Pope To Decree Addressing Climate Change

[dairygirl4u2c]

[quote]Country Pope to make climate action a moral obligation
Source: Copyright 2007, Independent (UK)
Date: September 22, 2007
Byline: James Macintyre
Original URL


The Pope is expected to use his first address to the United Nations to deliver a powerful warning over climate change in a move to adopt protection of the environment as a "moral" cause for the Catholic Church and its billion-strong following.

The New York speech is likely to contain an appeal for sustainable development, and it will follow an unprecedented Encyclical (a message to the wider church) on the subject, senior diplomatic sources have told The Independent.

It will act as the centrepiece of a US visit scheduled for next April – the first by Benedict XVI, and the first Papal visit since 1999 – and round off an environmental blitz at the Vatican, in which the Pope has personally led moves to emphasise green issues based on the belief that climate change is affecting the poorest people on the planet, and the principle that believers have a duty to "protect creation".

Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, head of the Catholic Church in the UK, said last night: "This is a crucial issue both today and for all future generations. We are the stewards of creation and we need to take that responsibility seriously and co-operate to care for the created world."

A Papal tour of America will be particularly potent during election year in the US, where Catholics number around 73 million, and is being discussed in Rome after Pope Benedict accepted an invitation from the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon. For the Pope to take his climate-change message to the high-profile UN platform will be considered hugely influential to the fifth of the world's population who are Catholics, and will act as a rallying call for action in Africa and Asia, which have seen a rise in Catholics in recent years.

News of the speech comes as Vatican City has become the first fully carbon-neutral state in the world, after announcing it is offsetting its carbon footprint by planting a forest in Hungary and installing solar panels on the roof of St Peter's Basilica in Rome.

It also follows a series of interventions by the Pope on the environment. On 2 September he told a 300,000 youth audience: "Before it is too late, it is necessary to make courageous decisions that reflect knowing how to re-create a strong alliance between man and the earth." On 7 September, he said there was a "pressing need for science and religion to work together to safeguard the gifts of nature and to promote responsible stewardship".

UK diplomats have held a number of behind-the-scenes meetings with Vatican officials on the environment. A Whitehall source said last night: "Benedict is the spiritual head of 19 per cent of the world's population and a highly respected figure. If the Pope's words are taken on board by his community that is one big constituency for change and could well turn the tide on climate change and environmental degradation."[/quote]

[Anomaly]

Sadly, but a clear indication that Religion has become coopted by 'political correctness' adrift in the tides of human politics and has not influenced moral standards for generations.

I can just see the next round of banners with biodegradeable felt and glue, and the No Carbon Emmission Liturgies where candles are used, just recycled shiny objects on the ends of sticks.

[Apotheoun]

[quote name='Anomaly' post='1391382' date='Sep 23 2007, 07:22 AM']Sadly, but a clear indication that Religion has become coopted by 'political correctness' adrift in the tides of human politics and has not influenced moral standards for generations.[/quote]
I agree.

[Norseman82]

[quote name='Anomaly' post='1391382' date='Sep 23 2007, 09:22 AM']I can just see the next round of banners with biodegradeable felt and glue, and the No Carbon Emmission Liturgies where candles are used, just recycled shiny objects on the ends of sticks.[/quote]

LOL! I'm so glad I didn't have coffee in my mouth while reading that one!

What I'm wondering is whether such environmental issues will be added to the list of non-negotiables when evaluating candidates for public office.

Edited September 23, 2007 by Norseman82

[goldenchild17]

[quote name='Apotheoun' post='1391456' date='Sep 23 2007, 10:22 AM']I agree.[/quote]

In a sense I do too. Though I do believe we are to be stewards of the earth.

[cathoholic_anonymous]

Stewardship of the earth as a Catholic principle outdates current-day talk of climate change by centuries. It's a teaching that passed into our faith from Judaism. No matter what people think of the idea of manmade global warming, it is true that we could all be better stewards of God's creation than we are now. I am glad that the Pope is drawing attention to this.

[Anomaly]

[quote name='Cathoholic Anonymous' post='1391543' date='Sep 23 2007, 02:36 PM']Stewardship of the earth as a Catholic principle outdates current-day talk of climate change by centuries. It's a teaching that passed into our faith from Judaism. No matter what people think of the idea of manmade global warming, it is true that we could all be better stewards of God's creation than we are now. I am glad that the Pope is drawing attention to this.[/quote]Oh yeah. It's nice and touchy feely, so just ignore the fact that 'global warming' is a political footbal in today's secular politics. If it's the Pope, it's got to be good. Heaven forbid a 'true Catholic' admit the Pope may be wrongly playing into the hands of secular politics. Faithfullness to a "Religion" is more important than using the intelligence God gives most of us.

[cathoholic_anonymous]

I don't think that global warming is the political football it's made out to be by some people I encounter on the Internet. It's possible that the British perspective on this is very different. As I think that climate change is an issue that needs to be taken seriously, I would be with the Pope on this one even if I weren't Catholic.

However, my Catholicism gives me the much needed spiritual perspective. I care about this planet because God made it, and an insult to God's creation is an insult to God. It's not about 'secular politics' influencing my Catholicism. It's the other way round. Catholicism is influencing my politics.

Secondly, are we supposed to condemn something just because it has a lot of prominence in the 'secular world'? Like it or not, the Catholic Church does weigh in on issues that are viewed as political. She always brings a religious perspective to the table, granted, but she does make use of a political voice. There's nothing wrong with that. Religious and political issues do overlap. If Pope Benedict was lending his personal support to a political idea that contradicted my Catholic faith, or was endorsing a particular political party, I wouldn't agree with his stance. But he's not doing either of those things, so he is in the clear with me. Other Catholics may disagree (and some of the people on here probably do). They're within their rights to do that - just as Pope Benedict is well within his rights as a personal scholar and a human being with an opinion to contribute to a widespread political debate from a Catholic perspective. But please don't assume that I support the pope on this just because of my membership in some kind of giant Catholic club.

Finally, please use less sarcasm. Is it necessary to get your point across? I am autistic and I find it very difficult to interpret.

Edited September 23, 2007 by Cathoholic Anonymous

[Apotheoun]

[quote name='Anomaly' post='1391834' date='Sep 23 2007, 04:46 PM']Oh yeah. It's nice and touchy feely, so just ignore the fact that 'global warming' is a political footbal in today's secular politics. If it's the Pope, it's got to be good. Heaven forbid a 'true Catholic' admit the Pope may be wrongly playing into the hands of secular politics. Faithfullness to a "Religion" is more important than using the intelligence God gives most of us.[/quote]
Well said. Sadly, when the Church tries to make itself relevant to modern society, that is a sign that the Church has in fact become irrelevant.

[morostheos]

[quote name='Cathoholic Anonymous' post='1391838' date='Sep 24 2007, 12:55 AM']I don't think that global warming is the political football it's made out to be by some people I encounter on the Internet. It's possible that the British perspective on this is very different. As I think that climate change is an issue that needs to be taken seriously, I would be with the Pope on this one even if I weren't Catholic.

However, my Catholicism gives me the much needed spiritual perspective. I care about this planet because God made it, and an insult to God's creation is an insult to God. It's not about 'secular politics' influencing my Catholicism. It's the other way round. Catholicism is influencing my politics.

Secondly, are we supposed to condemn something just because it has a lot of prominence in the 'secular world'? Like it or not, the Catholic Church does weigh in on issues that are viewed as political. She always brings a religious perspective to the table, granted, but she does make use of a political voice. There's nothing wrong with that. Religious and political issues do overlap. If Pope Benedict was lending his personal support to a political idea that contradicted my Catholic faith, or was endorsing a particular political party, I wouldn't agree with his stance. But he's not doing either of those things, so he is in the clear with me. Other Catholics may disagree (and some of the people on here probably do). They're within their rights to do that - just as Pope Benedict is well within his rights as a personal scholar and a human being with an opinion to contribute to a widespread political debate from a Catholic perspective. But please don't assume that I support the pope on this just because of my membership in some kind of giant Catholic club.[/quote]



As a faithful Catholic who is very involved in environmental issues, I can tell you personally it is anything but a matter of going with what's warm and fuzzy or politically correct. In such a position, I am more often attacked by both sides than applauded by either. For the Catholics, I'm accused of embracing warm and fuzzy, PC, new age stuff because I think it's important to care for the environment. For the environmentalists, I'm chastised because I don't believe birth control is ethical and I think children are a gift from God and the marital embrace is sacred.

What I think has been sorely missing from society today is a coherent, Catholic environmental ethic that is able to prove itself through logic and natural law just as most other Catholic teachings do. This is just what Benedict XVI has been creating in his past few statements on the environment, building on what JPII has already said.

How can one say that the Church addressing issues of wide concern for all of society is a sign of weakness? What else is the Church meant to do - address only issues that were a concern hundreds of years ago? If that was the case, then the Church should not be so involved in the pro-life movement, as abortion was still illegal in most countries 100 years ago. Birth control as we know it did not even exist 100 years ago. As technology develops and societal norms change, it is the responsibility of the Church to guide the faithful in complex ethical dilemmas. I would say environmental issues are some of the most complex issues facing society today. As someone with a bachelor's in environmental science and a masters in environmental ethics from a pontifical university, I still find these issues very hard to grasp. How is it better that the Church provide no guidance on this?

[ironmonk]

Bull.

I won't believe it until I see it. I won't believe it until I see it on Zenit, not some moronic godless liberal news source.

The address will be general about how it's a moral obligation to be good stewards of the planet. If anything, this is an outreach to the wack jobs out there.

"To the Jew, I become like a Jew"....

[b]1 Corin. 9:19 [/b]
Although I am free in regard to all, I have made myself a slave to all so as to win over as many as possible.
[b]20 [/b]To the Jews I became like a Jew to win over Jews; to those under the law I became like one under the law--though I myself am not under the law--to win over those under the law.
[b]21 [/b]To those outside the law I became like one outside the law--though I am not outside God's law but within the law of Christ--to win over those outside the law.
[b]22 [/b]To the weak I became weak, to win over the weak. I have become all things to all, to save at least some.
[b]23 [/b]All this I do for the sake of the gospel, so that I too may have a share in it.



It's not wisdom that causes some to speculate on what the Pope will say. Many times the media has distorted what the Pope is going to say on almost everything... what makes anyone think this time will be different?

We must take care of our planet, that's nothing new... what actually harms the planet is not what the Pope will address.

Why would the Pope make an address? Because this is a topic that is being shoved down everyone's throat. Because the lies of the leftists pinkos are making people believe that anyone who is against the joke of "manmade global warming", is destroying the planet. I've seen countless times when people who believe this hoax is real automatically attack anyone with half a mind to realize it's a hoax by implying that they want destroy the earth. Global warming is a cycle of the earth temp and nothing more... this cycle is caused by the Sun.

Mars too is experiencing a warming... [i]probably because [/i]we sent a rover there and since there are no humans there, the planet has had no time to adjust to the wicked human scum that we are. Depression, doom, gloom, the Cure, sky is falling, fear, fear, fear, buy my book, it's evil that you want to think for yourself so just believe us, we are the media elite that go off what the guy on the other station says instead of our own research because "they" wouldn't [i]lie [/i]or [i]be [/i]incompetent... would they?

The left and those crying "manmade global warming" are incompetent and blind to their own folly.

Why would they think the Pope is addressing it? Answer: 1 Corin. 9:19-23.... or there are some crooked Cardinals introducing lies to the Pope.

God Bless,
ironmonk

[ironmonk]

[quote name='Cathoholic Anonymous' post='1391838' date='Sep 23 2007, 07:55 PM']I don't think that global warming is the political football it's made out to be by some people I encounter on the Internet.[/quote]

The same groups that are crying "global warming" were crying "ice age" in the 70's/80's.

There have been a few warmings and coolings over the past 800 years.

The idea that carbon dioxide caused global warming was just one of many obscure theories until Margaret Thatcher had to deal with coal mining unions.... she wanted more nuclear power, they were against it because it would hurt their industry... so what did she use to back her nuclear power argument? "manmade global warming"... just like a "true" snake in the grass politician... instead of using facts, found something that made the other group look bad. That's not the right thing to do, it's the left.

When there are more sun spots, as noted by Galileo, the heat increases on earth.

[url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_variation"]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_variation[/url]
[url="http://vathena.arc.nasa.gov/curric/space/solterr/output.html"]http://vathena.arc.nasa.gov/curric/space/solterr/output.html[/url]
[url="http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/sun_output_030320.html"]http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/sun_output_030320.html[/url]
[url="http://www.space.com/spacewatch/cams.html"]http://www.space.com/spacewatch/cams.html[/url]
[url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Global_Warming_Swindle"]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Global_Warming_Swindle[/url]


God Bless,
ironmonk

Edited September 24, 2007 by ironmonk

[dairygirl4u2c]

i'm pretty sure that the pope will only say that we should address the issue. basically, he'd prob say that flaming liberal nutjobs who think GW is occuring obviously are not necessarily correct, but that conservative whack jobs who think that GW is in fact a hoax, with no room for error, are not necessarily correct either. he'll probably promote studies such as advocted at the end of the following.

[url="http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/science/stateofknowledge.html"]http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/science/s...fknowledge.html[/url]

and he'd probably also be open to the idea that perhaps even if GW were occuring, that it might overall be better for humanity. eg better crops etc. i wouldn't rule it out. you can't rule anything out until there's firm data on the matter. anything else is silly.


[quote]The left and those crying "manmade global warming" are incompetent and blind to their own folly.[/quote]
i don't intend to engage ironmonk as nothing ever beneficial comes from it, cause he is closed to truth, but i will say that the following could also be said.
"The right and those crying "solar variation" are incompetent and blind to their own folly."
this is because the right nor the left are not necessarily right until the data is out. just pointing to graphs showing vairation doesn't show that the perhaps increasing at a faster rate of GW isn't hurting the planet. perhaps temps are getting to points it would otherwise not reach. there as so many possibilities. it's of course also possible that the gw that is occuring is insignificant compared to the sun's effect. you can have opinoins that you choose to err on the side of. (i tend ot think the solar variation thing has much merit) but to be closed to any possibility, as a matter of fact, for either side, is surely foolish.

Edited September 24, 2007 by dairygirl4u2c

[dairygirl4u2c]

sometimes i think people tend to get preprogramed to take in fact responses. if you look at the data, solar variation increased a few hundred years ago. but the temp increase that occured recently is much more than the amount variation has increased. the amount of increase sort of seems not porportional to the roughly level solar variational effects.
plus, the scientists in the GW link of solar cyles say temp models reflective with solar cycles don't exist.
plus there are so many people who disagree with the great GW wwindle for the reasons i said. they say the solar variation doesnt' account for the warming that has occured.

it seems the most objective stance is that of uncertainty, but concern. most likely what the pope's stance will be.

Edited September 24, 2007 by dairygirl4u2c

[Dismas]

[quote name='Anomaly' post='1391834' date='Sep 23 2007, 06:46 PM']Oh yeah. It's nice and touchy feely, so just ignore the fact that 'global warming' is a political footbal in today's secular politics. If it's the Pope, it's got to be good. Heaven forbid a 'true Catholic' admit the Pope may be wrongly playing into the hands of secular politics. Faithfullness to a "Religion" is more important than using the intelligence God gives most of us.[/quote]
Actually, depending on how it is produced, worded, etc, depends greatly upon whether it can or can't be dismissed, how it can be interpreted, means of action, etc.

While MMGW is utterly bunk in my opinion, climate has been in constant flux since the Precambrian on local and global levels. Should I not react to my new situation, or aid others in theirs, I could be guilty of bad stewardship of what God has given me or worse, being a bad neighbor.

Now, hopefully it's not an ironclad endorsement of Al Gore's hysteria. I doubt it will be.