During his visit to the United States September 22-27, Pope Francis encouraged both the U.S. Congress and the United Nations (U.N.) General Assembly to work to protect the environment as well as to restore the dignity of the excluded in society, noting that these two issues are interconnected.
In the first ever speech to Congress by a pontiff, Francis did not once use the words “climate change.” Quoting from his Encyclical, he called for an effort to avert serious effects to the environment caused by human activity. “I am convinced that we can make a difference and I have no doubt that the United States – and this Congress – have an important role to play,” he said, noting that the present time calls for courageous steps and strategies to combat poverty and restore dignity to the excluded members of society, while also protecting nature.
In his address to the U.N. General Assembly in New York, the pope said harm to the environment is a harm to humanity. Using words similar to those in his speech to Congress, he said the “misuse and destruction of the environment are also accompanied by a relentless process of exclusion.” The pope urged adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development by the U.N., where addressing climate change is a major objective, as is addressing extreme poverty. Pope Francis also told the U.N. he was confident that the upcoming Paris climate talks (COP-21) would result in “fundamental and effective agreements.”
Reacting to the pope’s comments, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon said, “Across the global agenda, his holiness is a resounding voice of conscious.” News articles about the pope’s visit highlighted on the absence of the words "climate change" or "global warming" in his speeches, calling his approach to addressing current global issues modest, politically savvy and deft.