Francis calls for protection of planet; critics say he should stick to religion

Pope Francis has issued a message with sweeping statements on the environment and climate change. In a 184-page encyclical, Francis said relentless exploitation of the environment, motivated in part by reckless pursuit of profits and political shortsightedness, victimizes the world’s poor. He placed most of the blame for climate change on fossil fuels and human activity and warned of “serious consequences for all of us.” Do you believe the pope should take stands on such issues, or should he stay out of politics?

Climate change is an issue for all mankind. Of course, religious leaders should be involved, as should everyone else.

— Rebecca Bateman, Fort Worth

Pope Francis should stick to his rosary and the Vatican instead of endorsing junk science.

— Steven West, Arlington

Since when is our climate considered political? Didn’t God create Earth on the third day?

— Denise Langley, Arlington

The Church dismissed Galileo’s assertion of heliocentrism, that Earth revolves around the sun, many years ago. Perhaps this time it is again mistaken.

— Jack Russell, North Richland Hills

If politicians have a right to speak against climate science based on their carbon industry-funded political beliefs, Pope Francis has a right and obligation to speak up on behalf of Roman Catholics and the world from a moral standpoint backed by scientific findings.

— Duane Sager, Fort Worth

The environment is not a political issue. It’s an issue critical to the survival of all human beings.

To make the environment a political issue is to ensure that entrenched interests continue to make very poor decisions regarding the one and only world on which we all live.

— Kay Huggins, Arlington

Conservative Texas Republicans politically support the Roman Catholic Church’s stand against abortion, yet they and the business enterprises they so proudly represent talk out the other side of their mouths when the pope questions the morality of industry polluting our water and air for profit.

— Michael S. Tomasic, Burleson

The reason the pope’s message on climate change will not sway Republicans: Anything that might take a little money out of a rich man’s hand is a bad idea.

— Blake Wallace, Arlington

American conservatives heartily applaud Pope Francis for his disapproval of gay marriage and abortion.

However, when he chose to wade into the political waters of climate change, even though highly educated scientists the world over agree that this is the largest threat to mankind, he has overstepped his boundaries.

The hypocrisy is staggering.

— Diane M. Gatzke, Arlington

When our Earth’s resources are threatened by the overuse of fossil fuels, for example, the poor and marginalized people will suffer the most.

Disregarding the needs of the many by those few individuals/corporations/nations that exploit Earth’s resources is indeed a moral issue and is certainly the purview of Pope Francis.

— Carol Schieffer, Bedford

The pope has every right, if not a duty by virtue of his office, to speak out on issues with moral implications.

His encyclical is a beautiful and moving document.

However, I feel that he went too far in blaming human activity, primarily the burning of fossil fuels, as the principal cause of climate change.

— William Brown, Arlington

Three cheers for the pope’s encyclical concerning the environment!

The pope did not posit himself as an expert on environmental science, as some shortsighted politicians wrongly claim.

His encyclical merely gave moral authority to us all to be good stewards of our planet.

— Henry Taylor, Grapevine

Politicians who cite the pope’s lack of formal knowledge on climate change are also those who invariably start their discussions of the subject by saying, “Now I’m not a scientist, but ...

Inevitably, they finish the sentence by saying “climate change is a hoax.”

The pope may not be a scientist, but at least he has aligned himself with the overwhelming number of climatologists and scientists who believe that climate change is real and we are causing it.

— Frank Matthews, Fort Worth

The Roman Catholic Church has a long history of seeking justice for the poor among us and Pope Francis’ exhortation to find solutions to global warming is no different.

— Larry Schieffer, Bedford

The pope has made a claim, but this nonscientific priest has not submitted any proven data to confirm his claim. Won’t the scientific-minded likely just consider this to be a false claim?

— Grady Fuller, Kennedale

Realizing that the “global warming” hoax is a far-left political movement intended to dominate people’s lives by big government, I have to wonder if the pope’s position is driven by a collectivist ideology that “solutions” to “climate change” are meant to enable.

— Daniel OConnor, Euless

It’s nice that the pope is listening to the scientists on global warming. Perhaps next he will begin to understand that there is a connection between the size of the world’s population and the amount of pollution we produce, especially if we don’t want the population to be poor. Maybe this will cause him to re-examine his stance on birth control.

— Tom Glenn, Fort Worth

Debate and discussion of the topics raised in Pope Francis’ encyclical would be more helpful than censoring him just because he is a religious figure. His interest is not politics but a love for all people and “our common home.”

— Eileen Finkenkeller, Arlington

Pope Francis and U.S. politicians get scientific input from independent scientists who study the oceans, the sky and the weather. But the pope is not then lobbied by those who represent the energy industry, which provides a lot of the money that politicians need for their campaigns.

The companies find a few scientists to twist the facts to something sounding favorable to them, giving politicians excuses to ignore impartial scientists from NASA, NOAA and others around the world. Party members then listen only to the version they prefer to hear.

— Ray E. Cartier, Arlington

In the classic film Casablanca, Rick (Humphrey Bogart) is asked what brought him to Casablanca? His reply: “My health. I came to Casablanca for the waters.” Capt. Renault says: “What waters? We’re in the desert.” To which Rick replies: “I was misinformed.”

So it is with our pope.

— Tom Marzoni, Arlington

The pope is expressing an opinion that he wants to impose on the world for which he has no positively confirmed scientific knowledge. He’s outside his area of expertise.

— Walter H. Delashmit, Justin

Because human-caused global warming is not yet “settled science,” it appears that the pope may have embraced another Galilean moment.

— Cargill Hall, Arlington

This story was originally published June 26, 2015 at 7:47 PM with the headline "Francis calls for protection of planet; critics say he should stick to religion."