The Spanish Episcopal Conference (SEC) will hold the III National Meeting of Diocesan Integral Ecology Officers on June 27 in Madrid. Representatives from various dioceses will reflect on artificial intelligence, sustainability, biodiversity, and new developments in the so-called integral ecology pastoral. The day, according to the SEC, will also serve to present the draft of a future Framework Document intended to guide this activity throughout Spain.
The meeting, organized by the Integral Ecology Department of the Episcopal Subcommittee for Charitable and Social Action, will be held under the motto “Building our pastoral identity,” further evidence of the growing prominence this area has gained within some structures of the Episcopal Conference in recent years.
From Laudato si’ to Magnifica Humanitas
The day will begin with a round table dedicated to the challenges that artificial intelligence poses to the integral ecology pastoral in light of Magnifica humanitas, the encyclical of Leo XIV on technology, human dignity, and the common good.
Participants include Emilce Cuda, secretary of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America; Jesús Avezuela, director general of the Pablo VI Foundation; Professor María del Carmen Molina; and Father Eduardo Agosta, director of the Integral Ecology Department of the Spanish Episcopal Conference.
A framework document for ecological pastoral care
Another highlight will be the presentation of the main lines of the draft Framework Document for the Integral Ecology Pastoral.
Attendees will work in groups to analyze its different chapters, offer suggestions, and enrich a text that is meant to serve as a reference for Spanish dioceses in this pastoral field.
The preparation of framework documents, pastoral plans, and specific structures confirms the growing weight that integral ecology has acquired in the institutional life of the Spanish Church since the publication of Laudato si’.
There will also be a Missa pro custodia creationis
In the afternoon, participants will learn about the materials and dissemination strategies for the Missa pro custodia creationis, a liturgical resource specifically oriented toward the care of creation.
The initiative joins other pastoral proposals—stemming from synodality—promoted in recent years around integral ecology, a concept that has progressively expanded its scope to encompass issues as diverse as biodiversity, social justice, climate change, sustainable economy, and now also artificial intelligence.
A pastoral identity under construction
The day will be inaugurated by Bishop Vicente Martín Muñoz, the bishop responsible for the Integral Ecology Department of the Spanish Episcopal Conference, together with Father Eduardo Agosta and various diocesan officers.
The meeting will conclude with the celebration of the Eucharist presided over by the bishop himself and will serve to continue shaping a pastoral approach that, according to the SEC, continues to build its own identity within the broad mosaic of structures, delegations, departments, and priorities that currently configure the pastoral action of the Church.