海角大神

With Pope Francis poised to issue a full-throated call to address the looming threats of climate change this year, conservative Catholic skeptics are crying foul.

The pope has already prepared a major encyclical 鈥� or moral guide for the globe鈥檚 1.2 billion Catholics 鈥� which later this year will stress the imperative of addressing human-caused global warming. And on Tuesday, the Pontifical Academy of Sciences and other organizations hosted a summit at the Vatican called 鈥淧rotect the Earth, Dignify Humanity: The Moral Dimensions of Climate Change and Sustainable Development,鈥� billed as to help strengthen 鈥渢he global consensus鈥� on the issue.

Both are parts of the Vatican鈥檚 increasing efforts to influence this year鈥檚 United Nation鈥檚 Climate Change Conference, which meets in Paris this December with the goal of getting the nations of the world to establish legally-binding protocols to protect the climate.

It鈥檚 the kind of organized effort that sets many conservative skeptics鈥� teeth on edge. And even though previous popes issued similar teachings on the environment, Francis has sparked a particularly vocal response. For Catholic conservatives, both in the US and overseas, Francis鈥檚 progressive views, combined with his overwhelming popularity with the laity, represents a challenge that some critics see as moving from the theological realm to the political. But there is no question that his voice reaches farther 鈥� on this and other social issues 鈥� than his predecessor.

鈥淔rancis will get a hearing on this issue that I think the previous popes, Benedict and John Paul II, did not have,鈥� says Bruce Morrill, the Edward A. Malloy professor of Catholic studies at Vanderbilt University Divinity School in Nashville, Tenn., who is also a Catholic priest.

Indeed, on Monday, conservative groups held a press conference in Rome to denounce the pope鈥檚 stance on the environment.

鈥淵ou demean the office that you hold and you demean the church whom it is your sworn duty to protect and defend and advance,鈥� said Christopher Monckton, a former adviser to British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and a devoted Catholic who has long been a leader climate skeptic movement. 鈥淪tand back and listen to both sides, and do not take sides in politics," he said,

Pope Benedict, who was often called 鈥渢he Green Pope鈥� during his tenure, issued similar calls to protect the environment, though criticism was more muted for the staunchly theologically-conservative pope.聽

鈥淚f we want justice and peace, we must protect the habitat that sustains us," Benedict said during the 2010 World Day of Peace. Under his leadership, too, the Pontifical Academy of Science released a report that urged world leaders to cut emissions and prepare for the impact of a changing climate, even as Benedict instituted a number of green initiatives for Vatican City, an independent country.

But Benedict鈥檚 staid and cerebral style was far from the populist charisma and more pastorally-oriented focus of Francis, who is widely adored by the Catholic laity, both in the US and around the world.

And with Francis鈥檚 more progressive emphasis on the poor and oppressed around the world 鈥� as well as his shift in pastoral tone toward gay, lesbian, and divorced Catholics 鈥� his pronouncements on the environment could have a much greater impact, many observers say.

鈥淔rancis鈥檚 moral authority is so overwhelmingly huge throughout the world, and I think that poses a huge problem for conservatives,鈥� says Father Morrill. 鈥淎nd it poses a dilemma for them 鈥� an ironic dilemma, as the old saying goes, how everybody turns out to be a cafeteria Catholic, picking and choosing what popes say, and marginalizing others, such as teachings on climate change.鈥�

Benedict鈥檚 edicts about the environment, while criticized, too, never received the kind of public and press-friendly opposition as the current pontiff, who is seen as guided by the Holy Spirit, in traditional Catholic teaching.

鈥淭he Holy Father is being misled by 鈥榚xperts鈥� at the United Nations who have proven unworthy of his trust,鈥� Joseph Bast, president of the Heartland Institute, a libertarian think tank based in Chicago, and one of the organizers of the press conference denouncing Francis on Monday.聽

鈥淗umans are not causing a climate crisis on God鈥檚 Green Earth 鈥� in fact, they are fulfilling their Biblical duty to protect and use it for the benefit of humanity,鈥� Mr. Bast continued in a statement released Monday. 鈥淭hough Pope Francis鈥檚 heart is surely in the right place, he would do his flock and the world a disservice by putting his moral authority behind the United Nations鈥� unscientific agenda on the climate,鈥� he said in a statement, contradicting the vast majority of world鈥檚 climate scientists.

Francis鈥檚 popularity among Catholics could prove politically difficult for many Catholic Republicans, including presidential hopefuls Jeb Bush, Chris Christie, Bobby Jindal, Marco Rubio, and Rick Santorum, most of whom, too, express skepticism about the science of climate change.聽

But Francis is planning to emphasize the issue more and more this year before the UN Conference in Paris. 聽聽

鈥淔or Francis, his uniqueness as an authority resides in the quite remarkable moral capital he鈥檚 built up from the start,鈥� Morrill says. 鈥淧eople in governments 鈥� and not just 海角大神 and Catholics, but people in the UN and other bodies 鈥� people have made a judgement perceiving his personal moral authority and wisdom and knowledge of our times. That is what bears the authority 鈥� there鈥檚 the objective moral authority of the papacy, but this other authority, I think, that is making all the difference.鈥� 聽