Getty GOP congressman plans to boycott pope's speech over climate The vast majority of the world's scientists agree that the planet is warming.

Citing Pope Francis' support for action on climate change, Republican Rep. Paul Gosar says he is boycotting the pontiff's address to Congress.

In an op-ed published by Town Hall on Thursday, Gosar criticized the pope for warning about the threat of climate change in an encyclical published earlier this year. The pope will deliver an address to a joint session of Congress on Thursday.


"If the Pope wants to devote his life to fighting climate change then he can do so in his personal time. But to promote questionable science as Catholic dogma is ridiculous," Gosar, a Catholic, said.

A Gosar spokesman said other Republicans have expressed interest in joining the boycott but would not name any of the members.

Several Republicans who have criticized U.S. climate regulations are planning to attend, their offices told POLITICO Friday. They include Environment and Public Works Chairman Jim Inhofe, perhaps the most outspoken climate skeptic in Congress; House Science Chairman Lamar Smith, another leading climate skeptic; Gosar's fellow Arizonan Trent Franks. Catholic Sens. Lisa Murkowski, Marco Rubio and Jim Risch also plan to attend the speech.

One representative of a leading think tank that questions the link between human activity and climate change disagreed with Rep. Paul Gosar's plan to boycott the speech to Congress next Thursday.

"I’m not aware of anyone joining Gosar in his boycott," Jim Lakely, a spokesman for the Heartland Institute, said in an email. "By the way, I don’t think anyone in Congress should boycott the pope’s speech. He should be given a fair, respectful hearing – even of his views on the climate, which is outside his area of expertise – and corrected on the science when necessary."

The vast majority of the world's scientists agree that the planet is warming in large part due to human activity like the burning of fossil fuels.

Gosar is a vocal critic of the EPA's climate change regulations. The Arizona Republican also is pushing a resolution to impeach EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy.

"If the Pope plans to spend the majority of his time advocating for flawed climate change policies, then I will not attend," Gosar added in the op-ed. "It is my hope that Pope Francis realizes his time is better spent focusing on matters like religious tolerance and the sanctity of all life."



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