Pope releases major climate change doctrine
Sarah B. Boxer
On Wednesday morning, Pope Francis released his first major teaching letter — known as an encyclical — and it focuses on a “hot-button topic” around the world: climate change.
In the letter, the pope focuses on humans’ role in causing climate change. “We must be grateful for the praiseworthy efforts being made by scientists and engineers dedicated to finding solutions to man-made problems,” he writes.
The pope continues, and does not mince words: “But a sober look at our world shows that the degree of human intervention, often in the service of business interests and consumerism, is actually making our earth less rich and beautiful, ever more limited and grey, even as technological advances and consumer goods continue to abound limitlessly.”
In an interview with Yahoo global news anchor Katie Couric, Erin Lothes of the Catholic Climate Covenant called the document “historic.”
This is not the first time the the papacy has addressed environmental issues — Pope Benedict was even called the “Green Pope” and installed solar panels at the Vatican — but Lothes said this document propels Pope Francis to the forefront of this issue.
“He’s building on the tradition of popes and bishops before him,” said Lothes. “But he’s taken this historic opportunity at this critical time to write an entire encyclical about it and emphasize how care for creation and care for the poor are moral issues that are obligations for everyone.”
On Tuesday presidential candidate Jeb Bush, a Catholic, said he was "skeptical" about the encyclical’s message on climate change. Lothes said she thinks that could land Bush in the “hot seat” with Archbishop Thomas Wenski in Miami, who has spoken out about the reality of climate change and agrees with the pope’s message about the moral obligation to curb it.
