Cardinal Reinhard Marx lectures and is declared Honorary Professor of the UDA

The University of Azuay, in the framework of the celebrations for its 50 years, declared as Cardinal Reinhard Marx, Archbishop of Munich and Freising, Honorary Professor, who on Wednesday 6 of September gave the conference "Laudato si' and Megaminería" in the Auditorium of the University.

The Rector of the UDA, Francisco Salgado, received the illustrious visitor with a speech in which he reflected on the predatory capacity of the human being from the news of the hundreds of mutilated sharks in the Galapagos Islands in recent days.

"We must look for a different culture, a culture of life," said the Rector, adding that "another world is possible and the University is the space to discuss this other world."

Then, Monsignor Marcos Pérez Caicedo, Archbishop of Cuenca, took the floor, saying that "the current ecological crisis threatens everyone, especially the poorest, and invites us to take care of our common home."

Cardinal Marx then spoke about the encyclical prepared by Pope Francis, who has chosen him as one of the eight cardinals that make up the Council that aims to help his Holiness in the government of the Church and reform the Roman Curia.

"The encyclical Laudato si 'offers us a new perspective to place the human being at the center of creation," said the Archbishop of Munich and Freising, adding:

"The Pope has specified that it is not an encyclical on the environment but points to all human environments and tries to introduce a new idea of ​​progress in the discussion."

Finally, the president of the Kichwa Confederation of Ecuador (Ecuarunari), Yaku Sacha Pérez Guartambel, said that Ecuador, despite having a Constitution recognized worldwide as one of the most "green" in the world, is currently "in the threshold of the slaughter of the megaminería ".

Pérez Guartambel asked the Cardinal for the support of the Catholic Church to prevent further degradation of the land.

The event culminated with a dinner in honor of the visitor of which the university authorities and the Ecuadorian Church participated.