Pope welcomes environmentalist who thinks people should not have any babies for the sake of the planet

Neubauer: Church should become “true allies” of the climate movement

In his letter "Laudate Deum" Pope Francis calls for comprehensive measures to combat global warming. The German climate activist Luisa Neubauer praises the pontiff for his words - and calls on the church to take concrete consequences.

German environmental activist Luisa Neubauer has called on the church to become a “true ally” of the climate movement. One way to do this would be to withdraw money from fossil investments, she said on Thursday in the Vatican. Neubauer spoke at a press conference about Pope Francis' new environmental letter "Laudate Deum" (Praise God). The Pope showed how it works, said the activist. If he could call for cultural change in an institution like the Catholic Church, then everyone else in his field could do the same.

At a meeting on Thursday morning, the Pope told her that the future belonged to "these young people," Neubauer said. She warned against cynicism. People must continue to try to stop climate change. The activist also condemned the criminal prosecution of climate activists. “Instead of holding accountable those who continue to burn fossil fuels, those in power have begun to criminalize those who protect life and land.” The “escalating climate of oppression and criminalization” scares her.

“The church needs to be loud here”

There is a crisis of trust and a crisis of hope, said the Fridays for Future activist. Neither the so-called Global North nor the emerging economies have managed to deliver on the issue of climate. At the upcoming UN climate conference in Dubai, the host country wants to allow “democratic freedom to be stifled by the oil industry,” warned Neubauer. “The church needs to be loud here.”

The Italian Nobel Prize winner in physics Giorgio Parisi, among others, spoke at the press conference, which took place in the Vatican Gardens. Climate change hits the weakest and poorest the hardest, he said. He called every single person to a new lifestyle. Effective and verifiable international agreements are also needed. Parisi called for a global plan to bring renewable energy to developing countries. Photovoltaic systems could be built in Africa with the support of richer countries, he said.

On Wednesday the Vatican published the apostolic exhortation “Laudate Deum”. Pope Francis calls for rapid and comprehensive measures to combat global warming. The document is a continuation of the environmental encyclical “Laudato Si” from 2015.

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Horrific background to this frequent-flyer, baby-hating environmentalist