Pope Francis made climate advocacy a priority as Head of the Catholic Church
ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — For Pope Francis, the environment and nature were at the forefront of his mission as Head of the Catholic Church.
His passing came just a day before Earth Day and the planet was something he fought to protect during his tenure, pushing world leaders to do something about climate change and clean up the planet for future generations.
When he stepped into the role in 2013, he chose his papal name after St. Francis of Assisi, because of his bond with nature. A name that embodies part of Pope Francis’ legacy.
“Accepting the urgency, it seems clear to me also that climate change is a problem which can no longer be left to a future generation. When it comes to the care of our ‘common home’, we are living at a critical moment of history,” he said during a visit to the U.S. in 2015.
Over the years, he advocated for taking action on climate change. He repeatedly raised the problem of human-caused global heating from burning fossil fuels and he encouraged world leaders to do something about it.
“We need to insure that the environment is cleaner, more pure. It needs to be preserved. We must care for nature so that nature may care for us,” Pope Francis said during a climate summit in 2021. “It leads us to be stewards of nature, this gift that we have received and that we must care for into the future.”
In 2015, Pope Francis issued a papal letter proclaiming climate change as global problem with serious consequences for the poor. He criticized developed countries like the U.S. and China which have contributed the most pollution.
“We have polluted and despoiled the Earth, endangering our very lives. For this reason, various international and local movements have sprung up in order to appeal to our consciences,” he said during a prayer in 2020. “I deeply appreciate these initiatives; still it will be necessary for our children to take to the streets to teach us the obvious: we have no future if we destroy the very environment that sustains us.”
Because of his advocacy and urgent pleas, several Catholic climate groups formed in 140 countries and continue to plant trees, organize litter clean ups and echo Pope Francis’ message.
“I would like to support concerted action also on the national and local levels. It will help if people at all levels of society come together to create a popular movement ‘from below’,” Pope Francis said in 2020. “The Earth Day we are celebrating today was itself born in precisely this way. We can each contribute in our own small way.”
Copyright 2025 WANF. All rights reserved.