Italy plans to add Climate Change to all grades of public education, an article by Jason Horowitz reported today in the New York Times. That would be a tough sell in our US educational system, I think.

A spokesman for an Italian environmentalist group said it’s not enough to change the school curriculum; the next ten years are crucial for the environment. We all have to go to school on this crucial issue, he said.

The facts are clear. We have to do something about it, but many political leaders, including our own, don’t believe its an urgent problem or want to talk about something else, and many ordinary people are not sure either. 

Science acknowledges climate change and is trying to address it. Pope Francis in his ground-breaking encyclical “Laudato Si” acknowledges the crisis and calls for all people of good will to come to the aid of their common home. We need an “ecological conversion,” he says.

It seems to me a catechesis blending science and religious is crucial now. Besides changes in its educational system, our church needs to reach adults through a concerted effort of preaching, discussion and pastoral efforts. I don’t think we’re doing enough.

What shall we say and how shall we say it. 

The Times article says Italian educators are planning to reach the real young people through “fairy tales.” I suppose they mean, in part, the creation stories of various religions.

Does that include the Genesis account of Judaism and Christianity?

That’s more than a fairy tale. Our creation story is more than a story for children. It offers a wisdom science doesn’t have and it’s meant for us all. I wish we realized more than we do the treasures we have in Christian teaching, spirituality and prayer. We need to rediscover them, Pope Francis said.

We have n challenging moment for Christian catechesis ahead of us.