- Soon . . . Climate Change “CC” denial, a mortal sin?
- Dubyan down
Catholic priests will have to preach about climate change as part of a drive by the church to cut global warming
——–
Flip Wilson was a black comedian who had a variety show on NBC in the early 70’s. He was one of the funniest, best-loved comics in television history. On his show, Wilson created a number of hilarious characters. One of his most popular was “Reverend Leroy”, the minister of the “Church of What’s Happening Now“. New parishioners were wary of coming to the church as it was hinted that Reverend Leroy was a con artist.
Not to be disrespectful but we are reminded frequently of late of Reverend Leroy and his “church”.
We don’t mean to suggest that today’s leader of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Francis, is a con artist. He does, however, seem to greatly desire to “transform” to some extent, the Church he leads into a “Church of What’s Happening Now”.
The Pontiff has been quite active in political debates on current issues, especially those related to the recent US presidential election.
Francis has spoken out on the European mass migration and American immigration policy, always in favor of “open borders”.
He has forcefully expressed his opinions on income inequality, concerns of the gay community, the evils of capitalism, America’s historical responsibility for poverty in Latin America, the dangers of “fake news”, and his desire for redistribution of the world’s wealth, as well as other current issues.
While he has reaffirmed the Church’s position on some traditional faith principles, his comments on hot button matters of current debate have somewhat overshadowed his advocacy for long-standing church doctrine.
Il Papa seems to very much relish his widely recognized status as a popular icon, a kind of spiritual rock star, based on his carefully honed image as a man of great humility and a champion of the poor and exploited. It has won him global acclaim, especially from the left/liberal press.
One issue that has firmly established his affinity for leftist positions on most issues is “climate change”. Francis last year released his encyclical, Laudato Si, devoted to the subject, in which he argued in favor of virtually every climate change alarmist viewpoint, including a warning that profiteering air conditioner manufacturers were threatening the planet’s very existence.
His comments on the matter before and since he convened a “climate change” conference at the Vatican in 2015, at which only those on one side of the debate were allowed, seem to hint at the Pontiff’s real enthusiasm for the cause…a means by which to advance the wealth redistribution he so strongly advocates!
Perhaps unfairly, but certainly a possibility based on his own behaviors in his role as Vicar of Christ, Francis’s obvious thirst for media acclaim and his affinity for the world’s most prominent leftist political figures as a means to advance his agenda, can’t help but remind us, just a little bit, of Flip Wilson’s “Reverend Leroy”, leader of the Church of What’s Happening Now. DLH
From The Daily Mail article (excerpt)
New guidelines issued to priests state that members of the clergy should be ‘promoters’ of ‘appropriate care for everything connected to the protection of creation’.
The Vatican’s Pontifical Academy of Sciences has ruled that climate change is real and caused by human activity.
Members of the church have been urged to spread the message in a non-political manner.
A report on catholic.org states: ‘The aim is not political. The Church does not advocate for any policies that will erode basic freedoms or human rights.
‘Instead, the Church advocates awareness, conservation, and management of our planet’s resources for the good of all, and not just for the benefit of a mere few.’
But it said that environmental awareness should not be at the expense of development.
The report continues: ‘It does no good to preserve a forest if the people who live in it must starve.
‘But environmental stewardship is not a zero sum game, nor is economics. There are ways forward that are moral, and mutually beneficial for both the people and the environment.’
The church argues that encouraging priests to talk to their clergy will encourage a ‘moral’ solution to environmental issues.
Dubyan down
Presuming the Catholic.org description of the pronouncement is accurate, and not just the PR clean-up folks in operation, we have a few questions for Your Holiness, a dubya from veritaspac.com.
- It is a largely nice sounding, seemingly balanced, ~~ exhortation ~~ but how do you square “management” with “non-political” and “freedom” ? Who is going to do the managing and how are the values so managed not political decisions?
- If your pronouncement is above politics on such matters how is it that your Pontifical Academy of Sciences which you rely on was not, is not?
- You make use of a concept “mutually beneficial for both the people and the environment.” Pray tell, how is “the environment” an independent moral entity? Do rocks have a soul? Do gases have a soul? How is this not a neo-Manichaeism dualism?
- If you accept that economics is not a zero sum game, can you name an economic system that has produced the greatest growth in economic well-being for the greatest number of people with the greatest freedoms afforded and the most efficient use of resources? Do you think there is any (pardon the phrase) competition to that combined effect between Marxism and capitalism? R Mall
