Social Justice and Laudato Si ministry with Father Emmet Farrell Artwork

Illuminating Catholics

Illuminating Catholics – shedding light to understand the modern church

Welcome to the Illuminating Catholics - podcast of the Diocese of Sioux City. Your hosts are Dawn Prosser, director of Communications for the diocese and Karmen Bower of the Faith Formation Office. We will shed light upon topics of faith in the modern church. Our guests include Catholic clergy, religious sisters and other experts in their fields to help us understand what’s happening in the church today. We will explore issues (even tough ones) and find answers to common questions about Catholicism. Thank you for joining us for today’s Illuminating Catholics – shedding light to understand the modern church. Be sure to subscribe!

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Illuminating Catholics

Social Justice and Laudato Si ministry with Father Emmet Farrell

December 16, 2025 • Season 2 • Episode 25

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Retired diocesan priest and Ayrshire native (Emmetsburg Catholic High School alumnus) Father Emmet Farrell was ordained in 1965 and after three years left diocesan ministry for missionary work in Latin America. Returning to the United States in the 1980s, much of his focus was on social justice issues. After Pope Francis' encyclical, Laudato Si (Care for our Common Home), was released in 2015, the retired priest started the Care of Creation Ministry in the Diocese of San Diego, regarded as a leader in creation care. Father Farrell received The Pope John XXII Award from the Association of U.S. Catholic Priests for his work.

Thank you for listening to this episode of Illuminating Catholics – shedding light to understand the modern church. Follow us for more episodes on topics of the Catholic faith. We are funded in part by Together As One - our diocesan annual appeal. For more news from the Diocese of Sioux City, visit lumenmedia.org.