Pope's Encyclical Says Taking Care of Environment is a Moral and Ethical Obligation

     

The leader of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Francis, released a paper that discussed the environment addressed to "...every living thing on the planet", not just his Catholic flock (Peppard, 2015). In it he discusses the environment and how taking care of the earth is ethical. Greenhouse gases are put out by industrial nations, consumption of resources is higher in the first world, and countries like the United States should take the lead on agreements with other countries in improving the world environmentally.

"The goods of the earth, continues Francis, are not meant for abuse and exploitation, but rather for sharing and inclusiveness of the least among us..."

This is keeping with Catholic teachings on taking care of the "least among us", and help the poor and handicapped. (Peppard, 2015). So Pope Francis sees that taking care of the environment is an extension of the Catholic's cause to help those less fortunate, a key ethical tenet of their religion.  So we have the leader of the largest Christian denomination putting out a call for taking care of the Earth, and framing it in a way to make it an ethical and moral obligation - something that mainstream religions do not do.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2015/06/18/what-you-need-to-know-about-pope-franciss-environmental-encyclical/