When Pope Francis speaks to Congress on Thursday, environmentalists expect him to renew his call for rich countries to do more to combat climate change, and some believe that effort should begin with Catholic institutions in the U.S., which are facing a small but vocal effort to pressure them to divest from the fossil fuel industry. “The [divestment] conversations are happening now at a level they weren’t a year ago,” said Kevin Ahern, a religious studies professor at Manhattan College. “Pope Francis is trying to ask the church institutions, ‘How do we really embody what we’re teaching?’” Pope Francis puts GOP in a corner on climate change Pope’s comments on climate sparks debate on coal In an encyclical issued in June, the pope delivered a dramatic and unambiguous rebuke of humanity’s environmental stewardship . “We know that technology based on the use of highly polluting fossil fuels … needs […]