Sorondo defends climate conference

Archbishop Marcelo Sánchez Sorondo, head of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, lashed out at critics of a recent conference he hosted who objected to the inclusion of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and US economist Jeffrey Sachs, writes Michael Sean Winters. The critics charge that both men support abortion and should not have been invited to such a prominent Church-sponsored event.

“The Tea Party and all those whose income derives from oil have criticised us, but not my superiors, who instead authorised me,” the archbishop said in an email response to questions from the Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute. “Instead of attacking us, why not enter into dialogue with these ‘demons’ to maybe make the formulation better, like we did on the issues of social inclusion and new forms of slavery?”

The 28 April workshop was entitled “Protect the Earth, Dignify Humanity: The Moral Dimensions of Climate Change and Sustainable Humanity”.

Archbishop Sánchez also defended the Vatican conference’s assertions about anthropogenic climate change. When asked if Pope Francis agrees with those assertions, he replied, “This I do not know. But I suppose yes, because he would not write an encyclical just to say that man is responsible for the Earth but that everything is fine! The academy says otherwise, as do all the rest of scientific academies in the world.”

Pope Francis’ encyclical on the environment is expected to be published shortly. Dan Misleh, director of the Catholic Covenant on Climate Change, said he welcomed Archbishop Sánchez’s willingness to stand up to those who are trying to sidetrack the Church’s engagement on environmental issues.