After Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum said Pope Francis should “leave science to the scientists” last week, “Fox News Sunday” host Chris Wallace challenged: If the Pope shouldn’t talk about science, why should Santorum?
“The church has gotten it wrong a few times on science,” Santorum had said in a previous interview. “I think we are probably better off leaving science to the scientists and focusing on what we’re really good at.”
“Two points, if he’s not a scientist, and, in fact, he does have a degree in chemistry — neither are you,” Wallace said.
“I agree,” said Santorum.
“And the second point is that … 80-90 percent of scientists that have studied this say that humans, human activity contributes to climate change,” said Wallace. “I guess the question would be, if he shouldn’t talk about it, should you?”
“Well, we have to make public policy with regard to the environmental policy,” Santorum said.
“But you’re not a scientist! You said leave science to the scientists,” Wallace challenged.
“The point is, whether we like it or not, people in government have to make decisions with respect to our public policy that affect American workers,” replied Santorum, pivoting to an Obama ozone regulation that would shut down “any manufacturing expansion in this country.”
Pope Francis is expected to release an encyclical this summer on climate change and the common good.
“I think there are more pressing problems confronting the earth than climate change,” said Santorum, calling climate change “speculative science that has proven over time … all the predictions that were made 15 years ago, none of them have come true.”
