In encyclical, Francis tackles climate change

Climate change is a mostly human-made phenomenon worsened by rich countries whose people keep feeding their “self-destructive vices,” Pope Francis said in the first papal letter dedicated to the environment.

In the encyclical, titled Laudato si’, or “Praise be” (taken from a hymn by St. Francis of Assisi), the pope wrote that climate change requires a “bold cultural revolution” in humankind’s thinking. The 192-page document was translated from Spanish into seven other languages.

“Obstructionist attitudes, even on the part of believers, can range from denial of the problem to indifference, nonchalant resignation, or blind confidence in technical solutions,” the pope said. “We require a new and universal solidarity.”