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The next Pope will have considerable influence on the lives of those billion people and therefore the environmental infallibility of the Pope would be a matter of interest to us all, and to the millions of other species that Catholics believe were put on this Earth by the God that put us here too.
It’s quite difficult to find much detail on the environmental credentials of the college of cardinals so I can’t tell you who I would hope will be the next Pope.
However, unseemly and distasteful though it may be to some, it is possible to bet on who will be the next Pope and the current odds suggest that the front-runners are:
Cardinal Scola 100/30
Cardinal Turkson 5/1
Cardinal Bertone 9/1
Cardinal Ouellet 9/1
14/1 Bar
If the new Pope were from Africa or South America would this bring a different perspective to the Catholic Church on subjects such as population control, environmental degradation, species extinction?
Or is the cardinals’ choice a matter of complete irrelevance to the environmental footprint of a billion Catholics on Planet Earth? If it is, then we live in a strange world.
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Talking of “wagers” and religion:
If I was a Tibetan man, I’d put a fiver on the Dalai Lama…
We do live in a strange world…
I think the odds are very short on a don’trocktheboat candidate and sadly creatures great and small won’t get a look in …. that said, I’ve just read ( via Dusty Gedge) that the Bolivians have protected a new tract of rainforest and they must have some papal blessing?
Given my understanding that most Christians believe that God gave them “dominion” over all other things on earth, I wouldn’t hold my breath waiting for the Church to put a stop to declining biodiversity…
Bear in mind that ‘dominion’ is an English translation from a less conservation minded time. Any Christians who believe that this gives them the right to do whatever they wish to the natural world are misinterpreting. There are a large number that are very conservation minded Christians – I suspect at least equal in proportion to those in secular society.
Tony – In fairness, it very much depends on the tradition and how ‘dominion’ is interpreted. A Christian environmental campaigner friend of mine explains it well, that for her dominion or ‘lordship’ should follow the pattern of Christ’s lordship which was one of serving people and ultimately self sacrifice. So a true ‘Christian’, i.e. one who follows the example of Christ would live in service to the earth and its creatures. There are also various ways of exploring dominion as being good and careful stewards, the word doesn’t have to be taken to mean ‘dominate, do what you like with and ignore the consequences’.
Of course as you point out it hasn’t often worked that way in Christian history, and I do wonder if the (in my view misguided) idea that man is in any way special or set apart from other animals will always inevitably lead to a damaging attitude towards the earth, whether conciously or subconciously.
Ultimately the best thing the next pope could do for the planet would be to change Catholic teaching on contraception, but I think there’s more chance that he will be a she, or perhaps a bear….(are bears Catholic?)
Which reminds me….
I haven’t had an “ex-Benedict” breakfast for ages.
Maybe tomorrow.
I remember the wonderful Max Nicholson standing and castigating the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church calling them biggest threat to the environment across the whole World.
Max himself had become a Buddhist in protest.
I cannot argue with him.
http://www.newsbiscuit.com/2013/03/05/popebear-hybrid-found-in-vatican-toilets-244/
Brilliant! It was only a matter of time…
Re the outgoing pope….
I thought catholic doctrine forbids one from “withdrawing” before the job’s errr… “complete” (so to speak).
I’ll get me cassock.
Well I was a little surprised:
‘The large crowd interrupted Francis’s homily several times with applause, especially when he discussed the need to protect the environment.
He called on the crowd to take up the vocation of being a protector. “It means respecting each of God’s creatures and respecting the environment in which we live,” Pope Francis said.
‘The large crowd interrupted Francis’s homily several times with applause, especially when he discussed the need to protect the environment.
He called on the crowd to take up the vocation of being a protector. “It means respecting each of God’s creatures and respecting the environment in which we live,” Pope Francis said.
‘The large crowd interrupted Francis’s homily several times with applause, especially when he discussed the need to protect the environment.
He called on the crowd to take up the vocation of being a protector. “It means respecting each of God’s creatures and respecting the environment in which we live,” Pope Francis said.
David Perlich, the CBC’s Vatican analyst, said the world may be seeing the beginning of an environmental pope. Francis stressed not only individual responsibility for God’s creation, but also international commitment from political, economic and social leaders to protect the environment.