Pope Francis To Issue Encyclical On Global Warming

[NobleSavage]

Pope Francis plans to publish a rare encyclical on climate change and human ecology urging all Catholics to take action on moral and scientific grounds. "A papal encyclical is rare," says Bishop Marcelo Sorondo, chancellor of the Vatican's Pontifical Academy of Sciences who revealed the pope's plans when he delivered Cafod's annual Pope Paul VI lecture. "It is among the highest levels of a pope's authority. It will be 50 to 60 pages long; it's a big deal." The encyclical will be sent to the world's 5,000 Catholic bishops and 400,000 priests, who will distribute it to parishioners.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/dec/27/pope-francis-edict-climate-change-us-rightwing

http://www.thetablet.co.uk/news/138...-climate-change-and-the-environment-next-year

For the modern Catholic Church a Papal encyclical, in the strictest sense, is a letter, usually treating some aspect of Catholic doctrine, sent by the Pope and addressed either to the Catholic bishops of a particular area or, more normally, to the bishops of the world; however, the form of the address can vary widely, and often designates a wider audience. Papal encyclicals usually take the form of a Papal brief due to their more personal nature as opposed to the formal Papal bull. Papal encyclicals are so famous that the term encyclical is used almost exclusively for those sent out by the Pope. The title of the encyclical is usually taken from its first few words (its incipit).

Within Catholicism in recent times, an encyclical is generally used for significant issues, and is second in importance only to the highest ranking document now issued by popes, an Apostolic Constitution. However, the designation 'encyclical' does not always denote such a degree of significance. The archives at the Vatican website currently classify certain encyclicals as Apostolic Exhortations. This informal term generally indicates documents with a broader audience than the bishops alone.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Encyclical

 

[Davka]

Proof that the Pope is a fascist tool of the international communist conspiracy of anti-americans!

 

[repoman]

Wow, despite not liking some of his ideas, this Pope is pretty fucking cool to me!

Best Pope Ever.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

Wow, despite not liking some of his ideas, this Pope is pretty fucking cool to me!

Best Pope Ever.

Sure he's not a pod person?

 

[Davka]

If he wasn't still living in the distant past on issues such as birth control and married priests, I'd like him a lot more.