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“We seek to bring awareness to the American community-at-large, and Catholics in particular, that the teachings of Pope Francis, outside the spiritual realm, need to be questioned and debated before gaining acceptance,” said the groups in a statement. “The Pope is the spiritual leader of the Roman Catholic Church. He is not a temporal leader, scientist or economist—and certainly not infallible regarding issues relating to science and the economy.”
In April, the Heartland Institute sent a delegation to the Vatican as a “prebuttal” to the Vatican’s “Climate Summit.” They urged the Pope to realize that “humans are not causing a climate crisis on God’s green Earth.”
“What is environmentalism but nature worship?” said Gene Koprowski, marketing director of the Heartland Institute, told Philly News. Participants at the rally yesterday called Pope Francis’ encyclical “paganism,” “anti-American and dangerous” and “unholy lies.”
“The Pope does seem to be enamored with solutions that are not pro-American in the slightest,” said Dom Giordano, a radio talk-show host. It’s not shocking that the Pope has drawn criticism from conservatives in recent months. He has taken a more liberal stance on a number of hot button issues, including same-sex marriage and abortion. But his strongest stance may just be on the need to act on climate change and reform our modern capitalist system. In recent months, he has blamed blamed modern materialism for turning the planet into “an immense pile of filth” and called on the rich and powerful to “care” for the Earth. He even went so far as to say that acting on climate change is “essential to faith.”
As for the Pope’s visit to Congress—which will be the first time ever that a Pope addresses the U.S. Congress—feelings are somewhat mixed among conservatives. Yesterday, 11 Republicans called for climate action ahead of Pope Francis’ visit, introducing a resolution that put the climate challenge in the broader context of conservation, stewardship, innovation and conservatism.
But at least one conservative will be skipping the Pope’s speech. Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) told The Hill Francis’ calls to combat the effects of climate change remind him of a “leftist politician.” Gosar, a Catholic, was initially very excited to hear that the Pope would be speaking to Congress. But when he heard media reports that the Pope would focus on climate change during his report, he balked.
“If the Pope stuck to standard Christian theology, I would be the first in line. If the Pope spoke out with moral authority against violent Islam, I would be there cheering him on. If the Pope urged the Western nations to rescue persecuted Christians in the Middle East, I would back him wholeheartedly. But when the Pope chooses to act and talk like a leftist politician, then he can expect to be treated like one,” Gosar wrote in an op-ed for Townhall.com.
While The Hill reports that lawmakers have promised “Congress will be on its very best behavior” during the Pope’s visit, Gosar is staging a “public boycott” of the papal speech. “If the Pope wants to devote his life to fighting climate change then he can do so in his personal time,” Gosar wrote. “But to promote questionable science as Catholic dogma is ridiculous.”
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