A few weeks ago, the Ratzinger Foundation celebrated its international convention in Rome. During those weeks, they gave out the prestigious Ratzinger Prize, which is considered to be the Nobel Prize of Theology.
Now, the foundation has announced they will celebrate their next convention in Costa Rica in November 2017. Theologians and scientists will gather in this Central American country to discuss 'Laudato si'.â?
MSGR. JOSÉ RAFAEL QUIRí?S
Archbishop of San José (Costa Rica)
'The goal is to have a productive discussion about Pope Ratzinger's teachings on ecology, and the way his line of thought is present in Laudato si', which is the specific topic for this convention.â?
FERNANDO SíNCHEZ
President, Universidad Católica de Costa Rica
'It will be a congress on practical Theology, as it has been dubbed by the Ratzinger Foundation. There is a very important component of theological study, and theological discussions, but there will also be scientists who will also bring their knowledge to the table.â?
Fernando Sánchez, the former Costa Rican Ambassador to the Holy See is the person behind this project, which is also backed by the Costa Rican bishops.
This year, however, the novelty is that the Catholic University of Costa Rica will create an observatory to measure how countries apply the criteria in Ecology and human development recommended by Pope Francis.
FERNANDO SíNCHEZ
President, Universidad Católica de Costa Rica
'Taking the Holy Father's encyclical, dividing it in measurable indicators, which is something you can do with Laudato si', not other encyclicals, which are already being studied by prestigious universities, and we can come up with a 'Laudato si' Human Development Index,' an index according to the pope's petitions, so we can rank the different countries in the world.â?
MSGR. JOSÉ RAFAEL QUIRí?S
Archbishop of San José (Costa Rica)
'Experts in the field consider it a crucial matter and a very transcendental one. It will exceed the scope of the Church. It will have an important impact in the level of civil society.â?
Even though Pope Benedict was unable to visit this area during his pontificate, Vatican representatives will now travel to the country, together with theologians and scientists, to deepen in their knowledge of the German pope's thought.
The location is by no means arbitrary: Costa Rica is an example of a country which respects the environment and profits from its good conservation.
The convention will be, without a doubt, the most important Vatican-related event to be celebrated in Costa Rica, and possibly in Central America too.
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