"Ecological Conversion"

That phrase was Pope John Paul's when he called for that conversion in the 1990s. Individual and local initiatives are here and there. "Yet so far no single defining moment has come along to crank up Catholic activism in a way that changes the social and political equation," wrote Mr. John L. Allen Jr. in his analysis to which he devoted his Friday column.

As usual, Mr. Allen provides some historical perspective after getting our attention early.

If there's such a turning point taking shape, it may well be in the Amazon rainforest. If Catholicism can't make a stand in the Amazon, there may not be much hope for it anywhere else.

Mr. Allen draws both parallels and divergences with the Polish movement, Solidarity, as he helps us appreciate "the time window for a concerted Catholic effort is closing fast. Were it to somehow succeed, however, it could have a powerful effect on the church everywhere."
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Wiki-photo of John L. Allen Jr. is used under the Gnu Free Documentation License.