Oh what a difference a Pope makes

Leaked encyclical text puts climate change on humans

National Catholic Reporter
ROME

Pope Francis' landmark encyclical on ecological issues will say the "major part" of global climate change is due to human activity and will call for radical changes to the world's political and economic systems to address the issue, according to a leaked version of the text.

The Vatican condemned the leak, saying it broke earlier rules preventing the release of the text before its official launch Thursday. Vatican spokesman Jesuit Fr. Federico Lombardi said in a statement that the text, an Italian-language version of the document, was a draft and not the final version of the text.

Although the version of the encyclical published by the Italian news magazine l'Espresso is unauthorized, the document explores many themes previously linked to the encyclical, a number of them controversial, including the loss of the planet's biodiversity and continuing inequity between the global North and the global South.

The document also shows a notable reorientation of the church's understanding of the human person from a being that dominates to one that responsibly serves creation.

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