Mary Catherine Hilkert, O.P., 14 April 2002

Not only the tragic events of September 11, but the rise in terrorism around the globe along with the corresponding "war on terrorism," the escalation of violence and suicide bombings in the Middle East, U.S. proposals to reconsider the development of "limited nuclear weapons," and the ongoing lack of attention to the consequences of our rate of consumption and lifestyle on the rest of the world and the Earth itself, have prompted me to reconsider the title for this lecture. It seems clear that the real question is not whether the religious symbol of human persons as "created in the image of God" has a future, but rather whether humankind and creation as we have known it have a future.