Taken from: Pope Leo interrupts holiday to issue warning: ‘We live in a world that is burning’
Pope Leo interrupts holiday to issue warning:
‘We live in a world that is burning’
Story by Joshua McElwee
Pope Leo XIV has issued a stark warning about a “burning” world as he interrupted his two-week holiday to urge Catholics to address the climate crisis.
This marks the Vatican's second significant appeal on global warming within a week.
Speaking from Castel Gandolfo, an Italian hill town near Rome where he is on holiday, the pontiff declared during a small outdoor ceremony: "Today … we live in a world that is burning, both because of global warming and armed conflicts."
Leo, who was elected on 8 May to succeed Pope Francis, said: "We have to pray for the conversion of many people … who still do not see the urgency of caring for our common home."
While refraining from naming specific climate-induced disasters, he characterised the global situation as an "ecological crisis".
Leo said the 1.4-billion-member Catholic Church was committed to speaking about the issue, "even when it requires the courage to oppose the destructive power of the princes of this world".
The Mass included a prayer for victims of the flash flooding in Texas, where at least 111 people have died and 173 are still missing.
Leo celebrated Wednesday's Mass according to a new Catholic rite that exhorts people to care for creation, first published by the Vatican on 3 July in its latest push to address climate issues.
Cardinal Michael Czerny, a senior Vatican official who helped to organise the Mass, said that Leo's decision to interrupt his holiday was a sign of the importance the new pope will place on environmental matters.
"By offering this Mass … at the beginning of his holiday, Pope Leo is giving a beautiful example of thanking for God's great gift and praying that the human family learns to care for our common home," said Cardinal Czerny.
Garden mass
Francis, who died on 21 April, was also a firm proponent of care for creation. He was the first pope to embrace the scientific consensus about climate change and urged nations to reduce their carbon emissions in line with the 2015 Paris climate accord.
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