Climate champion Pope Francis has for a Senate meeting next week on climate change. But some senators (even Catholic ones) say they don't "have time" to attend. Tell your senators to make time to meet the leader of 1.2 billion Catholics on the greatest threat facing creation.

Friend,

If you're concerned about climate catastrophe, you have a new ally. It's not a new piece of legislation or a new climate change group. In fact, our new weapon is actually just one man -- His Holiness Pope Francis. Earlier this year, Pope Francis held a climate change summit at Vatican City where he said "Human induced climate change is a scientific reality, and its decisive mitigation is a moral and religious imperative for humanity...If we destroy creation, creation will destroy us."¹ 

That's why I'm so encouraged that Pope Francis plans to release a Papal Edict on the dangers of global warming and our moral obligation to solve it right before he visits the U.S. later this year. And in anticipation of his visit, he has sent bishops to meet with Congress to discuss environmental stewardship and climate change.

You would think with nearly a third of the House of Representatives and more than a quarter of the Senate describing themselves as Catholic, the Pope's message would hold sway.² But instead, some members are indicating that their, "schedules may not permit them to attend."³ Really? You can be sure that if Big Oil tycoons like the Koch Brothers came to town, these same politicians would make time. That's why I need you to contact your Senators today and tell them plain and simple: Don't Diss The Pope.

It's really shameful that even self-described "devout" Catholic Senators and candidates for higher office like Marc Rubio have not committed to attending these meetings. The truth is climate deniers in Congress are very worried about the Pope's impact on their agenda for our planet. Some have even declared that the Pope, "has aligned himself with a secular movement that is antithetical to the fundamental theological underpinning of Catholicism -- the sanctity of human life and the value of all souls."⁴ What will the deniers say next -- that the Dalai Lama is antithetical to the tenants of Buddhism for abhorring war and greed?

I've been saying all along that the deniers in Congress know very well that climate change is real. They just don't want to do what is necessary to stop it because they are putting polluter profits before people and the planet.⁵ Their refusal to commit to meeting with the Pope is further proof of this. A person who can command the attention of 1.2 billion people should to at least merit a meeting with 100 Senators. Please contact your Senators now and tell them to meet with the Pope's envoys next week.

Thank You for taking action,

Anthony and the Environmental Action Climate Crusaders.

1. Cooke, Kieran. Pope Francis: "If We Destroy Creation, Creation Will Destroy Us." EcoWatch. May 6, 2015.

2. Bagley, Katherine. Pope Francis Unlikely to Sway Catholic Republicans on Climate Change, InsideClimate News May 1, 2015

3. Goode, Darren. Can Pope Francis Shake The U.S. Climate Debate? Politico. May 8, 2015.

4. Moore, Steve. Vatican's Turn To The Left Will Make The Poor Poorer. Forbes. January 5, 2015.

5. Rogers-Wright, Anthony. The Denial is The Hoax. Environmental Action. November 12, 2014.

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