Pope Francis urges Congress on climate change

Joe Kamalick

24-Sep-2015

WASHINGTON (ICIS)–Pope Francis on Thursday told the US Congress and government policymakers that they have an important role in facing what he called the “human roots” of environmental deterioration.

In an historic address to a joint session of Congress, the spiritual leader of the world’s 1.2bn Roman Catholics said that “business is a noble vocation to produce wealth and improve the world”.

“It can be a source of prosperity, especially if it seeks the creation of jobs as an essential part of its service to the common good,” he said. “This common good also includes the air.”

Francis is the first pope to address the US Congress.

Citing his recent encyclical on the environment, the pope said, “We need a conversation that includes everyone, since the environmental challenges we are undergoing and its human roots concern and affect us all.”

He called for “a courageous effort to redirect our steps toward resolving environmental deterioration caused by human activity”.

“I am convinced we can make a difference, I am sure of it,” he said amid general applause from members of Congress.

“And I have no doubt that the United States and this Congress have an important role to play” in dealing with environmental issues, he said.

The issue of climate change and whether human activity is a cause of global warming has embroiled Congress for years. 

But in its most recent action on the topic, Congress in 2009 declined to pass legislation sought by President Barack Obama to impose a cap on carbon emissions by the US.

Since then, the Obama administration has initiated a variety of regulatory measures designed to achieve the same goal of limiting carbon emissions by US industry.

Those efforts – including a recent cap on carbon emissions by the nation’s electric utilities and pending rules on ozone levels – have been strongly opposed by US chemical producers and a wide coalition of other manufacturers.

In his remarks to Congress, Pope Francis also urged generosity and compassion in the treatment of immigrants. “Our world is facing a refugee crisis of a magnitude not seen since World War II.”

“We must resolve to live as nobly and justly as possible as we educate a new generation to not turn our back on our neighbours,” he said.

He also reminded his audience of “our responsibility to protect and defend human life at every stage of development”, an oblique reference to the abortion issue now before Congress.

In keeping with his appeal for protecting human life at all stages, Pope Francis urged an end to the death penalty, saying that “every life is sacred … and society can only benefit from the rehabilitation of those convicted of crimes”.

“In a just society, punishment must never exclude the goal of hope and rehabilitation,” he said.

He also noted “how essential the family has been to the building of this country, and how worthy the family remains for our support and encouragement”.

“Yet I cannot hide my concern for the family which is threatened as never before from within and without,” he said.

“Fundamental relations have been called into question,” he said, apparently referring to same-sex marriage, a practice opposed by the Catholic Church and which recently has been established as a human right by the US Supreme Court.

Pope Francis was to travel to New York City later on Thursday, and then to fly on to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania , on Saturday the final stop on his US tour.

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