Catholic World News: New Papal Document Puts Climate Change Before Faith [News Analysis] by Philip F. Lawler

By Philip F. Lawler, Catholic World News, October 04, 2023

News analysis by Philip F. Lawler

Laudate Deum, the new apostolic exhortation released by the Vatican on October 4, is an astonishing document, in which Pope Francis uses his authority to make definitive judgements—not on questions of faith and morals, but on scientific and political questions that are still under debate.

In the Galileo controversy, some Church leaders unwisely sought to settle a scientific debate by invoking ecclesiastical authority. In this new document Pope Francis takes the same approach to the issue of climate change, insisting that only radical economic and political reforms can stave off environmental disaster.

Laudate Deum is a follow-up to Laudato Si’, the environmental encyclical that the Pope released in May 2015. At the start of the new document (paragraph #2), the Pontiff says that he feels compelled to speak out again because of the urgency of the crisis; “I have realized that our responses have not been adequate, while the world in which we live is collapsing and may be nearing the breaking point.” …

Continue reading >>>>