> > VATICAN CITY -- A senior adviser to Pope Benedict said on Thursday > he believes the Pontiff should raise the dangers of climate change > and global warming with U.S. President George W. Bush when the two > meet in June. > Cardinal Renato Martino told reporters on the sidelines of a > Vatican-sponsored scientific conference on climate change that > religious leaders around the world should remind members of their > flocks that wilfully damaging the environment is sinful. > > Bush is due to meet Benedict at the Vatican in June while the U.S. > president is in Europe for a Group of Eight (G8) summit when > Germany, the current G8 president, wants to forge an international > agreement on combating climate change. > > "It's not for me to say what the Pope and President Bush should > discuss but certainly they will discuss current issues and > therefore I imagine and I hope they will (discuss climate change)," > Martino said. > > "It certainly merits it," said Martino, who, as head of the > Vatican's Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, is the Pope's > point man for social issues such as the environment. > > The Bush administration, which did not sign up to the Kyoto > Protocol on Climate change, has long been reluctant to curb the > greenhouse gases blamed for swelling sea levels and causing > droughts as well as floods. > > Bush pulled out of the treaty, which Washington had signed under > the previous, Democratic, administration, saying it would damage > the economy and was unfair as it did not require rapidly developing > nations like China and India to stem emissions. > > In a message to conference participants, including British > Environment Secretary David Miliband, the Pope said he hoped > studies could lead to "lifestyles and production and consumer > methods that aim to respect creation and (aim for) sustainable > progress". > > In recent years, the world's major religions have gone green in the > race to save the planet. > > Asked if wilful damage of the environment is a sin, Martino said: > "Yes, because not using the environment correctly is an offence not > only against yourself but against all others who make use of the > environment." > > He said all religious groups should be involved in environmental > causes and raise awareness about global warming. > > "We have to start at the level of elementary schools, to make sure > children are taught to respect nature and be aware of the problems > of the world. We can't wait until they are older. This has to be > done naturally in religion classes, in religious groups > everywhere," Martino said. > > Source: Reuters http://www.enn.com/today.html?id=12658 > --- _______________________________________________ RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: [email protected] http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org
