Ruth-Anne Walbank reports on the above Inaugural Conference of the Consortium of Catholic Universities, held at the University of Notre Dame, Rome Global Gateway on 16–18 June 2022.

Catholic universities offer a unique space for interdisciplinary dialogue with the wider world through the communities they serve and the network of higher education institutions they occupy. The inaugural conference of the Consortium of Catholic Universities (CCU) from 16–18 June 2022 marked the beginning of a new collective aimed at continuing this mission and vision; building a research community to answer the pressing needs of the Church and the world. Hosted at the University of Notre Dame’s Rome Global Gateway, this blended online and in-person conference brought together over 50 scholars from ten leading Catholic universities worldwide to consider the consortium’s first theme, ‘The Catholic University, Environmental Justice, and Research for a Sustainable Future’. 

This three-day conference embodied an international and collaborative ethos, welcoming scholars from numerous specialisms to present their research. Participating universities included Bethlehem University (Palestine); Fu Jen Catholic University (Taiwan); Katholische Universität Eichstätt-Ingolstadt (Germany); Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (Chile); Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo (Brazil); St Mary’s University, Twickenham (UK); Strathmore University (Kenya); University of Notre Dame (Australia); Ukrainian Catholic University (Ukraine); and University of Notre Dame (USA). The number of countries and cultures reflected the etymology of Catholic to mean ‘universal’, culminating in a fascinating interdisciplinary exchange of potential pathways for Catholic universities to answer our present ecological crisis.