Pope Leo XIV denounced people who deny climate change on Wednesday, arguing that they are contributing to the destruction of God’s creation.
“Some have chosen to deride the increasingly evident science of climate change, to ridicule those who speak of global warming and even to blame the poor for the very thing that affects them the most,” Leo said.
The pope’s comments come just a week after U.S. President Donald Trump, in a speech at the United Nations, called climate change “the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world.” On Tuesday, Leo made a direct foray into U.S. politics, defending the Chicago Archdiocese’s decision to honor Sen. Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat who supports abortion rights.
“I think it’s important to look at the overall work that a senator has done,” said the pope, a Chicago-area native.
“Someone who says, ‘I’m against abortion,’ but is in favor of the death penalty is not really pro-life,” he added. “Someone who says, ‘I’m against abortion but I’m in agreement with the inhuman treatment of immigrants in the United States,’ I don’t know if that’s pro-life.”
The pope was speaking on Wednesday at a conference commemorating the 10-year anniversary of Laudato Si, a 2015 formal doctrinal letter issued by his predecessor, Pope Francis, that called for the protection of the planet, including the fight against climate change.
“We cannot love God whom we cannot see while despising his creatures, nor can we call ourselves disciples of Jesus Christ without participating in his outlook on creation and his care for all that is fragile and wounded,” Leo said.
Following in the footsteps of Francis, Leo called on “everyone in society … [to] put pressure on governments to develop and implement more rigorous regulations, procedures and controls” to fight climate change and protect the environment.
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