{"id":1156,"date":"2009-01-25T06:33:00","date_gmt":"2009-01-25T06:33:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/deaconsbench\/2009\/01\/feeling-the-heat-developing-a-catholic-climate-covenant.html"},"modified":"2009-01-25T06:33:00","modified_gmt":"2009-01-25T06:33:00","slug":"feeling-the-heat-developing-a-catholic-climate-covenant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2009\/01\/feeling-the-heat-developing-a-catholic-climate-covenant.html","title":{"rendered":"Feeling the heat: developing a “Catholic Climate Covenant”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Is there a Catholic stance on climate change? A group of concerned Catholics evidently thinks so and is launching a new effort<\/a> to raise awareness of it: <\/p>\n

<\/a>During the Easter season, the Catholic Coalition on Climate Change plans to publicly unveil a \u201cCatholic Climate Covenant,\u201d a new initiative to make U.S. Catholics more aware of what they can do to stem climate change and its effects.<\/p>\n

It will be unveiled with a public event on Earth Day, April 22.<\/p>\n

The covenant includes \u201cThe St. Francis Pledge to Protect Creation and the Poor,\u201d modeled after St. Francis of Assisi, whose \u201cCanticle of the Sun\u201d<\/a> praised God\u2019s creation in the form of, among other things, earth, water and creatures.<\/p>\n

The pledge is \u201ca solemn commitment made by Catholic individuals, groups and institutions to honor God\u2019s creation and serve the poor,\u201d according to the pledge\u2019s preamble. The pledge\u2019s five points ask Catholics to:<\/p>\n

\u2013 Pray and reflect on the duty to care for God\u2019s creation and protect the poor and vulnerable.<\/p>\n

\u2013 Learn about and educate others on the causes and moral dimensions of climate change.<\/p>\n

\u2013 Assess \u201chow each of us \u2013 as individuals and as organizations \u2013 is contributing to climate change,\u201d both in terms of consumption and conservation.<\/p>\n

\u2013 Act \u201cto change our choices and behaviors contributing to climate change.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2013 Advocate for Catholic principles and priorities in discussions and decisions about climate change, especially their impact on the poor and vulnerable.<\/p>\n

Last year, the Senate considered a bill that would have sent public proceeds generated by a \u201ccap and trade\u201d approach to emissions to poor people in the most vulnerable developing countries to help them adapt to a changing climate, but there was not enough support to cut off debate and allow a vote on the measure itself.<\/p>\n

Under cap and trade, a ceiling \u2013 or cap \u2013 is set on greenhouse gas emissions in a particular geographic region. Firms that cannot meet the ceiling pay others whose emissions fall within the ceiling for, essentially, the right to pollute. This is the trade. Governments, though, can get a share of the cost of the trade.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe solar panels on the Paul VI Conference Center at the Vatican means that the Vatican is very close to being the first carbon-neutral state,\u201d said Dan Misleh, executive director of the coalition. \u201cIn many ways we are playing catch-up\u201d compared to the Vatican, he added.<\/p>\n

Organizations in the coalition were urged at a Jan. 16 conference to gets their own member institutions to sign on to the covenant and pledge in advance of Earth Day so that there would be a large number of signees at the time it is made public.<\/p>\n

The National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry plans to use the \u201cSt. Francis Pledge\u201d as a starting point in developing an online resource for youth ministry leaders to encourage youths and families to develop skills to protect creation and serve the poor.<\/p>\n

Other coalition members include the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops\u2019 Migration and Refugee Services and Department of Justice, Peace and Human Development; the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities; the Carmelite Nongovernmental Organization; Catholic Charities USA; the Catholic Health Association; Catholic Relief Services; the Conference of Major Superiors of Men; the Franciscan Action Network; the Leadership Conference of Women Religious; the National Catholic Rural Life Conference; and the National Council of Catholic Women.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Is there a Catholic stance on climate change? A group of concerned Catholics evidently thinks so and is launching a new effort to raise awareness of it: During the Easter season, the Catholic Coalition on Climate Change plans to publicly unveil a \u201cCatholic Climate Covenant,\u201d a new initiative to make U.S. Catholics more aware of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":365,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1156","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ripped-from-the-headlines"],"yoast_head":"\nFeeling the heat: developing a "Catholic Climate Covenant" - The Deacon's Bench<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2009\/01\/feeling-the-heat-developing-a-catholic-climate-covenant.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Feeling the heat: developing a "Catholic Climate Covenant" - The Deacon's Bench\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Is there a Catholic stance on climate change? A group of concerned Catholics evidently thinks so and is launching a new effort to raise awareness of it: During the Easter season, the Catholic Coalition on Climate Change plans to publicly unveil a \u201cCatholic Climate Covenant,\u201d a new initiative to make U.S. Catholics more aware of…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2009\/01\/feeling-the-heat-developing-a-catholic-climate-covenant.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Deacon's Bench\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2009-01-25T06:33:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/_0DySLTT4PWo\/SXxO4AqB8ZI\/AAAAAAAAE_M\/m9sLPxLlaLk\/s320\/climate-change.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"deacon greg kandra\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Feeling the heat: developing a \"Catholic Climate Covenant\" - The Deacon's Bench","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2009\/01\/feeling-the-heat-developing-a-catholic-climate-covenant.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Feeling the heat: developing a \"Catholic Climate Covenant\" - The Deacon's Bench","og_description":"Is there a Catholic stance on climate change? A group of concerned Catholics evidently thinks so and is launching a new effort to raise awareness of it: During the Easter season, the Catholic Coalition on Climate Change plans to publicly unveil a \u201cCatholic Climate Covenant,\u201d a new initiative to make U.S. Catholics more aware of…","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2009\/01\/feeling-the-heat-developing-a-catholic-climate-covenant.html","og_site_name":"The Deacon's Bench","article_published_time":"2009-01-25T06:33:00+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/_0DySLTT4PWo\/SXxO4AqB8ZI\/AAAAAAAAE_M\/m9sLPxLlaLk\/s320\/climate-change.jpg"}],"author":"deacon greg kandra","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2009\/01\/feeling-the-heat-developing-a-catholic-climate-covenant.html","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2009\/01\/feeling-the-heat-developing-a-catholic-climate-covenant.html","name":"Feeling the heat: developing a \"Catholic Climate Covenant\" - The Deacon's Bench","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2009\/01\/feeling-the-heat-developing-a-catholic-climate-covenant.html#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2009\/01\/feeling-the-heat-developing-a-catholic-climate-covenant.html#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/_0DySLTT4PWo\/SXxO4AqB8ZI\/AAAAAAAAE_M\/m9sLPxLlaLk\/s320\/climate-change.jpg","datePublished":"2009-01-25T06:33:00+00:00","dateModified":"2009-01-25T06:33:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/#\/schema\/person\/052b8cd86cc713feaccdc8282b03cf10"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2009\/01\/feeling-the-heat-developing-a-catholic-climate-covenant.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2009\/01\/feeling-the-heat-developing-a-catholic-climate-covenant.html"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2009\/01\/feeling-the-heat-developing-a-catholic-climate-covenant.html#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/_0DySLTT4PWo\/SXxO4AqB8ZI\/AAAAAAAAE_M\/m9sLPxLlaLk\/s320\/climate-change.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/_0DySLTT4PWo\/SXxO4AqB8ZI\/AAAAAAAAE_M\/m9sLPxLlaLk\/s320\/climate-change.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2009\/01\/feeling-the-heat-developing-a-catholic-climate-covenant.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Feeling the heat: developing a “Catholic Climate Covenant”"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/","name":"The Deacon's Bench","description":"Where a Roman Catholic Deacon Ponders the World","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/#\/schema\/person\/052b8cd86cc713feaccdc8282b03cf10","name":"deacon greg kandra","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/a4e\/a4e07ce6fde3f10d4d9753243fd48d45x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/a4e\/a4e07ce6fde3f10d4d9753243fd48d45x96.jpg","caption":"deacon greg kandra"},"url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/author\/deacon-greg-kandra"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1156","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/365"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1156"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1156\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1156"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1156"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1156"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}