional”: Ecowomanism After Laudato Si’

Paul Niskanen

University of St. Thomas
Human Ecology: Pope Francis’s Contributions to the Theology of Christian Marriage

Sister Damien Marie Savino, FSE

Aquinas College
The Franciscan Roots of Integral Ecology: Ecological Conversion and the Culture of Encounter

Andrew Buechel-Rieger

 Mount Saint Joseph University
Out at Mass: Pope Francis, Liturgical Formation, and LGBTQ People

Joseph Evans

Villanova University
Interreligious Considerations for the Role of Women in the Church in Vietnam and Nepal

Nick Meisl

St. Mark’s College
Pharisees and Jonah Syndrome: Pope Francis, Biblical Interpretation, and Jewish-Catholic Dialogue

Steven P. Millies

Catholic Theological Union
“Full Citizenship”: The Synodal Political Vision of Pope Francis

Geoffrey Woollard

University of British Columbia
 Taking Francis’ Lead: Catholic Theology’s Unique Opportunity to Facilitate Dialogue between the Natural Sciences and Ancient Wisdom Traditions?

Monica Marcelli-Chu

St. Mark’s College
Prayer, Priesthood of the Faithful, and the Moral Life in Pope Francis In Gaudete et Exsultate

John Martens

St. Mark’s College
Pope Francis, the Bible, and Mercy

Lucila Crena

Wesley School of Theology
Encountering Teología del Pueblo: A historical perspective on encounter-centered renewal

Jay Irwin

University of Nottingham
The Personalism of Pope Francis in the Opioid Crisis: Resuscitating the Spiritual in Harm Reduction

Germain McKenzie

St. Mark’s College
Pope Francis and the Inculturation of the Church: Novelties, Continuities and Challenges

Sister Cynthia Emeka

Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA)
Pastoral Accompaniment: A Way of Walking Together Toward Ecclesial Synodality

Keith E. Lemna

Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology
Pope Francis’s Polarity and Teilhard’s Analogy of Duration

Zane Chu

St. Mark’s College
Expanding Social Friendship: Pope Francis and Thomas Aquinas

Mark Neuhengen

Catholic Theological Union
St. Teresa’s Parish, Chicago
This Synodal Way in Germany Needs to be Stopped: Understanding American Opposition to Pope Francis Through Criticisms of the German Synodal Path

Christopher Cimorelli

National Institute for Newman Studies, Duquesne
Pope Francis and the Development of the Church’s ‘Theological Imaginary’: The Principle of Authority

Matt Eaton

King’s College
Ecological Ethics Beyond Sustainability: Can Pope Francis’ Food Ethic Move from Sustainability to Compassion?

Warren Schmidt, CSB

St. Joseph’s College at University of Alberta
 Pope Francis and an Appreciation of Baptismal Charisms in the Context of Post-Vatican II Ecclesiology of Ministry

Elliot Rossiter

Douglas College
Distributive Justice, Kenosis, and Reparation to Indigenous Peoples

Carla M. Thomas

University of St. Michael’s College
Pope Francis’ Pastoral Magisterium and the World Church: Renewing Ecclesial Approaches to the Family in a Postcolonial Caribbean

Martin Madar

Xavier University
How Pope Francis Has Rehabilitated the “Spirit of Vatican II”

Sister Ngoc Nguyen, LHC

Marquette University
Interreligious Considerations for the Role of Women in the Church in Vietnam and Nepal

Justin Conway

Boston College
Expanding Substantialism in Catholic Thought

Joachim Ostermann, OFM

Franciscans of Canada
Faith and Science to bring Anthropology into Ecology

SPONSORS

This conference is made possible by the generosity of these donors and sponsors.

Platinum Sponsor 

The Cullen Family

Gold Sponsor

Peter Bull, Angus Reid, and Andy Szocs for Centre for Christian Engagement

Silver Sponsors

Marie Anne Blondin Chair in Catholic Theology

Archdiocese of Vancouver

Sponsors

Novalis

America Media

The opening keynote presentation is the
Inaugural Laudato Si’ Endowment Lecture.

This endowment has been established through generous sponsorship and giving of
Dr. Felix Durity, Dr. Michael Higgins, Rabbi Yosef Wosk, and City in Focus

Please consider supporting the Pope Francis Conference by designating your gift to the “Laudato Si’ Endowment” using the link below: 

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LOCATION

St. Mark’s-Corpus Christi College and other locations

on the beautiful campus of the

University of British Columbia

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THE CENTRE FOR CHRISTIAN ENGAGEMENT