A friend sends along

this link to the Holy Father’s recent remarks, including these passages:

Can we remain indifferent before the problems associated with such realities as climate change, desertification, the deterioration and loss of productivity in vast agricultural areas, the pollution of rivers and aquifers, the loss of biodiversity, the increase of natural catastrophes and the deforestation of equatorial and tropical regions? Can we disregard the growing phenomenon of ‘environmental refugees,’ people who are forced by the degradation of their natural habitat to forsake it – and often their possessions as well – in order to face the dangers and uncertainties of forced displacement? Can we remain impassive in the face of actual and potential conflicts involving access to natural resources?

And asks, “Are you going to comment on the Holy Father’s message? Do you think the Holy Father is therefore in favor of population control?”

Obviously not. And, on the basics, I agree with the Pope (not a big surprise). I’ve never denied we have a grave responsibility to care for the earth. I’m a big booster of the fact that, as the Holy Father says:

Respect for creation is of immense consequence not least because ‘creation is the beginning and the foundation of all God’s works,’ and its preservation has now become essential for the pacific coexistence of mankind. Man’s inhumanity to man has given rise to numerous threats to peace and to authentic and integral human development – wars, international and regional conflicts, acts of terrorism, and violations of human rights. Yet no less troubling are the threats arising from the neglect – if not downright misuse – of the earth and the natural goods that God has given us. For this reason, it is imperative that mankind renew and strengthen ‘that covenant between human beings and the environment, which should mirror the creative love of God, from whom we come and towards whom we are journeying.’

Catholicism is the greenest faith in the world, because it not only takes creation seriously, it knows enough about Nature and its Creator to simultaneously reverence it as it should be reverence while not falling into the blunder of elevating it to the status of a goddess. This is a balancing act neither the “Let’s rape it and take what we want!” guys and the “Let’s worship it!” guys never seem to get. If you want to watch those guys in action doing double duty bashing both the Pope and each other, just read the comments on this article. Talk about ignorant armies clashing by night.

That said, I note that Benedict refrains from “entering into the merit of specific technical solutions,” but merely says “the Church is nonetheless concerned, as an ‘expert in humanity,’ to call attention to the relationship between the Creator, human beings and the created order.”

In short, when it comes to his information about climate change, he’s as reliant on science-filtered-through-state-and-media as the rest of us are. He accepts the dominant narrative in the world media that climate change (which I don’t deny since that what climate does) is due to manmade causes. He’s entitled to his opinion on that. And it’s certainly the case that, whether or not climate change is due to man, lots and lots of environmental damage is and, moreover, whatever is causing climate change, the victims deserve our help and we retain the responsbility to care for the Garden.

It would be great if the leaders who are contemplating drastic, draconian actions that mainly aim to cull the herds of the victims of change and leave the rich and powerful to their riches and power were interested in the Holy Father’s remarks. The problem, however, is that they are not.

Another Holy Father saw a real and present danger in something called Atheistic Communism some time ago and wrote eloquently about our need to do something about that too. One world leader in Germany totally agreed with this urgent need to stop atheistic communism. He even said stuff about how God was calling him to act to stop it. It does not follow that his agenda for achieving this end was something the Pope agreed with. I am highly skeptical that the agendas being put forward at Cop 15 remotely reflect what the Holy Father is talking about. And I remain highly skeptical, given the East Anglia emails that the science of climate change is a solid basis for the draconian neo-Malthusian changes our elites wish to impose.