Catholics seek provisions for poor in emissions bill

Catholics must fight global warming in a way that ensures the poorest people are not left out of the solution, a coalition of leading national Catholic organizations said today.

"This is a debate that needs to link care for creation and care 'for the least of these,'" said John Carr of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. He was referring to a biblical passage in which Jesus urges his followers to care for the hungry, sick and despised.

Carr and other Catholic leaders announced the Catholic Climate Covenant, which calls on parishes and individuals to pledge to change behaviors that are contributing to climate change and to advocate their principles in the climate debate. The group has sent the pledge to 17,000 Catholic parishes and 6,300 Catholic elementary schools around the United States.

The groups launched the initiative with a quarter-page advertisement in the New York Times and other newspapers that asks: "Who's under your carbon footprint?" The ad pushes Catholics to "tread lightly and act boldly" to protect the environment and the poor.

Catholics who take the pledge agree to pray, learn, assess, act and advocate for environmental justice. According to a new Zogby poll, more than half of Catholics in the United States identify global warming as a serious problem, while more than two-thirds say there is enough information about global warming to act now. More than two-thirds see the effects of climate change on vulnerable populations as a serious moral issue.

"Catholics are a large swing vote, and this shows that Catholics have swung on this issue," pollster John Zogby told reporters.

The coalition hopes to generate enough awareness and action among Catholics to sway public opinion and policy.

An integral part of the campaign is to push Congress to include provisions in climate and energy legislation that provide funds for individuals and countries that will be hardest hit by climate change.

"If there are not strong provisions and revenues to protect the poor at home and abroad from the impacts of climate change, there will be a serious loss of support from major faith groups in the United States," said Paul Gorman, executive director of the National Religious Partnership for the Environment. "This is a core value for the faith community. This is not an add-on, this is it."

Click here to read the pledge.