Pope Francis said that the world has reached a “breaking point” due to climate change in his opening remarks for a three-day climate summit that will take place in the Vatican in May.
A strong proponent of the climate “crisis,” the pontiff said in his letter that humanity’s inability to sufficiently address the issue is the reason why “the world in which we live is crumbling” and expressed his “heartfelt concerns” for “our suffering planet.”
He contends that “healthcare, sources of work, access to resources, housing, forced migrations, etc.” are already experiencing the consequences of climate change, and it is “indubitable” that these effects will progressively negatively impact many people’s lives and families.
The pope claims that climate change “is one of the primary concerns facing society and the global community,” and that those who are most vulnerable to its consequences “bear them at home or throughout the world,” citing the US Bishops as support.
Pope Francis named Bishop Robert W. McElroy of San Diego a cardinal in 2022, and he has stated that while abortion is a terrible sin, “the long-term death toll from unmanaged climate change is worse and threatens the very existence of mankind.”
According to McElroy, both abortion and climate change are “fundamental life concerns in the Catholic Church,” but neither should be considered “preeminent.”
Strangely, due to its residents’ “irresponsible lifestyle,” Pope Francis has specifically blamed the United States for the climatic “problem.”
“Given that the average emissions per person in the United States are approximately two times higher than those of people living in China and approximately seven times higher than the average of the world’s poorest countries, we can state that a broad change in the reckless lifestyle associated with the Western model would have a significant long-term impact,” declared the pope in October of last year.
At the time, the astute people at The Pillar Catholic, an online Catholic news source, noted that China’s per capita emissions “are much greater than the world average” and that “U.S. per capita emissions are less than 1.5 times those of China.”
The pope forgot to mention that China’s overall emissions are more than twice as high as those of the US, and that US air quality is among the best while China’s is among the worst.
Climate change is “no more a secondary or ideological matter, but a drama that damages us all,” according to Pope Francis, who is introducing the May 15–17 Vatican summit. He also notes that climate change emerges as “a terrible and dramatic illustration of structural sin.”
