On Thursday, the Pope added environmental protection to the “seven mercies” (feeding the hungry, visiting the sick, etc) that good Catholics ought to perform.

He said it was sinful to turn the planet into a “polluted wasteland full of debris, desolation and filth”.

He warned that last year was the warmest year on record, and 2016 looks likely to be warmer still.

“This is leading to ever more severe droughts, floods, fires and extreme weather events,” he said.

“Climate change is also contributing to the heart-rending refugee crisis. The world’s poor, though least responsible for climate change, are most vulnerable and already suffering its impact.”

It's a problematic sin. If we stop sinning against the earth - stop mining and exporting coal, stop importing tonnes of plastic trinkets from China - then we might be committing another sort of sin: a sin against The Economy.

So we remain in a stalemate, doing our bit for consumer confidence by buying things we don't really need but feeling anxious about the endless plunder of the earth's resources that underlies infinitely expanding growth.

The other problem is that climate change is an invisible sin. If our greenhouse gas emissions followed us around in a coloured cloud - a swirl of telltale puce or chartreuse - then we might be more conscious of them. As it is, everything looks perfectly normal. It's our invisible sin.

It’s all very difficult, but we're all in this together. We need to stop feeling paralysed and start thinking about what small actions each of us can take. Meanwhile, we can take strength from the knowledge that others all around the world are trying to do the same thing.

If you'd like to take action locally, the Bathurst Community Climate Action Network annual general meeting will be held in the Courtyard Room at the Bathurst RSL on Tuesday, October 18 at 6pm. All welcome. The guest speaker will be ex-BP executive turned climate change campaigner, Dr Steb Fisher.