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Among those who attended Pope Francis’ funeral in front of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome was an army of climate activists for whom Francis was a climate blessing. He saw dying “not the end of everything, but the beginning of something.”
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Planetary Lifeguard™ was certainly among them, at least in spirit, as he believes the Pope appreciated his blowing the whistle on climate change besides his efforts to inspire companies worldwide to be as caring for earth as was Francis.
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The conclave to choose his successor will now soon begin following the Pope’s having been laid to rest where he wanted to be following the funeral Planetary Lifeguard found both climactic and climatic.
Planetary Lifeguard prays the Pope’s successor will be just as caring for the earth and intent on easing global warming’s pressure on our environment as he was in his down-to-earth, informal style that became a trademark of Francis’ papacy.
President Trump and political and religious leaders from around the globe attended the funeral for Francis whose mission to safeguard mother earth was rooted in Scripture.
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“When we talk about the environment, about creation, my thoughts go to the first pages of the Bible, to the Book of Genesis,” Francis said to the faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square in June 2013.
“Cultivating and caring for creation is an instruction of God which he gave not only at the beginning of history, but has also given to each one of us,” Francis said.
Most U.S. adults, including majorities of Protestants, Catholics and people of other religions, believe along with Planetary Lifeguard that the Earth is sacred, and that God gave humans a duty to protect and care for it.
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But Planetary Lifeguard sees a disconnect between that belief and environmental action. On average, he believes people who are less religious tend to be more climate careless. Leaders from many religious traditions have sought to change that by raising awareness in their communities about global warming and biodiversity loss. Francis was undeniably the most prominent example.
On Monday, the day Francis died, Planetary Lifeguard was thrilled that tributes poured in from environmentalists of all stripes.
“His humble leadership on the climate crisis sparked a moral movement that will continue to light the way forward for humanity,” wrote Al Gore, the former U.S. vice president and a climate activist.
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Bill McKibben, another prominent climate activist, called Francis “perhaps the world’s greatest environmental champion.”
Francis’ death comes at a time when despair has been biting at the environmental movement. While Planetary Lifeguard admires Trump’s courage, energy and ingenuity, he worries when his administration denies climate science and promotes a main driver of global warming, fossil fuels, not to mention the United States withdrawing from the Paris Agreement, a pact Francis supported.
Author and publicist Tom Madden created and trademarked Planetary Lifeguard™ to inspire more care for our planet and raise concern about global warming’s worsening impact leading to more deadly disasters from fires, floods, tornadoes and hurricanes. His latest book is Planetary Lifeguard, Blowing the Whistle on Climate Change.
