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“It fits very well into the unit we will be starting after this one,” said Tony Haggeman, a religion and philosophy teacher at John Paul II.

Haggeman intends to get his students from Grades 9 through 12 reading newspapers about the which kicks off in Bali Dec. 3. He will download newspaper articles and prod his students to talk and think about what 180 nations gathered in Bali can, will and should do about climate change. In the next unit, what Haggeman������Ƶapp students have to learn about Catholic theology is the central role of justice in a Christian world view.

Haggeman has grasped the central idea of the Bali conference by the throat, according to University of St. Michael������Ƶapp College theologian Dennis Patrick O’Hara.

“It������Ƶapp fundamentally wrong to create a situation which threatens (poor nations’) existence and then do nothing about it,” said O’Hara, who is director of the Elliott Allen Institute for Theology and Ecology. “As a church, we should care about Bali.”

The situation which threatens human existence in many of the poorest countries is human-made global warming. With the industrial revolution, starting in about the middle of the 18th century, rich nations — mostly Western Europe and North America — have poured millions of tons of carbon and related gases into the world������Ƶapp atmosphere. Those gases have caused temperatures to climb, weather to turn violently erratic and sea levels to rise, according to the Nobel Prize-winning International Panel on Climate Change.

O’Hara compares the situation to a giant feast. Wealthy nations arrived first and ate most of the food. Now it������Ƶapp the rich nations that have to go on a diet. For guests who have just arrived and barely tasted the banquet it������Ƶapp not quite fair to put them on the same diet, said O’Hara.

This principle of differentiated responses to climate change, putting a greater burden on rich nations than developing economies, will likely be the primary political battle as countries in Bali begin negotiations for a post-Kyoto agreement to take the world past 2012. The United States rejected this principle of differentiated response when it withdrew from Kyoto in 2001. Canada������Ƶapp Prime Minister Stephen Harper also objected to it as the Commonwealth leaders hammered out a statement on climate change at Kampala, Uganda. in November.

But it������Ƶapp not just politics. It������Ƶapp also morality, said O’Hara.

“There������Ƶapp an order to creation. The Earth is telling us quite clearly that what we’re doing is quite wrong,” he said.

For the Franciscans who will send a delegation to Bali, the question of why a religious order would be at an international gathering of NGOs and government ministers on a matter of science is a no-brainer.

“Francis embraced God������Ƶapp conception of His creatures as a family of brothers and sisters, like Brother Sun and Sister Moon,” said Sr. Gloria Oehl of Franciscans International, an organization with official NGO standing at the United Nations. “That������Ƶapp one of our basic concerns going back 800 years, building relationship with all of creation — which includes, of course, the environment.”

Franciscans International will send biochemist Friar Bernd Beerman of the Capuchins to take part in scientific discussions in Bali. For the religious order it������Ƶapp not about cheering from the sidelines. It������Ƶapp about getting results, said Franciscans International director Fr. Elias Mallon of the Atonement Friars.

“It������Ƶapp an opportunity. It������Ƶapp a very serious opportunity, and an important opportunity,” he told The Catholic Register from New York. “Whether it will be taken or not, I don’t know. That remains to be seen.”

Jesuit Father Jim Profit counts himself among those who have seen climate change with their own eyes. This past summer the pond at the , Ont., was dry, and the organic farm the Jesuits run on their property suffered through a severe drought. It worries Profit that people seem not to have made the connection between environmental crisis and their faith.

“As church people, we’re more silent than we should be,” he said.

Profit would like to hear parishes offer petitions for the success of the Bali conference at prayers of the faithful in parish Sunday Masses. He������Ƶapp not holding his breath.

“I yearn for the day when our prayers of the faithful include a prayer for the species that are lost, or for some issue in ecology, for an awareness of the Earth issues,” said Profit. “I think praying for the Earth, the Earth community, is very important.”

As part of an ecumenical delegation, Profit attended one of the predecessor gatherings to the Bali meetings in Montreal in 2005. He believes the Holy Spirit is at work among people who strive to protect God������Ƶapp creation at such conferences.

“That������Ƶapp how the Spirit works, really. It������Ƶapp through people, whether they’re people of faith or not, whether they belong to a church or not. But that������Ƶapp how change happens,” he said.

One of the most important things religion can contribute in the fight to control climate change is to help people overcome a sense of helplessness when they face a vast, planetary problem, said Profit.

“The helplessness comes from a sense that little me can’t do much in such a big problem that������Ƶapp bringing about so much death. Well, the experience of the Resurrection says that������Ƶapp not the end of the story, and little me can do a lot — especially when I do it with others, in community,” Profit said. “(We’re) assuming that really it������Ƶapp the corporations and the government that has the big step to make, when in fact all of us contribute to the problem of climate change through our lifestyle. All of us have a part to play.”

For Oehl of the , paying attention to climate change means embracing a spirituality of conversion.

“The environment affects the poor and vulnerable of our world. We commit ourselves to a serious review of our lifestyles — aiming at solidarity, avoiding unnecessary waste and the exaggerated use of natural resources. We commit ourselves and invite everyone individually and collectively to assess their conduct in the area of ecology,” she said.

The starting point for conversion is prayer, said Oehl.

“It������Ƶapp so vital for the good of the planet, and that includes humankind and our most vulnerable brothers and sisters,” she said. “We pray for the poor, and this global warming impacts them greatly.”