The Maryknoll missionaries have thrown their support behind 16-year-old climate activist Greta Thunberg, comparing her to the Virgin Mary.

“Christians getting their knickers all in a twist over the passionate, articulate & knowledgeable witness of Greta Thunberg because of her age seem to overlook the age of the Virgin Mary at the time of the Annunciation,” the group wrote on Twitter.

“Young women can & have changed the world,” they concluded.

Christians getting their knickers all in a twist over the passionate, articulate & knowledgeable witness of Greta Thunberg because of her age seem to overlook the age of the Virgin Mary at the time of the Annunciation. Young women can & have changed the world. — Maryknoll Missioners (@MaryknollFrsBrs) September 24, 2019

The tweet was sent Tuesday from the official Twitter account of the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers, whose registered name is the Catholic Foreign Mission Society of America, founded in 1911.

“We follow Jesus in serving the poor and others in need in 22 countries, including the U.S.” states the group, which emphasizes its work in promoting social justice.

In her address to the United Nations Monday, Ms. Thunberg said that that world leaders “have stolen my dreams, my childhood, with your empty words and yet I’m one of the lucky ones.”

“People are suffering, people are dying, entire ecosystems are collapsing,” she declared. “We are in the beginning of the mass extinction and all you can talk about is money and fairy tales of eternal economic growth. How dare you!”

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