ROME (06-30-2022) – Sister Raffaella Petrini, FSE and Sister Damien Marie Savino, FSE were invited experts at the tenth international colloquium of the International Association of Catholic Bioethics in Rome June 26-29, 2022. The Sisters’ topic was “a Christian understanding of ecology and health: overcoming oversights and incorporating new insights.” Their approach was to bring the medical model of One Health, the ecological model of Social-Ecological Systems theory, and Catholic social teaching into conversation in order to envision new bioethical frameworks for responding to global pandemics and other health crises.
The IACB’s stated goal for the gathering was “to discuss developing a Christian understanding of creation and integral ecology and an ethical framework to guide clinical care and public health.” Topics included health effects of climate change as a global public health issue, reducing ecological harm of health care, “one health” approaches to health promotion, and health and sustainable food production, distribution and consumption.
The list of invited experts included John Berkman (theologian), Henk ten Have (physician and bioethicist), Santiago Henao Villegas (vet, public health scientist, bioethicist), Christine Jamieson (theologian), Fr Joshtrom Kureethadam SDB (philosopher), Sr Rafaella Petrini FSE (political scientist), Cristina Richie (bioethicist), Tony Snow (Canadian indigenous knowledge keeper, theologian), Sr Damien Marie Savino FSE (environmental engineer), and Fr Gerald Whelan SJ (theologian).
Sister Raffaella Petrini (far right) and Sister Damien Marie Savino (second from right) spend time with their Sisters in Rome, from left, Sister Grace Marie Horan and Sister Gabriella Pettirossi.