Pope Francis next year will instruct the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics to take action on climate change on moral and scientific grounds, according to a report.
The Argentinian pope is reportedly working on an encyclical — an official papal letter given to bishops — on the environment. The Guardian reported that Pope Francis will deliver that encyclical to the church’s 5,000 bishops and 400,000 priests following a March visit to Tacloban, the Philippines city ravaged in 2012 by typhoon Haiyan.
Pope Francis is trying to get the message out to influence United Nations climate talks set for December 2015 in Paris, the Guardian said. The nearly 200 nations that assemble there will seek to strike a deal governing emissions reductions beyond 2020.
Familiar divides between rich and poor nations emerged at a draft negotiating session this month in Lima, Peru, hinting at the hurdles that countries must overcome in Paris. The Guardian reported that Pope Francis will try to smooth those bumps at a September U.N. meeting in New York City.
Whether Pope Francis can get his flock on board remains to be seen, as some of the church’s more conservative elements will likely be less keen to heed a papal climate change edict.
But many faith-based organizations have pledged to take action on climate change under moral terms, such as being good stewards to the planet. Pope Francis, too, has sounded those tones — in March, he implored people to, “Safeguard Creation. Because if we destroy Creation, Creation will destroy us! Never forget this!”
Climate change activists have prodded Pope Francis to take a stand on climate change, saying that doing so aligns with his “Pope for the Poor” agenda. As climate change shifts food production patterns and sea levels rise near low-lying islands or densely populated coastal cities, activists say it’s the impoverished who will have the hardest time adapting.
Several groups have pushed the Vatican to divest from fossil fuel companies to show its commitment to addressing climate change.
“Pope Francis understands the threat of climate change and our moral responsibility to act. We urge him to take appropriate steps to stop the Catholic church from fueling the climate crisis through its investments, and use the power of his office to call on Christians and non-Christians alike to align their investments with their values,” 350.org spokesman Jamie Henn said in a statement for a petition urging divestment.
