From THE DAILY SCEPTIC
Under Pope Francis and now Leo the Catholic Church has drunk deeply of the climate Kool-Aid, says Professor Roger Watson. It’s about time it quit the pseudo-scientific scaremongering and got back to saving souls.
How the Roman Catholic Church moved from its great commission to save souls to its current obsession with saving the planet is not clear. But it is obvious that the hierarchy of the Church has drunk deeply of the climate change Kool-Aid and, and while it would be unfair to say that it has abandoned saving souls, its mission has certainly drifted considerably into an area which is not exactly within its area of expertise. Wherever it is getting its advice on climate change from, it is most definitely listening to the wrong people.
The problem, as some Catholics see it, is demonstrated amply in a column in the September issue of Middlesbrough Diocesan Catholic Voice – known locally as the Voice – which is distributed to and through parish churches in the Middlesbrough Catholic Diocese. It is always with trepidation that I take a copy from the pile at the back after Sunday Mass.
The Voice, while it contains useful diocesan information, dates of events and news from the parishes, almost always has at least one article which, for me, is an ‘occasion of sin’ as to read it conjures up thoughts which are far from Christian. My only justification being that this is engendered by reading content that is far from Christian. Inevitably, if we do not have a report on the oxymoronic concept of the Diocesan LGBT Masses it will be an article on the so-called climate emergency.
Blessed are the carbon conscious
The September issue of Middlesbrough Diocesan Catholic Voice contains an article by Sir John Battle, former Labour MP for Leeds West and a minister in the Blair government titled ‘Stop taking a climate change gamble’. A Roman Catholic and made a Knight Commander of the Order of St Gregory by Pope Benedict XVI – who clearly didn’t get everything right – Sir John hinges his argument on the gambling industry and the obvious love of gambling among the British people.
The first quarter of the article, on the popularity of gambling and its possibility of easy returns for one’s money, is rather tenuously linked to the gamble that we are taking over climate change. This expectation of quick profit is blotting out people’s minds to the realities of what we can do to mitigate the damage of global warming.
The customary superlatives are used to support his argument. Thus “wildfires rage” across Europe and “devastating floods” hit Bangladesh. Never mind that the fires in Europe were almost certainly deliberately caused by arsonists and that there have been floods in Bangladesh for as long as anyone can remember. Add to that the news that, far from melting, the polar caps are increasing in size, the polar bears and penguins are thriving and coral reefs are growing. The facts must not stand in the way of a good argument. After all, there is a “scientific consensus” on the issue and “daily news reports of worldwide extreme climatic events”. So, it must be true.
Sins of emission
Sir John explains that the much bandied Net Zero mantra “does not mean producing zero emissions but rather taking action to reduce emissions as much as possible”. If so, then why call it ‘Net Zero’ and why does the UK have a target of Net Zero by 2050? According to the University of Oxford’s Net Zero Centre, Net Zero means “balancing the greenhouse gases put into the air with an equal amount taken back out”. That is a subtlety I have never heard any of the zero carbon fanatics explain on BBC Radio 4 Today programme.
Sir John refers to the “merchants of doubt”, pointing the finger at Big Carbon (not Sir John’s description) who have “financial interests” in not reducing our use of hydrocarbon sources. This leads people to doubt anything untoward will happen to them because of climate change due to the gambling mentality referred to in the initial paragraphs of his article. These “powerful vested interests” – spoken like a true socialist Sir John – then try to shift the blame on to consumers and society. But the consumers in turn think ‘why bother?’ when places like China and America carry on emitting greenhouse gases like there is no tomorrow.
Having seemingly criticised Big Carbon and such vested interests in trying to offload their responsibilities for the planet onto the little people, Sir John then quotes arch climate catastrophist Gabriel Winslow-Yost, who reckons climate change to be a “crime” and that we are all “implicated”. Winslow-Yost, clearly a lover of dramatic prose, says, “car rides and plane trips, coffees and burgers, heating and cooling and clothing are paid for in blood, contributing every moment to the suffering and destruction global warming brings”. My goodness, but he sounds like he’d be a regular hoot on a night out, doesn’t he?
The catechism of climate change
As if to give his article some theological clout he quotes Pope Leo who “insists” that climate change is “a scientific reality and a moral responsibility”. I think you’ll find, Pope Leo, that you are wrong on both counts there. Laudato Si’, the late Pope Francis’s execrable encyclical letter, is quoted twice, including his ridiculous exhortation to “ecological conversion”. We Catholics had all hoped for better from Pope Leo, but he seems to have fallen for the climate change catastrophe agenda as much as anyone, referring to concepts such as “environmental justice” and how it is part of the Church’s mission to “promote human dignity, peace and care for creation”.
It is hard to know what lies behind all this nonsense being spouted by the hierarchy of the Catholic Church and by senior Catholics who should know better. Are they – as I fear they might be – genuine believers in the climate change catastrophe? Perhaps they are trying to be ‘relevant’ and ‘relatable’ by addressing topical concerns in a vain attempt to fill the pews. If so, why would that work? If people want to hear scientific social justice based gobbledygook, there is always the Anglican Church, the BBC or the Guardian.
The Catholic Church rightly encourages Christians to be good stewards of creation, but has that stewardship begun to eclipse salvation? Reducing carbon emissions seems to be a greater priority than reducing sin. The Church’s unique mission is to proclaim the Gospel, administer the sacraments and prepare souls for eternity. If it chooses to become just another voice in the chorus of climate activism, it should not be surprised if people conclude that it has become more interested in saving the planet than in saving the souls of the people who inhabit it.
Professor Roger Watson is a retired academic, editor and writer. He writes regularly for a range of conservative journals including the Salisbury Review, the European Conservative and the New Conservative. He has travelled and worked extensively in the Far East and the Middle East. His Substack can be found here.
Religious institutions should stick to spiritual issues, especially when trends toward secularism are growing. It’s bad enough that leftist governments profess to know what’s best for their citizens, particularly when this knowledge entails just extracting more tax revenue out of them to fight a non-problem like climate change; but when churches appear to be attempting to get a piece of the action, they’re just inviting a certain degree of backlash.
Problem is that people should not split mind from body which is the Marxist method based on Plato’s bizarre two-worlds theory from which Marx thought fixed-pie economics and drive-to-bottom ethics. In contrast, Aristotle taught one world that humans are capable of figuring out, then Ayn Rand put a moral foundation under ethicse by pointing out that force stops life by blocking action your mind determines is needed to live. (Hence necessity of defending individuals against initiation of force.)
One reason is a Marxist-leaning Pope out of South America.
(Decades ago Catholic poohbahs in the Seattle WA area were clearly Marxist.)
Another is The Church is political, not strong on defending individuals.
Its offshoot the Anglican Church is also bad, headed by the Royal Family of Britain – from Prince Phillip through King Charles to his probable successor Prince William. It is the Church of England, there’s been some relaxation of its power over government but not enough.
“Is the Pope Catholic?” used to be a rhetorical question. These days, not so much.
This has stopped to be the case since at least Pope Francis,
who used to be called traitor by 2 of his fellow Jesuit priests
who had been abducted by the Junta
Francis had close ties with.
The Junta was installed by the same country this Crown- Pritzker pope is from,
and therefore their open border attitude(rejecting invaders (outside of the Vatican) is a sin according to Francis,but same sex couples get his blessings),
and their climate science are as one can expect.
And while this Pope and his predecessor didn’t gave a shit for 12 years about the orthodox church being vandalised, its priests imprisoned, monastries evicted etc,
he instantly sent a negotiator to Moscow to complement CiA Boss Ratcliff for peace talks the moment Ukraine got in real trouble.
On the other hand – Pope Paul 6 already said in 1972 that the smoke of the devil has entered the Vatican and its top exorcist Amorth confirmed 40 years later that ” the devil resides in the Vatican”.( Amorth does not seem to be very good at his job).
Maybe that’s why your religion outside of the orthodox church is falling apart.
On the other hand the Vatican may have already been a corrupted shithole since the Italian banking families Medici,Segni,Orsini and Bhorgia took over,
installed usury(the homo blessing of the Medievals ),
attacked and looted the Byzantine/ Orthodox empire.
And these families , nowadays known as black nobility and using different names,still have close ties to the Vatican.
Therefore no surprise that one pope used to be from the Hitler Youth and the current one originates from modern day Sodom and Gomorrah (I wonder if this Pope is member of males only Mens Country Sauna Club in Chicago)
I might be remembering it wrong, but I thought the question was, ‘Is a bear Catholic?”
The bear that grabbed an atheist walking through the woods , marveling at the beauty of nature ?
Who said “God , if you exist , please turn this bear into a Christian ” ?
ZAP !
And the bear let go , stood upon its hind legs , folded its front paws , bowed its head and said
“I thank you Father , for this food I am about to eat “.?
😉
Oh, my…so apt.
Prince Philip was never the head of the Church of England. That was the Queen and Prince Philip had nothing to do with it. Nor did the Queen in fact. And the Church of England certainly doesn’t have any power over the government beyond the fact that a small number of bishops sit in the house of Lords.
No, but the government has significant power over the choice of the Archbishop.
Pope Gaia the First perhaps? The watermelons have infiltrated everywhere
Yes, I think that is the problem.
I wouldn’t go to a preacher for scientific guidance any more than I would turn to a scientist for spiritual advice. I dumped the ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church of America) years ago. Well actually my preachers gave strong recommendations that I find another church more than once. They got so bad even my mother left. Churches are making a serious mistake hitching their wagon to CAGW. Religious institutions live or die because people attending services believe they will get the straight scoop at church. CAGW will eventually come tumbling down as all cults do when it does millions of good believers will ask if my leaders were sucked in by something this obviously wrong why should we put any stock in the other stuff they say. Churches have everything to lose and nothing to gain following the CAGW path.
Well, they may believe on faith that they do but are often misled, cult religions being especially bad.
Churches slowly change – the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints abandoned a bad teaching long ago. (That’s the church of Mormons.) Some have slowly accepted females being Ministers/Priests.
Churches split apart over theological theories or just some charismatic person inventing a new variant such as Falun Dafa in China or for political power. (A likely reason for Protestant churches splitting from Catholic and for Anglican to split from something, and Muhammed starting to teach against Jews.)
It is easy to persuade some people with emotions.
The catholic church has made an enormous mistake in endorsing the cagw religious cult which is not supported by any known credible science. The catholic church should be condemning the people who are making billions out of this ridiculous scam. This can only cause huge damage to the catholic church in the long term.
“The catholic church should be condemning the people who are making billions out of this ridiculous scam.” AND the poor around the globe who suffer the most from implementing climate policies. The church should be advocating for them first and foremost.
Shameful!
The Marxists have infiltrated every sector of Western society …. politics, government, industry, education, the media, judiciary, science, even religion. The last pope was a Marxist as well who took over after they forced the sitting pope to abdicate because he wasn’t Communist enough. One has to wonder what these people are being offered to take up the Marxist narratives. A seat at the table after the color revolution? Don’t they know that they are nothing but useful idiots that will be discarded when the “utopia” is realized?
As the Soviet Union and China demonstrated, the useful idiots who supported socialism will not simply be discarded, they will be eliminated.
I often wonder just what could be seductive that those who take up marxism think they are going to get. Historically, its always, and finally, a one way trip to a basement with a drain, or a wall, or just a ditch in the woods. Always.
I am a Catholic. The only temperature this bunch need to concern them selves with is the temperature of Hell. After their prostration at the Altar of Covid Vaccines, I have little faith in anything the Vatican pontificates on, that is not Theology. Why the temperature of Hell, you may ask, because that is where many of these are headed.
I am also Catholic, and it was the sex scandal involving priests that did in my regular attendance, about 20 years ago. Everything else is just an addition that reinforces my original decision.
From what I can recall of a Catholic education three-quarters of a century ago there was no mention of ‘the environment’ but an awful lot about ‘godless communism’.
The only possible scriptural authority for for ‘environment-talk’ that I can remember comes from Genesis (and it’s the same in the Tanakh): ‘God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”’
“Subdue”, ‘conquer, defeat, vanquish, get the better of, overpower, overcome’ (Oxford), does not sound very environment friendly.
Apart from the natural fertilization effect of increased atmospheric CO2, everyone wants clean air water and surroundings, generally it is populations in the most economically developed countries that demand and can afford the cleanest environment — thanks to fossil fuels.
I suppose that some religious people believe that God didn’t create coal, oil, gas, iron, water, timber, cows and trees to be used by man!
God also created dice, although according to Einstein, he doesn’t use them. Complicated, isn’t it?
The UK’s Church of England is even worse. The last several Archbishops seem bound to do the devil’s work and our latest incarnation in the post is the worst yet. As a physicist and a Christian (both for more than 50 years) I can add that, as my pastor has covered (also a Christian and Oxford-educated scientist) the Bible itself says there will be no more catastrophes (after the flood) unless God permits it.
Confusing Gaia for Yaweh could be a very bad move for Rome.
Have popes forgotten that old Catholic adage: ‘the Devil always claims to be someone else, always claims to be the good guy’?
The correct number of angels that be balanced on the head of a pin is nil.
The correct amount of effect that carbon dioxide emissions have on the climate is also nil. Or at least so close to nil as to be not worth the self impoverishment of net zero.
Reducing Carbon? What Carbon? lead pencils, burnt wood, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, carbonic acid, carbon based greenhouse gases. Clouds and water vapour are the worst greenhouse gases, 90% whereas carbon dioxide is only .04% No wonder project fear gets away with lies because it doesn’t explain anything properly
How about carbon based life forms? Should we be reduced as well?
And don’t forget animals!
We need to eat more meat, not less, to “Save the Planet”!
They’re working on it-we both know it.
It’s the Vatican. What do they know?
They know how to control people & make money … lots of it !!
dating back to before LUTHER btw.
Remember INDULGENCES?
I’m old … but not that old (:-))
I don’t have much confidence in men wearing purple robes.
Pope Francis avoided discussing the providence of the sovereign God in Laudato Si’ by failing to quote Jesus in full. This would have undermined his argument. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus says to his disciples, “your Father who is in heaven . . . . . makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” (Mat 5:45). There are various passages which speak of the sovereign God having control over the weather and providing rain, some in the incredibly beautiful poetry in Job 38:34-37, Psalm 135:7, 147:8
Q & A 27 of the Heidelberg Catechism briefly explains what the Bible teaches
Q. What do you understand by the providence of God?
A. Providence
is the almighty and ever present power of God
by which God upholds, as with his hand,
heaven
and earth
and all creatures,
and so rules them that
leaf and blade,
rain and drought,
fruitful and lean years,
food and drink,
health and sickness,
prosperity and poverty—
all things, in fact,
come to us
not by chance
but from his fatherly hand.
Bringing down the churches is all part of the divide and conquer tactics being employed.
There is great human psychological benefit to a belief in something greater than oneself. Promoting man above God (however that is defined) is definitely contradictory to that precept.
Well spoken
Modern mainline Catholicism is mostly aligned with modern mainline Protestantism, abandoning the good news of the gospel and the veracity of the Bible for a humanistic focus on so-called “social justice.” This includes drinking the climate change Kool-Aid, alongside open borders, sanctuary cities, LGBXYZ activism, dividing people into group identities, DIE (DEI), decriminalizing crime, … the list goes on. They speak a skin of truth stuffed with a lie. This mindset has infiltrated the churches just has it has infiltrated major institutions of government, academia, professional societies, the practice of medicine, the arts, human sexuality and reproduction, the news media, social media, advanced computing, and pop culture.
Consequently, the churches and secular institutions are losing the people’s trust.
Il papa,
Forgive me for I have sinned. Today I dove my gasoline-fueled SUV for 5 miles to go shopping.
The job of a steward is to “manage” his employers property.
It has never been to simply “preserve” it.
To manage means the employer gets the maximum use out of the property over the long haul.
The list of safe meaningless bets is short. Global warming with weak science and long-term advocacy-crafted predictions is a winner for many institutions and politicos, along with world peace and kissing babies. Some are making good money out of it for light rail projects, high speed rail to nowhere, and expensive electric bus purchases. How about an EV Popemobile?
Wait for it…
The church sold out to the climate cult in 2015 when Pope Francis issued his “Laudate Si” on care of the environment. Among his advisors were renowned spiritual leaders such as “public intellectual” Jeffery Sachs and Potsdam’s own Hans Schnellenhuber. And Pope Leo has all but admitted he is Francis II. Just all part of liberation theology, the leftwing substitute for Christianity.
It is hard to know what lies behind all this nonsense being spouted by the hierarchy of the Catholic Church and by senior Catholics
The Catholic Church rightly encourages Christians to be good stewards of creation, ….
RUBBISH 1
The Church’s unique mission is to proclaim the Gospel, administer the sacraments and prepare souls for eternity.
WHICH THEY DID BY ENSLAVING THE MINDS OF INNOCENT PEOPLE FOR TEN+ CENTURIES
It has never done anything of the above -the great heretical poison with MARY QUEEN OF HEAVEN while burning Latimer and Ridley alive in Oxford town centre….was neither Roman nor Catholic.
They just now another nasty ridiculous man made cult with cloth to conceal the Paedos and the other warped nutters hiding in there.