Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., says he will be skipping Pope Francis’s speech to a joint session of Congress next week due to his support for action on climate change.
In an op-ed published Thursday, the Arizona Republican, who is also a Catholic, said the pontiff’s stance toward climate change reminds him of “a leftist politician.”
“If the pope stuck to standard Christian theology, I would be the first in line. If the pope spoke out with moral authority against violent Islam, I would be there cheering him on. If the pope urged the western nations to rescue persecuted Christians in the Middle East, I would back him wholeheartedly. But when the pope chooses to act and talk like a leftist politician, then he can expect to be treated like one,” Gosar wrote on Townhall.com, a conservative website.
Though there have been no precise indications from the Vatican on what the pope plans to say in his speech to Congress, his recent comments on Cuba, the Iran nuclear deal and climate change do offer a hint.
Regardless, Gosar will not be there listening.
“If the pope wants to devote his life to fighting climate change then he can do so in his personal time. But to promote questionable science as Catholic dogma is ridiculous,” wrote Gosar, who is also part of a current charge to impeach Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy.
