Pope Francis issued a call to world leaders, urging them to act as climate change continues to worsen, adding that the issue is also a "religious problem."
The religious leader's remarks came during a United Nations climate event, the COP28, despite being absent from the event itself. The comments were read by the Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin, who is the Vatican's Secretary of State.
Pope Francis on Climate Change
It noted that Pope Francis said that there is an urgent need to act "for the sake of the environment" and said that it was not enough to just increase spending. It argued that there needs to be a change in our way of life and to have everyone educated about sober and fraternal lifestyles.
The pope said that the situation is why the problem of climate change is also a religious problem because its roots lie in the creature's presumption of self-sufficiency. The religious leader added that all religions have a specific role to play in peacekeeping. He noted that a home is only viable when a climate of peace reigns within, as per Fox News.
Pope Francis, who would have become the first to ever attend the COP28, canceled his trip after he was advised by doctors to do so due to what he himself described as a "very acute, infectious bronchitis" that caused lung inflammation.
He added that the two of the most important global issues are peace and the climate. The pope said that as religious representatives, they should become examples to show the world that change is possible and bear witness to respectful and sustainable lifestyles.
The remarks came as several officials have voiced their ongoing concerns over the religious leader's health condition. He was previously hospitalized earlier this year and spent three days in confinement for intravenous treatment with antibiotics for what was later identified as bronchitis.
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Addressing the Worsening Crisis
The 86-year-old religious leader had planned to preside at the opening of the Faith Pavilion at the COP28 Climate Summit in Dubai before his cancellation. But during his address, he repeated his call to world leaders to work toward the elimination of fossil fuels, according to Reuters.
There were also hundreds of Catholic institutions worldwide that have announced plans to divest from using such sources of energy. However, an investigation found that in the United States, which is the top oil and gas producer in the world, not a single diocese has announced letting go of its fossil fuel assets.
The pope has made defenses of the environment a key part of the social teaching of his 10-year-old papacy. He has written two major documents on the topic, the first in 2015 and the second in October of this year.
The religious leader also noted the gap between wealthy and poor nations, saying that it has never been so "abysmal." He also called for debt forgiveness for poorer nations that are less responsible for greenhouse gas emissions but are suffering far more than advanced countries.
He called this the repayment of "the ecological debt" that poorer countries are owed for suffering from something that they themselves did not cause, said Rappler.
