Pope Francis made his strongest statements yet about climate change Wednesday, rebuking fossil fuel companies and urging countries to make an immediate transition to renewable energy.

In a new document titled “Laudate Deum,” or “Praise God,” the pope criticizes oil and gas companies for greenwashing new fossil fuel projects and calls for more ambitious efforts in the West to tackle the climate crisis. In the landmark apostolic exhortation, a form of papal writing, Francis says that “avoiding an increase of a tenth of a degree in the global temperature would already suffice to alleviate some suffering for many people.”

“Laudate Deum” is a follow-up to the pope’s 2015 encyclical on climate change, known as “Laudato Si’,” which lamented the exploitation of the planet and cast the protection of the environment as a moral imperative. When it was released, “Laudato Si’” was viewed as an extraordinary move by the head of the Catholic Church to address global warming and its consequences.

Nearly a decade later, the pope’s message has taken on new urgency.

  • MattTheProgrammer@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    When the Catholic Church stops covering up the rampant sexual abuse and money grubbing cash grab scam operations then maybe I’ll give two flying shits about what the Pope has to say.

    • RobMyBot@lemmy.ml
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      1 year ago

      People tend to overlook the fact that the words of someone with this level of influence are vitally important and can have enormous effects on the world.

      Whether you in particular care about a famous/rich person’s comments or not, there are millions that do–and that is important. Important enough that even without respecting that person, we should always take what they say and do very seriously.

    • BB69@lemmy.world
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      It’s fine you don’t care, but there’s something like 1.4 billion Catholics that probably do.

      • Son_of_dad@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Most Catholics don’t listen to the Pope. The Pope says Catholics must accept gay people, but go to the third world or central america and see if Catholics follow that one.

        • LifeBandit666@feddit.uk
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          1 year ago

          The Pope says Catholics must accept Gay people, but won’t give them the same right to marriage as straight people. Hypocrisy, although I guess he’s probably worried all his clergy will try and marry the kids they’re abusing.

    • angrystego@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      News about what the head of the Catholic church does is as important as news about what the head of USA, China or Russia does. It’s hugely influencial even when it comes to lives of non-catholics, non-americans, non-chinese… because of the massive number of people that belong to the religion or state and the power that religion or state has. It’s a good thing the pope talks against fossil fuel companies, because his influence is big.

      • killeronthecorner@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Can you name a few things that a pope has influenced politically in the last, say, three decades?

        Because I call complete bullshit on this. Catholicism is big in its own domain (oversized Jesus-based pyramid schemes) but is irrelevant to the vast majority of the world, especially those countries which don’t recognise it as the official state religion which is pretty much all of them.

        The Popes of recent history have done nothing of note except hide pedophilia, hoard the earnings of the poor, and resign.

        • Granixo@feddit.cl
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          1 year ago

          It may not be THE vast majority of the world. 🌍🌏

          But having Catholicism as the main religion in ALL of Latin America is pretty relevant. (And i know because i’m chilean 🇨🇱).

          • RBG@discuss.tchncs.de
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            Ok, but the question is what has the pope(s) influenced positively over the last 3 decades? Main religion in Latin America is a respectable feat but it is not necessarily a positive influence nor has that been established in the last 3 decades.

          • killeronthecorner@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            Distributed across many countries, limiting the impact of their vote outside of countries that are state- or majority -catholic.

              • killeronthecorner@lemmy.world
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                1 year ago

                There are significantly more that don’t.

                I’m not sure what point you’re trying to make. If you were to ask me, "are there a lot of Catholics in the world?” my answer would be: yes. Because there are. About 15% of the population of the planet is technically* Catholic. That’s a lot of the population of the earth comparative to almost anything that isn’t a birth-given attribute.

                However, in the biggest countries in the world, and for the majority of countries in the world, they are not a majority. Even less so for countries that play a significant part on the world stage in a political way.

                I’m happy to ask the same question again as I’m awaiting an answer and, as a scientist, I will change my view in line with the evidence that is presented: in the last 30 years, outside of Vatican City, and in states where Catholicism is not the state or most widely recognized religion or denomination, what meaningful and significant political decisions or stances has the pope influenced?

                * The methodology of this is questionable but I’m happy to take it on face value for the purposes of this discussion.

                E: it’s easier to accuse someone of trying to impersonate you than it is to actually win an argument, see below for a demo.

                E2: Oh so they always resort to childish ad hominems, how embarrassing for them! https://lemmy.world/modlog?page=1&userId=3261234

                • angrystego@lemmy.world
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                  1 year ago

                  Is Latin America not important enough? How about Poland or Italy? There are even 20% of catholics in the USA. According to Wiki, there is 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide - that’s important enough to me. Do you really think major religions play no role on the political stage?

                  • killeronthecorner@lemmy.world
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                    15% of the world’s population is ~1.3b people. You don’t need to quote the same stats back at me.

                    Where did I say anything about SA not being important? Equally, why fixate on SA if the pope has influenced so much politically in the rest of the world?

                    Also we’re talking about Catholicism and the Pope, not other major religions. Stop moving the goalposts.

                    I’m still waiting for the answer to my question.

                • wildginger@lemmy.myserv.one
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                  1 year ago

                  Politicians fight dirty over smaller voting demographics, Im pretty sure its a big enough percent to make a difference

                  E: the user I responded to attempted to impersonate me after losing this argument.

                  • killeronthecorner@lemmy.world
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                    1 year ago

                    “pretty sure” is a very weak stance, especially with the continuing absence of evidence to support this conjecture

    • Son_of_dad@lemmy.world
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      Many times the victims of priest sexual abuse have approached the Vatican for a meeting and blessing from the pope. Every time the pope has turned them away and refused to even acknowledge their existence, or their plight. His lawyers tell him it’s not a good idea. And of course the representative of god, flanked by lawyers and bankers, listens to his lawyers over god.

      • Nahvi@lemmy.world
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        Every time the pope has turned them away and refused to even acknowledge their existence

        Where did you hear that? These articles seem to say the opposite.

        Monday’s meeting between Francis and the six victims of church sexual abuse was not the first such meeting between a pontiff and survivors, but it was the first of Francis’ papacy.

        2014 - https://www.cnn.com/2014/07/07/world/pope-clerical-sex-abuse/

        “God weeps” for the sexual abuse of children, Pope Francis said Sunday in Philadelphia, after meeting with victims of sexual abuse.

        2015 - https://www.cnn.com/2015/09/27/us/pope-francis-sex-abuse-victims/index.html

        Pope Francis said he regularly meets with victims of sexual abuse on Fridays, and that while the percentage of priests who abuse is relatively low, even one is too many.

        2018 - https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/37774/pope-francis-regularly-meets-with-abuse-victims-on-fridays

        In the evening of the same day, Pope Francis held an audience with Portugese victims of sexual abuse by the Catholic Church.

        2023 - https://www.foxnews.com/world/pope-francis-holds-private-meetings-sex-abuse-victims-ukrainian-pilgrims

        • Ebennz@lemmy.ml
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          1 year ago

          Yet he ascended the ranks of the church while all that happened. Swell guy. I’m sure he knew nothing about it until he became pope…

          • Nahvi@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            Sexual abuse happens in virtually every organization. The main issue is how it is dealt with. The catholic church has a long issue of dealing with issues internally, but this was definitely one that was not being handled correctly. Francis has made it clear that he is willing to face the issue head-on now that he has the power.

            We do not have to turn a blind eye to their past mistakes, but we should also acknowledge what they are actually doing to work on those mistakes instead of spreading misinformation about them still hiding from it.

            • SuddenlyBlowGreen@lemmy.world
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              Francis has made it clear that he is willing to face the issue head-on now that he has the power.

              I especially liked it when he faced it head-on in Chile by saying all the allegations were “calumny”.

              • Nahvi@lemmy.world
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                Definitely some odd choices here. Condemns the main abuser to a life-time of penance and prayer and then totally dismisses any claims that the abuser’s protege may have seen the abuse.

                It does seem he eventually changed his tune, but not before seriously harming his credibility on the issue.

                In April, the pope publicly acknowledged that he had erred in handling the situation, saying he had made “serious mistakes” — and summoning Chile’s bishops to an emergency meeting in Rome. Francis said he had misjudged Barros and the events in Chile because he hadn’t been given “truthful and balanced information.”

                In May, all of Chile’s 31 active bishops offered to resign their posts, issuing a statement in which they asked forgiveness and apologized for “the grave errors and omissions that we committed.”

                https://www.npr.org/2018/06/11/618825779/pope-francis-accepts-resignations-of-3-bishops-over-chilean-abuse-scandal

            • Ebennz@lemmy.ml
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              1 year ago

              Sexual abuse happens in virtually every organization.

              Nice, justifying sex abuse.

              They don’t get a round of applause for no longer empowering rapist priests.

              • Nahvi@lemmy.world
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                1 year ago

                No, that is called having an adult conversation where we acknowledge reality and then discuss how to fix it, or in this case how it is already being worked on.

    • postmateDumbass@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Can’t upset the oil companies, where do you think that lube they use for altar boys comes from? A cloud in the sky?

    • MeanEYE@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      I love how you have good 25% down-votes as if there are people who cheer for more abuse. There’s no way they think it’s just a made up story for the 60000th time.