On Sept. 16, the Diocesan Department of Life, Dignity and Justice held its annual conference at the Diocesan Pastoral Center, exploring the theme “Standing for and Being the Voice for Peace, Truth, and Justice.” The conference included resource booths, six workshops, two keynote talks and lunch.
“Thank you for taking the courage to be involved in things like this, which are at the core of the Gospel message of who we are as a Catholic Church,” Bishop Alberto Rojas said to welcome and kick off the conference. “It’s always encouraging to see other people involved and not only those already doing ministry, but [who are] also learning more of who we are, something that identifies us very well like life, dignity, justice, and peace.”
The opening keynote address was presented by Father Gregory Walgenbach, a chaplain for the Restorative Justice Office in the Diocese of Orange. He holds a Master of Divinity and Ph.D. in Theology from Fuller Theological Seminary and recently participated in the inaugural Catholic Institute for Nonviolence in Rome. His keynote address was titled, “Causes of Wars, Hatred and Disunity in the World: Spirituality and, Culture in Dialogue for the Common Good.”
Fr. Walgenbach asked attendees to name examples of conflict and violence in the world before noting, using a quote from Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta, that the forces of division, self-centeredness and prejudice, have the effect of obscuring the Catholic belief that all people are one in Christ Jesus.
“When nations are at war, when politics are polarized, do we see the ‘others,’ whoever those others may be, as belonging to us and us to them, of being in it together?” he asked.
After the opening keynote address, guests were invited to participate in one of three morning workshops. After lunch, guests participated in one of three afternoon workshops. Workshop topics included artificial intelligence, pastoral care for the sick and dying, societal and political polarization and current realities for youth and young adults.
Throughout the day participants were also welcome to visit the resource fair, which included various information booths of vendors that provide related services and ministry in the diocese.
The closing keynote address was presented by Father Benedict C. Nwachukwu-Udaku, Vicar for Priests and Director of Academics at St. Junipero Serra House of Formation. His talk was titled, “A Call to Act with Justice, to Promote Peace, and Respect for the Dignity of Every Human Life.”
“These are not three separate, idle ideas,” Fr. Nwachukwu said referring to the title of his talk, which he presented in a graphic of a rope. “They are three traits of the same rope, a rope meant to pull us together into the world we are going to return to [after this conference].”
The conference concluded with closing remarks provided by Sister Chilee Okoko, D.M.M.M., Director of the Department of Life, Dignity and Justice. Sr. Okoko thanked Bishop Rojas for his continued leadership and support, all of the guest speakers, resource fair vendors, the Department of Life, Dignity and Justice team, and all participants.
“Everybody who has participated today, you have been commissioned,” Sr. Okoko said, “You are now an ambassador of peace, truth and justice.”