September 24, 2007 6:36 AM

The Pope and the Earth

This is just cool, good news.

The Pope is expected to use his first address to the United Nations to deliver a powerful warning over climate change in a move to adopt protection of the environment as a "moral" cause for the Catholic Church and its billion-strong following.

The Catholic Church has had a mixed relationship with progressive causes we at Working Assets care most about. There are strong trends in the church's history toward fighting poverty, encouraging charity and honoring social justice. There have also been the frustrating times, like when John Kerry's pro-choice views in the 2004 election led to a debate over whether certain churches would welcome him for communion.

Many observant Catholics I know in New York City (assuredly, a denser population of politically liberal Catholics) have found it sad that their fellow Catholics have not been more in the lead on global warming. Stewardship of the Earth, in their view, is one of the prime tasks God assigned to humanity.

They'll be happy to know the Pope agrees.

Most immediately, I'm interested in seeing how this affects discourse in our country, just because I'm a domestic politics addict. Will it further heighten Al Gore's stature as prophet-on-a-mission? Will it influence the way candidates talk about the ever-invoked "moral values" in their campaigns?

But longer term -- in a world where the Catholic population is dominant in so many lesser developed areas -- this moral obligation could have a fascinating impact on the growth...and hopefully the sustainability...of those societies.

For now, thank you, Pope -- and let's all do as he says -- fight global warming -- and start by telling power companies to invest in clean energy, not coal -- with just a few clicks and the help of Working Assets' Act For Change.