19 important quotes from Pope on climate change
Pope's Encyclical Stirs Political Debate
Pope Francis waves as he leaves after his weekly audience in St.Peter's square, at the Vatican City, May 13, 2015. (REUTERS/Giampiero Sposito)
Presentation of the new Pope Francis, formerly Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio. (Courtesy, CNN)
Pope Francis on Thursday emphasized church advancement in his first Mass with the cardinals who elected him as pontiff a day earlier. (Courtesy, CNN)
Pope Francis leads his first Good Friday mass as pope at St. Peters Basilica. March 29, 2013. (Courtesy, CNN)
The Pope's visit has been raised to "high risk" from "medium risk" after his car got stuck in a crowd of enthusiastic followers on Monday, aBrazilian Federal official told CNN. (Courtesy, CNN)
Pope Francis greets the faithful in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Thursday July 25, 2013. He is in Brazil for the 28th Roman Catholic World Youth Day festival. This marks his first foreign trip as Pope. (Courtesy, CNN)
Pope Francis brings his message of hope to young prisoners; he lunches with youngsters; and observes the Way of the Cross in Copacabana, Friday, July 26, 2013. (Courtesy, CNN)
Pope Francis brings his message of hope to young prisoners; he lunches with youngsters; and observes the Way of the Cross in Copacabana, Friday, July 26, 2013. (Courtesy, CNN)
Pope Francis celebrates his first Easter Mass as Pope in St. Peter's Square before a packed crowd Sunday, March 31, 2013. (Courtesy, CNN)
Today is a day of tears," Pope Francis said Friday, October 4, 2013, as he spoke of a shipwreck off the tiny Italian island of Lampedusa a day earlier, in which at least 111 people died. (Courtesy, CNN)
Pope Francis told tens of thousands of people gathered in front of the Vatican on Christmas morning, December 25, 2013, where he wants that peace to happen -- in Syria, South Sudan, the Central African Republic and the Holy Land. (Courtesy, CNN)
Pope Francis arrives to attend the funeral service for the late Italian Cardinal Roberto Tucci in Saint Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, April 17, 2015. (Reuters/Tony Gentile)
Pope Francis demanded swift action to save the planet from environmental ruin, urging world leaders to hear “the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor” and plunging the Catholic Church into political controversy over climate change.
In the first papal document dedicated to the environment, he called for “decisive action, here and now,” to stop environmental degradation and global warming, squarely backing scientists who say it is mostly man-made.
In the encyclical “Laudato Si (Praise Be), On the Care of Our Common Home”, Francis advocated a change of lifestyle in rich countries steeped in a “throwaway” consumer culture.
Here are some of the most powerful quotes from Pope Francis’ encyclical on the environment released Thursday:
- “The Earth, our home, is beginning to look more and more like an immense pile of filth.”
- “In many parts of the planet, the elderly lament that once beautiful landscapes are now covered with rubbish.”
- “Never have we so hurt and mistreated our common home as we have in the last 200 years.”
- “We are not God. The Earth was here before us and was given to us.”
- “The climate is a common good, belonging to all and meant for all.”
- “The exploitation of the planet has already exceeded acceptable limits.”
- “Doomsday predictions can no longer be met with irony or disdain.”
- “We need to strengthen the conviction that we are one human family.”
- “We must regain the conviction that we need one another, that we have a shared responsibility for others and the world, and that being good and decent are worth it.”
- “There can be no renewal of our relationship with nature without a renewal of humanity itself.”
- “We are not faced with two separate crises, one environmental and the other social, but rather one complex crisis which is both social and environmental.”
- “What kind of world do we want to leave to those who come after us, to children who are now growing up?”
- “It has become countercultural to chose a lifestyle whose goals are even partly independent of technology.”
- “Nobody is suggesting a return to the Stone Age, but we do need to slow down and look at reality in a different way.”
- “Life gradually becomes a surrender to situations conditioned by technology, itself viewed as the principle key to the meaning of existence.”
- “We need to reject a magical conception of the market, which would suggest that the problems can be solved simply by an increase in the profits of companies or individuals.”
- “What would induce anyone, at this stage, to hold on to power only to be remembered for their inability to take action when it was urgent and necessary to do so?”
- “Yet all is not lost. Human beings, while capable of the worst, are also capable of rising above themselves, choosing again what is good, and making a new start.”
- “I would like to enter a dialogue with all people about our common home.”
CNN religion editor Daniel Burke and Reuters contributed to this report.
