LA fires, Catholic schools take center stage at annual business leader lunch
The fresh devastation from the recent Los Angeles wildfires took center stage at the Archdiocese of Los Angeles’ second annual Ethical Leadership Lunch, where local Catholic business leaders raised thousands for Catholic school students affected by the fires.
Scheduled to coincide with National Catholic Schools Week, the Jan. 29 event drew almost 400 business leaders, entrepreneurs, civic officials, and Catholic high school students to the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels’ conference center. A panel originally set to discuss ethics in sports and entertainment at the lunch ended up spending more time reflecting on the deeper meaning of the tragedy.
“At times like this, I’m not asking, ‘what started the fire?’ ” said panelist Anne Sweeney, a former Disney executive who now sits on the boards of Netflix and Lego. “I have very little time for who’s to blame. But I have all the time in the world for: ‘What can we do? How can we help? How can we restore people’s faith?’ ”