Dr. Katharine HayhoeThis week, Pope Francis released Laudato Deum, an update on the 2015 encyclical. It's not so much a breath of fresh air as it is a bucket of ice water, straight to the face of those who are standing in the way of and delaying climate progress. Here are a few highlights:
On the science: "Despite all attempts to deny, conceal, gloss over or relativize the issue, the signs of climate change are here + increasingly evident. No one can ignore the fact that in recent years we've witnessed extreme weather phenomena."
On inequity: "There are those who would place responsibility on the poor, since they have many children. As usual, it would seem that everything is the fault of the poor. Yet the reality is that a low, richer percentage of the planet contaminates more than the poorest 50%."
On denial within the church: "I feel obliged to make these clarifications, which may appear obvious, because of certain dismissive and scarcely reasonable opinions that I encounter, even within the Catholic Church."
On the root issue: "The greater problem is...the obsession to increase human power beyond anything imaginable, before which nonhuman reality is a mere resource at its disposal. Everything that exists ceases to be a gift for which we should be thankful and instead becomes a slave."
On the merchants of doubt, delay, and denial: "The ethical decadence of real power is disguised thanks to marketing and false information, useful tools in the hands of those with greater resources to employ them to shape public opinion."
On the delusion or excuse that it's a niche issue: "Once & for all, let us put an end to the irresponsible derision that would present this issue as something purely ecological, romantic, frequently subject to ridicule by economic interests. Let us admit that it is a human + social problem."
On leadership at the upcoming COP: "We must move beyond the mentality of appearing to be concerned but not having the courage needed to produce substantial changes. May those taking part in the Conference ... demonstrate the nobility of politics and not its shame."
And finally, "To the powerful, I can only repeat this question: “What would induce anyone, at this stage, to hold on to power, only to be remembered for their inability to take action when it was urgent and necessary to do so?"
Read it here. It's not too long and these are just the highlights! https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/apost_exhortations/documents/20231004-laudate-deum.html
Prof. Stefan Rahmstorf
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Ingwar Perowanowitsch
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