“This means overcoming the concern for material gain”. In 1991, the USCCB issued a pastoral statement in which it called the environmental crisis “a moral challenge” and argued that environmental ethics are an integral part of Catholic teaching – a move that gave environmental concerns further legitimacy within of the Church. “What I've heard over and over again from local groups is that if the bishops say something, it will be a lot easier for us,” Kearns said. “To go even further and include it in the list of Catholic social teachings was even more significant.” The fourth environmentalist is Pope John Paul II: environmentalism «is linked to a command of