A pope for the environment

Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, has been very outspoken about the climate and environmental crisis as well as human rights, through his deep faith and leadership.

- By ANGELA ASUNCION

Faithbased environmental leaders as well as global and Philippine climate leaders lauded his election last May 8.

At a seminar in November 2024 in Rome, Prevost said that it is time to move "from words to action" on the environmental crisis facing humanity, based on the Social Doctrine of the Church. Prevost further cautioned against the "harmful" consequences of technological development and reiterated the Holy See's commitment to protecting the environment, enumerating examples, like the Vatican installing solar panels and shifting to electric vehicles. He stated that "dominion over nature" - the task which God gave humanity - should not become "tyrannical." It must be a "relationship of reciprocity" with the environment." Pope Leo XIV, 69, is the first pontiff elected from the United States. Born in Chicago, Illinois, he served as president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America and Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, and worked for many years in Peru, including as bishop of Chiclayo in the northwest.

Pope Leo XIV appears to be aligned with his predecessor Pope Francis, who issued the church's first encyclical on protecting the earth and "care for our common home," Laudato Si', and was active on environmental issues throughout his papacy.