Romana

Journalist Miranda Devine was one of the speakers at the sixth “Lights and Shadows Symposium,” organized by Creston College this past September. She spoke about the need to reflect seriously about fostering a new human ecology. As Isabella Conde, coordinator of the Symposium, explained, this annual event offers professional women in Sydney the opportunity to consider more deeply topics of current interest.

Basing herself on the encyclical Caritas in Veritate, Mary-Rose Pintado, an educator and teacher of anthropology, initiated the symposium by offering some philosophical foundations of human ecology. Other speakers included the bioethics specialist Monique Baldwin, who spoke about her own efforts to draw up a public policy attentive to the dignity of the person; Professor Elizabeth Elliot, director of the pediatric center at Westmead Children’s Hospital; and Sophie York, a lawyer and professor of law.

Professor York presented an historical overview of women’s rights. While Genevieve Clay, a journalist for the ABC TV network and winner of Australia’s 2008 Tropfest for her short film “Be My Brother,” spoke about human ecology in the media.