By Hutton Marshall
Originally published in the San Diego Free Press on September 24th 2015
The Pope is in town.
Not this town, unfortunately — he’s in Washington, D.C. Today, Pope Francis will give a historic address to Congress, where he is expected to speak on the escalating climate change crisis. This closely watched event will further solidify his stature as an acknowledged global leader of the climate change movement. He caps the year in Paris with an address to world leaders at the UN-sponsored climate-change summit COPS 2015.
Earlier this year, Pope Francis released his Encyclical Letter entitled “On Care for our Common Home.” A passionate, comprehensive 40,000-word exhortation about caring for the planet, the Encyclical weaves modern climate science together with teachings from Catholicism and other religions, to build the case that caring for Earth’s climate is a moral obligation, a matter of justice for the poor and vulnerable. He thus breaks down the barriers between religion and science, and between environmental stewardship and social justice. [Read more…]