Fury greets Trump’s climate-change withdrawal

United States / France

Macron solicits Francis’ support on Paris deal

Catholics throughout the country reacted strongly to President Donald Trump’s decision to have the United States withdraw from the 2015 Paris climate agreement. Most Catholic leaders registered their opposition to the move, but some Catholics voiced support for the president.

The agreement commits the US and 187 other countries to keeping rising global temperatures below 2C to limit the effects of climate change. Speaking on behalf of the US Bishops’ Conference, Bishop Oscar Cantú, chair of the committee on international justice and peace, called the decision “deeply troubling”.

He continued:“The Scriptures affirm the value of caring for creation and caring for each other in solidarity. The Paris agreement is an international accord that promotes these values. President Trump’s decision will harm the people of the United States and the world, especially the poorest, most vulnerable communities.”

The Catholic Climate Covenant and its 12 member organisations, including Catholic Charities USA, the Catholic Health Association, the Leadership Conference of Women Religious and other groups, issued a statement that expressed “disappointment” at the president’s decision and urged him to reconsider.

“Catholic teaching insists that climate change is a grave moral issue that threatens our commitments: to protect human life, health, dignity, and security; to exercise a preferential option for the poor; to promote the common good of which the climate is a part; to live in solidarity with future generations; to realise peace; and to care for God’s good gift of creation,” the statement said.

Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich sent out several tweets, among them: “Climate change is real. Failing to protect the earth is not just a failure of leadership. It is a moral failure.” The highest-ranking Catholic in the government, the Republican Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, backed Mr Trump’s decision, calling the Paris Accord “a raw deal for America”.
 
Meanwhile French President Emmanuel Macron spoke by telephone with Pope Francis about the climate change and refugee issues and invited him to visit France “at a date that suits him best”. Mr Macron has strongly defended the 2015 Paris climate agreement and criticised Mr Trump for pulling the US out of it. He also thanked Pope Francis for his support for the global deal, AFP reported.

The 10-minute conversation took place a day after Mr Trump announced his decision. During their meeting at the Vatican in May, Francis gave the US?president a copy of his encyclical Laudato Si’, which argued for policies to tackle human-driven climate change.
Bishop Marcelo Sanchez Sorondo, head of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, described the decision as “a disaster” and “a slap in the face” to supporters of the agreement, who include the Holy See.

Michael Sean Winters
and Tom Heneghan