Laudato Si (full text at the link) is officially out, all 100 pages of it. After a quick read, here are a couple of impressions:
- Francis has no faith in man’s ability to improve mankind through technology.
- He repeatedly refers to the 1991 RIO DECLARATION ON ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT, which advocated wealth redistribution,
Principle 7
States shall cooperate in a spirit of global partnership to conserve, protect and restore the health and integrity of the Earth’s ecosystem. In view of the different contributions to global environmental degradation, States have common but differentiated responsibilities. The developed countries acknowledge the responsibility that they bear in the international pursuit of sustainable development in view of the pressures their societies place on the global environment and of the technologies and financial resources they command. - The Rio Declaration also advocated birth control (emphasis added),
Principle 8
To achieve sustainable development and a higher quality of life for all people, States should reduce and eliminate unsustainable patterns of production
and consumption and promote appropriate demographic policies.which, except for the rhythm method, a.k.a. Catholic Roulette, the Catholic Church opposes.
- Francis ignores the global warming scandal.
- The document’s tone is that of profound pessimism
Francis would not mind calling a halt to technological progress—or even beginning a rollback. “Given the insatiable and irresponsible growth produced over many decades, we need also to think of containing growth by setting some reasonable limits and even retracing our steps before it is too late.”
- In an especially poor choice of words, he specifically calls for a cultural revolution:
All of this shows the urgent need for us to move forward in a bold cultural revolution.
- And, of course, he deplores cars,
Many cars, used by one or more people, circulate in cities, causing traffic congestion, raising the level of pollution, and consuming enormous quantities of non-renewable energy.
So my question is, Did Francis sell his car yet?
