Catholic teachings never tell you to stay still and to trust that God is going to fix it for you. It tells you to take control of things and make them your own. People have used the word ‘dominion’ to describe the way that God gave the Earth to people under Catholic faith, but ‘dominion’ does not mean to take control of, it means to take care of.
– Barbara
Barbara Espinosa Barrera works at GreenRoots as the Environmental Justice and Health Equity Organizer. She is passionate about sharing science, health, and environmental justice information by telling stories. Barbara was a 2023 Pulitzer Center Reporting Fellow, traveling to Ecuador to report on an active volcano near her hometown. She is a graduate of the BU School of Public Health where she focused on Environmental Health. In her free time, Barbara loves to read, play soccer, and bake.
Inspired by her Pulitzer Center fellowship and the observed community behavior surrounding the impending threat of volcanic eruption, Barbara spent her time with MISI building on her background in environmental justice, public health, and religion to explore the relationship of faith and activism. She researched Catholic and Christian texts and spoke with others in the field to connect how faith can function both as a propeller to organize and take action and as a reason to stay still and trust in God’s protection.