Pope's climate message welcomed in VT

The message of stewardship of the Earth rather than dominion over it, outlined by Pope Francis Thursday, resonates deeply with Vermont's Roman Catholic community, Bishop Christopher J. Coyne said at a news conference in downtown Burlington.

"This is a discussion that everyone can participate in, beyond just Catholics and people of faith," Coyne said, speaking at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.

The Pope's message is "provocative," Coyne added: It "challenges people to enter into meaningful dialogue for change and for the good of all of us."

The Pope's encyclical message links rapid climate change and the widening divide between the rich and the poor, and is expected to chart church doctrine for more than a billion Catholics worldwide.

Religion's place in modern environmental advocacy also stirs close to home.

Bill McKibben, the Ripton-based author and climate activist (and not a Catholic) is best known for drawing our attention to the science of global warming.

But faith plays a role in his efforts. McKibben, founder of 350.org, wrote Thursday morning in an email:

"Science can explain to us the depth of the crisis we face, but empirically it has proved insufficient to move us to action," he wrote.

"For some of us," McKibben continued, "the sense of justice — to the poor, to the future, and to the rest of Creation — that underlies the Gospels has helped move anguish into action."

Laurie Gagne, director of the Edmundite Center for Peace and Justice at St. Michael's College also spoke to religion's ability to motive, noting the potential for the Pope to mobilize many.

"About 1.2 billion on Earth identify as Catholics. If a critical mass of them take action on this, it could make a difference," Gagne said.

Vermont's Catholics tend to be green-minded in their faith, Bishop Coyne said.

In blogs about environmental issues prior to Thursday's announcement, Coyne lauded the Pope's embrace of "integral ecology," in which climate issues are linked to extreme economic disparity, food and water shortages, land degradation and failing nation states.

"This implies a responsible reciprocity between human beings and nature," Coyne wrote. "It realizes that these crises are not independent, but closely intertwined."

Other Roman Catholics in the region voiced their solidarity with the Vatican.

"I'm not surprised — and I'm delighted he's doing it," said Joseph Gainza of Marshfield, speaking Wednesday after the Burlington cathedral's noon Mass.

To begin with, Gainza said, the current Pope took the name Francis, invoking Saint Francis of Assisi's devotion to the poor and his love of Earthly creation.

That tradition remains solid with what Gainza termed "the best-kept secret of the Church": the Catholic Social Teaching movement, a forum for activism established in the late 19th century to advance labor issues.

Today, social, economic and environmental justice are intertwined, Gainza said, and climate change "creates a lot of losers and just a few winners."

Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists and those of other faiths have prominent environmental voices, Gainza added: "It turns out there's a large community of faith that sees this as a moral issue."

The Pope has always made clear his belief of "the close connection between environmental and social justice," Gagne, of the Edumndite Center added.

"The poor are vulnerable — they're just not as mobile as people with means, whether due to flooding or drought — it's the poor who are the victims," Gagne said.

"Simply put, she added, Pope Francis advocates care for creation — a message that encourages us to address a problem that all of us have the opportunity to resolve."

What about perceptions of the religious community as science-averse? Or that mankind's role in the planet's future is insignificant, compared to that of a supreme being?

"That's a huge, mistaken interpretation of the will of God," Gagne said. "There's a big difference between fatalism and faith."

She draws a parallel with the history of the American civil rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s.

"The segregation of African Americans was seen by some people as the law of the land — which was the will of God," Gagne said. "That's fatalism. Faith, on the other hand, means you have to be open to the spirit of God, which inspires social change.

"You can be led by the spirit. That is a conversation that every generation has to learn."

And the divide between science and theology? They're complementary, not mutually exclusive, Gagne said.

"You really can't use the Bible for science; good science doesn't do metaphysics," she continued. "Science and faith are compatible when they stick to their respective spheres."

Contact Joel Banner Baird at 660-1843 or joelbaird@FreePressMedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/vtgoingup.

Vermont senators praise Pope

Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt, and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., each released statements Thursday in response to Pope Francis' encyclical.

Sanders:

"Pope Francis' powerful message on climate change should change the debate around the world and become a catalyst for the bold actions needed to reverse global warming.

The pope helps us all see how those with the least among us will fare the worst from the consequences of climate change. I very much appreciate that the Republican leadership has invited the pope to address Congress.

I hope they listen to what he has to say. Denying the science related to climate change is no longer acceptable."

Leahy:

The Pope's message to the world, and to world leaders, has a justified edge of urgency. He is shining a clear and purposeful beacon on an unfolding crisis that will only worsen the longer that it is ignored or minimized.

He invokes the responsibility that all of us have for sound and respectful stewardship over this beautiful and delicate planet that has been entrusted to us. He makes clear that the choices we make have profound moral, practical, and perhaps even existential implications.

The status quo is always the easy path. Unfortunately, many in Congress — and many leaders in other lands — have preferred to ignore or even deny the clear evidence of these threats to civilization.

The earlier we take seriously these warnings and this evidence, and act on them, the more success we will have in addressing them, while at the same time growing our economy here at home by developing and deploying clean, smart and renewable energy resources.

The Pope's message is strong, it is principled, and it will sharpen our focus on what matters most in this debate.