· Pope addresses climate change conference · US church leaders lobby Bush on global warming
John Vidal and Tom Kington in Rome
The Guardian,
Friday April 27, 2007
An Arctic coastline yesterday where the sea is usually still frozen at this time of year. The Vatican has added its voice to concerns over global warming. Photograph: Francois Lenoir/ReutersThe Vatican yesterday added its voice to a rising chorus of warnings from churches around the world that climate change and abuse of the environment is against God's will, and that the one billion-strong Catholic church must become far greener.
At a Vatican conference on climate change, Pope Benedict urged bishops, scientists and politicians - including UK environment secretary David Miliband - to "respect creation" while "focusing on the needs of sustainable development".
The Pope's message follows a series of increasingly strong statements about climate change and the environment, including a warning earlier this year that "disregard for the environment always harms human coexistence, and vice versa".
Observers said yesterday that the Catholic church is no longer split between those who advocate development and those who say the environment is the priority. Cardinal Renato Raffaele Martino, head of the Pontifical Council of Justice and Peace, said: "For environment ... read Creation. The mastery of man over Creation must not be despotic or senseless. Man must cultivate and safeguard God's Creation."
More at http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2007/apr/27/catholicism.religion
