Will Pope Francis’ Policies Backfire?

As Pope Francis rounds out his nine-day trip to North America with a visit this weekend to Philadelphia and the 2015 World Meeting of Families, media coverage of his historic visit is instead centered on his remarks during the past week regarding climate change. From his discussion with Fidel Castro on Sunday, September 20 to speeches at the White House and Congress, the pontiff’s theme has been a continual plea for protecting the environment from “human activity” and promoting so-called “sustainable development.” The topic was indeed the central focus of his 30-minute address to the United Nations General Assembly on Friday, in which he likened environmental abuse to social injustice.

 

Framing the issue in moral terms and proclaiming the existence of a “true ‘right of the environment,'” he reasoned that since mankind needs healthy surroundings in order to survive, “any harm done to the environment, therefore, is harm done to humanity.” Francis went on to blame environmental degradation on “a selfish and boundless thirst for power and material prosperity.”

 

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