The Catholic Church and the Anthropocene: Science, History, Hope

The Pontifical Academy of Sciences at the Vatican is holding a plenary conference on the
Anthropocene in Rome on September 25-26, 2024. Three major participants (see below) at that
event will be Cardinal Turkson and Professors McCarthy and Renn. On April 23-25, 2025, with
these participants, Notre Dame will host a reflection on that September symposium.

The concept of the Anthropocene arose from Earth System science and geology (more precisely
stratigraphy) to encapsulate the transformation of our planet from the relatively stable Holocene
epoch of the past 11,700 years to a new, destabilized, irreversible, and still evolving state. This new planetary state poses grave political, economic, cultural, and ethical challenges.

The Plan:
1) Wednesday April 23:
Afternoon: At the Anthropocene History graduate seminar led by Brad and Julia, Professors
McCarthy and Renn in conjunction with the rising Anthropocene historians (see list below) will give presentations.

2) Thursday April 24:
Morning: Continuation of Presentations from the Wednesday Grad Seminar
*Afternoon: The Catholic Church and the Anthropocene Symposium
Cardinal Turkson: Professor McCarthy, and Professor Renn
Questions from the Audience and Reception

3) Friday April 25:
Africa and the Anthropocene: President Dowd and Cardinal Turkson

The Participants:
Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson, The Pontifical Academy of Sciences
Professor Francine McCarthy, geologist, Brock University, Canada (proposed Anthropocene GSSP)
Professor Jürgen Renn, Director, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology in Jena (MPIGEA)

Rising Anthropocene Historians:
David Patterson (Princeton) Medieval Europe
Jake Swisher (Notre Dame) Early America
Joanna Linzer (Holy Cross) Early Modern Japan
Rui Hua (Boston University) Modern China, Manchuria, Japanese colonialism
Ben Goossen (Boston University) Geophysical Year 1957-58