Pope Francis called for an urgent, drastic cut in fossil fuel emissions in an appeal to pull “Mother Earth” out of a “spiral of self-destruction” that he blamed on rich nations and the structure of the global economy.
As Bloomberg reports, the spiritual leader of 1.2 billion Catholics made his plea for the planet, and for the world’s poorest people, in a 181-page encyclical—a letter to bishops and one of the major forms of papal writings—titled “Laudato si’ (praised be) on care for our common home.”
A sweeping document addressed “to all people of good will” and published in eight languages touches on science, theology and morality and weaves in views about politics and economics. It will stand as a key legacy of Francis’s papacy.
For the Argentine pope, the encyclical is an attempt to pressure world leaders ahead of a United Nations summit on climate change in Paris at the end of the year. With preparations for a landmark deal on global warming hanging in the balance, Francis appealed “for a new dialog about how we are shaping the future of our planet.”
The encyclical is the start of a long offensive that will see Francis weigh in repeatedly on climate change. He is due to press his views on a trip to Ecuador, Bolivia and Paraguay in July, and again on a visit to Cuba and the U.S.
The pope will tackle climate change when he meets President Barack Obama at the White House in September, and is expected to do so when he addresses the United Nations in New York.
The encyclical has already sparked controversy especially in the U.S., including among climate change skeptics in the Republican Party. Presidential candidate Jeb Bush, a Catholic, said this week, “I don’t get economic policy from my bishops or my cardinals or my pope.”
Francis gave Bush and other Catholics little room for maneuver, writing that Christians “realize that their responsibility within creation, and their duty towards nature and the creator, are an essential part of their faith.” Vatican officials said the pope’s pronouncements on the environment, born of Gospel teachings on creation, had the weight of doctrine.
