Pope Francis has no problem angering some of the more conservative members of the Catholic Church and religious right with his progressive views on topics such as abortion, gay marriage, capitalism, etc. Francis is now looking to take on the climate change deniers, as he is set to deliver a lengthy message on global warming in 2015.
According to The Guardian, the pope will “give an address to the UN general assembly and call a summit of the world’s main religions,” hoping to directly effect the United Nations climate meeting in Paris, :when countries will try to conclude 20 years of fraught negotiations with a universal commitment to reduce emissions.”
“Our academics supported the pope’s initiative to influence next year’s crucial decisions,” Bishop Marcelo Sorondo told Cafod, the Catholic development agency, at a meeting in London. “The idea is to convene a meeting with leaders of the main religions to make all people aware of the state of our climate and the tragedy of social exclusion.”
This edict on climate change and human ecology comes after a visit from Pope Francis earlier this year to Tacloban, the Philippine city destroyed by a typhoon in 2012. Francis will be calling upon people to take action on both moral and scientific grounds.
“According to Vatican insiders,” The Guardian reported, “Francis will meet other faith leaders and lobby politicians at the general assembly in New York in September, when countries will sign up to new anti-poverty and environmental goals.”
The upcoming edict is not the first time Francis has mentioned climate change. Earlier this year, he said:
“An economic system centred on the god of money needs to plunder nature to sustain the frenetic rhythm of consumption that is inherent to it.The system continues unchanged, since what dominates are the dynamics of an economy and a finance that are lacking in ethics. It is no longer man who commands, but money. Cash commands.
The monopolising of lands, deforestation, the appropriation of water, inadequate agro-toxics are some of the evils that tear man from the land of his birth. Climate change, the loss of biodiversity and deforestation are already showing their devastating effects in the great cataclysms we witness.”
Hopefully the Pope’s message will resonate with his 1.2 billion followers and climate change deniers across the globe, regardless of their religious beliefs.