The Vatican on Thursday is releasing a landmark letter by Pope Francis calling on Catholics to place a greater priority on protecting the environment, which he says is “being ruined.”
The 191-page encyclical, the draft of which has already been leaked, is expected to say climate change is one of the main issues of the day and is mainly the result of human activity.
“This home of ours is being ruined, and that damages everyone, especially the poor,” Pope Francis said at his weekly audience Wednesday. “This [encyclical] then is an appeal on my side toward responsibility.”
In the letter, Pope Francis is expected to highlight the importance of combating pollution and protecting water supplies. He also calls for moving away from the intensive use of fossil fuels and says so-called carbon credits are ineffective, according to drafts.
The encyclical, which is the second-highest ranking document able to be issued by a pope, comes ahead of his September visit to the U.S. and a major United Nations conference on climate change in Paris later this year.
The document reflects a continuation of relatively progressive stances taken by the Argentina-born pope. He has also called on the church to become more welcoming to homosexuals and to not put undue focus on controversial issues related to abortion and gay marriage.
“A gay person who is seeking God, who is of good will — well, who am I to judge him?” the pope said in 2013 as part of a response to reports of gay clergy members in the Vatican.
The stances are seen as a major shift away from the public positions of Pope Francis’ predecessors, and have upset many conservative members of the 1.2-billion member church.
