It’s official. Pope Francis released his long awaited, controversial, and much debated encyclical on the environment. The central issue being addressed is the threat of global warming to the environment and its impact on the poor, the family, and the world’s economy. Undergirding his thesis is humanity’s need to protect and take care of creation. Before its ‘official’ release, the world was presented with a ‘leaked’ version that accelerated discussions on the issue. Religionists, politicians, and scientists were offering their take on the impact of Francis’ encyclical on the climate change debate.
Jeb Bush, Roman Catholic and recently declared Republican candidate for the presidency, disagrees with his pope’s position on climate change. He declared, “I hope I’m not going to get castigated for saying this by my priest back home…religion ought to be about making us better as people and less about things that end up getting into the political realm. Those words are eerily reminiscent of the late John F. Kennedy’s declaration to a gathering of Protestant ministers in Houston, Texas in September, 1960 as he sought to convince the electorate that as a Roman Catholic, he will not run the country according to the teachings of his church, but rather on the basis of the country’s constitution. He was cruelly assassinated in Dallas, Texas before the on-looking world three years later.
Other declared Republican candidates have sounded similar sentiments. Rick Santorum, also Roman Catholic, shared his thoughts on Francis’ encyclical. He pleaded with his pontiff, “leave science to the scientists”. Perhaps Bush, Santorum and the rest of the world need to be reminded that Francis, the head of the Papacy, is not merely a religious leader, but also a political head of state ruling over more than one billion citizens in every country on planet earth. The American ideal of separation of church and state has zero value in that realm. This is the perspective from which Francis operates. Wake up America.
On the other side of the political divide, Democratic Vice President and Roman Catholic, Joseph Biden, certainly agrees with his pope on climate change. Invoking Francis’ encyclical at a clean air conference at the White House, he stated, “Usually encyclicals are only issued on what the church thinks are incredibly important initiatives…this doesn’t only have a moral component to it, it has a security component to it, as well as it has an economic component to it.” Biden’s view underscores the broad implications of Francis’ letter. It, in essence, is about more than protecting the environment and caring for the poor and disenfranchised; but rather yet another of Francis’ tactics in his church’s long standing strategy to change the political climate of the world. Read the rest here