Pope Francis is to warn that global warming is a major threat to the planet and has called for urgent action to protect God’s creation from the impact of climate change, which he attributes largely to human activity.
In an encyclical Laudato Si', or "Praise Be – On the care of our common home" – due to be published on Thursday, the Pope will celebrate God’s creation but highlight the threats to its survival caused by mankind. The document derives its name from St Francis of Assisi’s Canticle of the Sun, in which he refers to “Brother Sun”, “Sister Moon”, “Sister Water”, and “our sister Mother Earth, who feeds us and rules us, and produces various fruits with coloured flowers and herbs.”
A 192-page version of the encyclical in Italian was leaked last night by the Italian magazine L’Espresso – three days before the official launch on Thursday.
The Vatican said the published document was only a draft and condemned the leak as a “heinous” act. It also stripped the journalist who published the draft of his credentials.
According to reports, Pope Francis describes environmental degradation as being caused by an “abuse of the goods God has placed in her”. He sets out the moral and scientific case for safeguarding creation, arguing that the planet’s poorest inhabitants are those already suffering most acutely from the effects of damage to the environment. He also argues that population growth isn't to blame for ecological problems but rather the consumerist, wasteful behaviour of the rich.
According to the Italian daily La Stampa the leak was being seen in the Vatican as an attempt by conservative factions within the Curia to undermine the Pope. “There was a double aim: to weaken the message of the encyclical, which in some places harshly criticises the environmental policies of hegemonic countries in certain points, and to attack the image of the pontiff as they resist his renewal of the Church,” La Stampa wrote.
Some people who say climate change is not man-made, particularly in the US, have already distanced themselves from the contents of the encyclical. Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum, a Catholic, said last week that the Church would be “better off leaving science to the scientists”.
Photo: CNS
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