Bishop William Skylstad

Bishop William Skylstad will discuss emerging environmental issues, including the future of water resources, and the role Catholic social teaching plays in addressing climate change at 4 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 18, in the Buckley Center Auditorium at the University of Portland.

Bishop Skylstad, spiritual leader of the Diocese of Spokane, Wash., is past president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. He chaired the Pastoral Letter Project committee that included the bishops of the Columbia River Watershed region. The Columbia River Pastoral Letter Project was launched in 1997 to provide an international, watershed-wide, ongoing conversation and call to action by focusing attention on the social, political, cultural, economic and environmental realities related to the Columbia River. The project calls on people to care for creation, resolve regional conflicts with respect and good will, and promotes ecological relationships linked with community economic benefits.