Cardinal Cupich addresses Parliament of the World’s Religions
Originally published by Chicago Catholic on August 18 by Joyce Duriga
Cardinal Cupich was one of several speakers to address the issue of conscience during a plenary session Aug. 16 at the Parliament of the World’s Religions taking place at McCormick Place through Aug. 18.
The Parliament of the World’s Religions is the largest, most diverse and inclusive interfaith convening of people of faith, spirituality and goodwill.
Its origins are rooted in the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, where the historic first convening of the World Parliament of Religions created a global platform for engagement of religions of the East and West and was thereafter recognized as the birthplace of the modern interfaith movement.
This year’s theme is “A Call to Conscience: Defending Freedom and Human Rights.”
While conscience formation has been the focus of spiritual writers and religious leaders for many years, it is vital to discuss today, the cardinal told the crowd of several hundred.
“These past few years have been difficult for all of us. We’ve also become more aware than ever of our interconnections with one another and our environment,” he said. “Technological advances allow us to speak directly in real time with down the street as easily as with those on the other side of the world. This previously unimagined access to one another has been a gift, no doubt. Yet, there are also some unfortunate dimensions of our newfound use of technology. For instance, it is very easy to seek out and talk with those whom we find most agreeable, rarely or never listening to those who oppose our can harden our positions.”
