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Groups say amen to Pope Francis’ encyclical on the environment
Various groups have lauded Pope Francis for his encyclical on the environment, entitled Laudato Si (Praise Be), On the Care of Our Common Home.
“Kung titingnan mo iyong kahulugan at kahalagahan talaga nung encyclical, is yung timing niya,” said Climate Change Commissioner Mary Ann Lucille Sering in an interview with Howie Severino on GMA’s News to Go.
This December, a United Nations conference will be held in Paris to tackle the issue of climate change and to hopefully come up with a legally-binding global agreement. The release of the papal encyclical could influence the talks to go in one direction or another.
“Today’s release of Pope Francis’ first encyclical should serve as a stark reminder to all of us of the intrinsic link between climate change and poverty,” said World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim.
He also pointed out that over the span of 30 years, disasters related to climate change took the lives of more than 2.5 million people and caused damage worth USD 4 trillion.
Cutting back on fossil fuels
“Greenpeace welcomes the valuable intervention of Pope Francis in humanity’s common struggle to prevent catastrophic climate change,” said Kumi Naidoo, International Executive Director at Greenpeace.
“This first encyclical on the environment brings the world a step closer to that tipping point where we abandon fossil fuels and fully embrace clean renewable energy for all, by the middle of the century.”
In the encyclical, Pope Francis talks about the dangers of fossil fuel. “We know that technology based on the use of highly polluting fossil fuels—especially coal, but also oil and, to a lesser degree, gas—needs to be progressively replaced without delay.”
Sering said that 40 percent of power in the Philippines is generated from clean sources, higher to percentages seen in other Asian countries.
However, the Aquino administration has continued to support coal-fired power plants, supposedly approving 59 coal plants and 118 coal mining permits.
Not just about climate change
Aside from climate change, the encyclical also talks about the relationship between human beings and the animals we share the world with.
“In our time, the Church does not simply state that other creatures are completely subordinated to the good of human beings, as if they have no worth in themselves and can be treated as we wish.”
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) believes that these are powerful points that we must all consider even in small everyday things like purchasing products that may have been tested on animals or patronizing places like zoos.
“PETA shares Pope Francis’ conviction that humans are not God and that we must abandon the dangerous and pervasive idea that being made in God’s image justifies using other creatures to satisfy our appetites and whims,” said PETA campaign manager Rochelle Regodon.
Critiques of the encyclical
However, not everyone is happy with the new papal encyclical.
US Republican Jeb Bush, who is running for president in the upcoming US elections, said that while he admires Pope Francis and wants to read the encyclical, he’s going to take its contents with a grain of salt.
“I hope I'm not going to get castigated for saying this by my priest back home,” Bush said. “But I don't get my economic policy from my bishops or my cardinals or my pope.” -Bea Montenegro/NB, GMA News
“Kung titingnan mo iyong kahulugan at kahalagahan talaga nung encyclical, is yung timing niya,” said Climate Change Commissioner Mary Ann Lucille Sering in an interview with Howie Severino on GMA’s News to Go.
This December, a United Nations conference will be held in Paris to tackle the issue of climate change and to hopefully come up with a legally-binding global agreement. The release of the papal encyclical could influence the talks to go in one direction or another.
“Today’s release of Pope Francis’ first encyclical should serve as a stark reminder to all of us of the intrinsic link between climate change and poverty,” said World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim.
He also pointed out that over the span of 30 years, disasters related to climate change took the lives of more than 2.5 million people and caused damage worth USD 4 trillion.
Cutting back on fossil fuels
“Greenpeace welcomes the valuable intervention of Pope Francis in humanity’s common struggle to prevent catastrophic climate change,” said Kumi Naidoo, International Executive Director at Greenpeace.
“This first encyclical on the environment brings the world a step closer to that tipping point where we abandon fossil fuels and fully embrace clean renewable energy for all, by the middle of the century.”
In the encyclical, Pope Francis talks about the dangers of fossil fuel. “We know that technology based on the use of highly polluting fossil fuels—especially coal, but also oil and, to a lesser degree, gas—needs to be progressively replaced without delay.”
Sering said that 40 percent of power in the Philippines is generated from clean sources, higher to percentages seen in other Asian countries.
However, the Aquino administration has continued to support coal-fired power plants, supposedly approving 59 coal plants and 118 coal mining permits.
Not just about climate change
Aside from climate change, the encyclical also talks about the relationship between human beings and the animals we share the world with.
“In our time, the Church does not simply state that other creatures are completely subordinated to the good of human beings, as if they have no worth in themselves and can be treated as we wish.”
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) believes that these are powerful points that we must all consider even in small everyday things like purchasing products that may have been tested on animals or patronizing places like zoos.
“PETA shares Pope Francis’ conviction that humans are not God and that we must abandon the dangerous and pervasive idea that being made in God’s image justifies using other creatures to satisfy our appetites and whims,” said PETA campaign manager Rochelle Regodon.
Critiques of the encyclical
However, not everyone is happy with the new papal encyclical.
US Republican Jeb Bush, who is running for president in the upcoming US elections, said that while he admires Pope Francis and wants to read the encyclical, he’s going to take its contents with a grain of salt.
“I hope I'm not going to get castigated for saying this by my priest back home,” Bush said. “But I don't get my economic policy from my bishops or my cardinals or my pope.” -Bea Montenegro/NB, GMA News
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