Much of the climate change denier arc is made up of the most conservative part of society, and of this there is a large group of Catholics. The Pope knows this, so he has decided to pronounce on it .
At the XX World Congress of the International Association of Criminal Law, Pope Francisdiscussed the idea that perhaps environmental destruction should be classified as an official sin .
Official sin
During his speech, the Pope maintained that he was thinking of adding "ecological sin against the common home" to the catechism, the book that summarizes Catholic belief. "It is a sin against future generations and is manifested in the acts and habits of pollution and destruction of the harmony of the environment."
Some theological experts think that the pope’s interest in the environment is a reflection of his beliefs of social justice. However, there is still the next step: for Catholics to accept this new idea.
The Pope’s past efforts to integrate environmental stewardship into the Catholic faith have not always convinced his followers . A poll conducted a year after he published his encyclical on climate issues found that the call to action had failed among conservative Americans.
Right-leaning Americans were less concerned about rising temperatures after hearing his message. Only 22.5 percent of Americans who had even heard of the encyclical expressed concern about climate change .
Pope Francis might not be the influential climate popularizer his advocates hoped he would be. But that does not necessarily mean that all Catholics ignore his message.
Emma Frances Bloomfield , assistant professor of communication studies at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and author of a book called Communication Strategies for Engaging Climate Skeptics , argues that it all depends on whether people believe the environment is related to faith: if the environment and the Catholic faith become more harmoniously intertwined, Catholics could begin to raise their concern en masse.