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Pope Francis Puts Spotlight on Faith-Based Climate Action

Pope Francis has called climate action, variously, a moral, religious, and ethical imperative.
Mazur/catholicnews.org.uk
Pope Francis has called climate action, variously, a moral, religious, and ethical imperative.

Pope Francis recently released a 184-page letter, Laudato Si, dedicated to environmental issues. In it, he argues that respect for the poor, future generations, the Earth, and God all demand major changes in how we use resources.

The document is a first in some regards - the first papal encyclical to focus almost exclusively on climate and the environment, and the first to cite scientific documents alongside the Bible and Church documents. But it is certainly not the first time that a religious leader, including a Pope, has waded into the climate change arena.

Religious leaders and groups of all faiths have been working for over a decade to address climate change. Examples abound: Evangelical Environmental Network, Catholic Climate Covenant, Jewish Climate Initiative, Interfaith Power and Light, Hazon. Churches and synagogues have installed solar panels, the Episcopal Church has voted to divest from fossil fuels and reinvest in renewable energy, Evangelical ministers are pledging to preach about climate change at least once this winter, and rabbis are putting extra emphasis on climate and environmental issues this sabbatical year.

For all that it is neither the first nor only call for faith-based climate action, the Pope's status as a religious and spiritual leader grants this encyclical an unique weight. The impending release of Laudato Si inspired a Rabbinic Letter, signed by more than 300 rabbis, calling for an end to environmentally destructive practices. Clergy from other faiths and denominations - and many who consider themselves non-religious - say this is the first papal encyclical they've read.

Whether Pope Francis can influence the outcome of climate talks in Paris this fall remains to be seen, but already, he has raised the profile of faith-based climate action and inspired and reinvigorated efforts to apply religious teachings to the greatest environmental challenge of our time.

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