Pope Francis To Issue Encyclical On Global Warming

HughPickens.com writes The Guardian reports that following a visit in March to Tacloban, the Philippine city devastated in 2012 by typhoon Haiyan, Pope Francis plans to publish a rare encyclical on climate change and human ecology urging all Catholics to take action on moral and scientific grounds. "A papal encyclical is rare," says Bishop Marcelo Sorondo, chancellor of the Vatican's Pontifical Academy of Sciences who revealed the pope's plans when he delivered Cafod's annual Pope Paul VI lecture. "It is among the highest levels of a pope's authority. It will be 50 to 60 pages long; it's a big deal." The encyclical will be sent to the world's 5,000 Catholic bishops and 400,000 priests, who will distribute it to parishioners. Within Catholicism in recent times, an encyclical is generally used for significant issues, and is second in importance only to the highest ranking document now issued by popes, an Apostolic Constitution. "Just as humanity confronted revolutionary change in the 19th century at the time of industrialization, today we have changed the natural environment so much," says Sorondo. "If current trends continue, the century will witness unprecedented climate change and destruction of the ecosystem with tragic consequences."

Francis's environmental radicalism is likely to attract resistance from Vatican conservatives and in rightwing church circles, particularly in the US – where Catholic climate sceptics also include John Boehner, Republican leader of the House of Representatives and Rick Santorum, the former Republican presidential candidate. "There will always be 5-10% of people who will take offence. They are very vocal and have political clout," says Dan Misleh, director of the Catholic climate covenant. "This encyclical will threaten some people and bring joy to others. The arguments are around economics and science rather than morality." Francis will also be opposed by the powerful US evangelical movement, says Calvin Beisner, spokesman for the conservative Cornwall Alliance for the Stewardship of Creation, which has declared the US environmental movement to be "un-biblical" and a false religion. "The pope should back off," says Beisner. "The Catholic church is correct on the ethical principles but has been misled on the science. It follows that the policies the Vatican is promoting are incorrect. Our position reflects the views of millions of evangelical Christians in the US."

Comments

Re:Doesn't matter

[mfearby]

The embedded emissions in wind and solar are so high as to render them a complete waste of time. You do realise that coking coal is used in smelters to make all the steel to build these worthless contraptions? And the cement foundations for the wind turbines; cement is made from heating limestone & shale, releasing vast amounts CO2. You then have all the steel needed to prop up the solar panels, also made by burning coal. It all adds up, you know.

Just because you can see a shiny new wind turbine (that kills birds and bats in high numbers, by the way) doesn't mean all that CO2 released into the atmosphere during its production doesn't exist. Then you have the fact that wind turbines in cold areas draw electricity from coal-fired grids to keep them spinning during low wind conditions to prevent ice formation. Turbines also have to shut down in high wind conditions to stop them from breaking apart. A coal-fired plant is needed to back them up anyway, and you can't just flick the switch on a coal plant the moment the wind dies down, they take a day or more to get going. It would be funny if we all weren't paying for this huge waste of time.

Re:The Church was OK with science last century ...

[AmiMoJo]

It's a shame his hands are tied on some of the most important issues though, e.g. contraception and family planning, or full acceptance of homosexuals. Those things cause a lot of unnecessary suffering.