Catholic bishops to meet with Congress, White House on climate change

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is planning to take Pope Francis’s encyclical on climate change to Congress, the White House and Catholics nationally. Stephen Colecchi, director of international peace and justice for the group, told reporters Thursday it is planning a pair of briefings with the House and Senate on Thursday and a White House briefing Friday. Joseph Kurtz, president of the USCCB and the archbishop of Louisville, Ky., said his group will be being a message that the pope is calling for a constructive dialogue on climate change and not prescribing specific actions. “It’s meant to be a challenging dialogue,” Kurtz told reporters. “We’re always looking for bipartisan solutions; we’re always looking to bring people together.”...more