Pope Francis is one of the most admired and influential figures of our time. Forbes named him one of their five most powerful people, and the media portrays him in a largely positive light due to his more tolerant and progressive views.
If he addresses an issue and calls for its betterment, then it’s likely to be resolved at a much faster rate. At the very least, people will become more aware of its urgency, and hopefully act upon his words in some kind of way.
When Pope Francis made statements regarding the global climate, I do think he surprised a lot of people. Of course he isn’t the first pope to tackle the issue – but in the current state our planet is in, and with an overwhelming number of people who don’t recognize climate change as a serious dilemma, his concern needed to be vocalized.
“When we destroy Creation, Creation destroys us,” Pope Francis said, according to theweek.com.
This man is speaking on behalf of around 1.2 billion Roman Catholics, and many others who take an interest in him. He instructed his followers to be “Custodians of Creation,” which I think is awesome and I’m not even Catholic.
But I don’t think it matters if you’re Catholic. Or Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist or non-religious. You don’t have to believe in creationism to find meaning in the pope’s words. Pope Francis is simply emphasizing the importance of maintaining a livable, healthy world for current and future generations to come. He has acknowledged the way we can shape our later generations’ home if we just accept the changes that are happening, come together, and develop a universal solution.
My interpretation of the quote: If you believe the universe is a product of the divine, and we were given Earth as a gift, wouldn’t you want to treat the planet with care and respect? Right now it doesn’t seem so bad, but our great-great (and so on) grandchildren may think otherwise.
Pope Francis obviously isn’t the first well-known, non-political figure to come out and actually discuss climate change awareness. But he’s the pope, and he has been outspoken about a number of rather controversial subjects, and now he’s talking science. This is a big deal and I’m excited for the action and preservation that is to come.
