Will Congress hear what Pope Francis has to say?

Much of the discussion about Pope Francis’s just-released encyclical, Laudato Si’, has focused on his statement, supported by most scientists, that human activity is a major cause of global climate change. This has caused politicians to choose sides and even discuss the appropriateness of a religious leader speaking out on climate change — or any scientific topic, for that matter. 

Perhaps this was inevitable, but political leaders who focus only on the science of climate change, as important as it is, miss a much deeper message of the encyclical – that all human beings are integrally related to one another and to all of creation. It follows that piecemeal approaches to solving our ecological and economic challenges will fail. All of us, especially our leaders, must work together to make sure that people and the earth thrive. Unless we do so, all will be harmed. 

{mosads}Within the encyclical, the pope poses a challenging question to our leaders: “What would induce anyone, at this stage, to hold on to power only to be remembered for their inability to take action when it was urgent and necessary to do so?” He was referring, of course to continued reluctance by politicians in the U.S. and elsewhere to effectively tackle the crises of climate change, environmental harm and economic injustice. 

As unpalatable as this may be for some, the encyclical is also a strong wake-up call that those who would address these crises only through the marketplace or profit-driven technology are heading down the wrong path. Strong government action is needed. 

In the U.S., we hold up freedom as one of our highest values. Pope Francis, who has harsh words for extreme consumerism, explains that some believe themselves free when they have the “supposed freedom to consume,” but only those few who wield economic and financial power are truly free.  

He speaks eloquently about basic human rights, emphasizing ways in which many such rights are often denied our most vulnerable sisters and brothers. These include rights to affordable housing, food, clean air and water, and employment that pays a living wage. As he notes, people in poverty also pay the highest price for environmental degradation. When their homes are flooded and their communities polluted, they don’t have the means to rebuild or the power to correct the problems.  

It is unacceptable that such inequality persists in the wealthiest nation in the world. Pope Francis calls us to a new type of politics, a healthy politics that overcomes “bureaucratic inertia” and holds as its goal “the long-term common good.”  

Our political leaders must acknowledge climate change dangers and the lived reality of struggling people across the United States and around the world. They should also remember, as the pope writes, that people are capable of change so there is hope for a better world for this and future generations. We trust that Congress hears that call.

Campbell is executive director of NETWORK, A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby, and author of A Nun on the Bus: How All of Us Create Hope, Change, and Community.