Pope Francis on Friday urged people around the world to do better to protect the environment, ahead of a 12-day trip to Southeast Asia next week where the pontiff is expected to urge global action on climate change.
“If we took the temperature of the planet, it would tell us that the Earth has a fever. And it is sick.”the Holy Father said in a video message. “We must commit ourselves to (…) the protection of nature, changing our personal and community habits.”
Francis publishes a video message each month to announce his prayer intentions for that month. The intention for September is “for the cry of the Earth.” The 87-year-old leader of the Roman Catholic Church leaves on Monday for visits to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Singapore.
Francis has stressed the importance of environmental issues throughout his 11-year papacy. All of the countries he will visit from Sept. 2-13 face dangers from global warming, such as rising sea levels and increasingly severe and unpredictable heat waves and typhoons.
In his video, the Holy Father said that climate change requires actions “that are not only ecological, but also social, economic and political.”
