The Sept. 30 letter by Bert Podruzny suggests Mark Norbury’s recent article “Caring for the environment is a moral obligation” is sinful for using the Church as a vehicle to advance the agenda of dealing with climate change.
If Mark Norbury is guilty of using the Church to forward the climate change agenda, then would Pope Francis by implication also be sinful for doing the same in Laudato Sí and in his many public statements?
More than the Pope’s beliefs, Laudato Sí is meticulously based on the observations of more than 90 per cent of climate scientists. Moreover, it does clearly include fossil fuels in Section 165. “We know that technology based on the use of highly polluting fossil fuels – especially coal, but also oil and, to a lesser degree, gas – needs to be progressively replaced without delay.”
Bert Podruzny’s chastising of the stewards of the environment misinterprets the intent of the Catechism for his own denial of global warming agenda. It also diminishes our Pontiff’s efforts to protect and nurture God’s gift of the earth he created for us.
Oscar Raasveldt
Port Coquitlam
