Pope Francis has once again spoken out in favor of protecting life and the poor. After the Holy Father was unable to travel to the COP28 Conference in Dubai as planned due to his illness, the Vatican’s Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, read out the Pope’s message in the United Arab Emirates.   

The speech read: “The destruction of the environment is an offense against God, a sin that is not only personal but also structural, one that greatly endangers all human beings, especially the most vulnerable in our midst and threatens to unleash a conflict between generations.”  

Pope Francis canceled his scheduled trip to the United Arab Emirates days before the climate summit at the request of his doctors after coming down with a flu infection that left him with breathing difficulties and acute bronchitis. 

On November 30, when the climate conference began, the Pope warned on social media that the conference strategists should focus less on business interests and more on the “common good and the future of children.”  

In the pontiff’s keynote speech, which was read out by Parolin, Pope Francis condemned the common assertion among some scientists that the poor and the high birth rate in some countries are to blame for the climate crisis.  

The speech continued, “Particularly striking in this regard are the attempts made to shift the blame onto the poor and high birth rates. It is not the fault of the poor. The poor are the real victims of what is happening. Births are not a problem, but a resource: they are not opposed to life, but for life, whereas certain ideological and utilitarian models now being imposed with a velvet glove on families and peoples constitute real forms of colonization.”   

The Conference of the Parties is an annual climate change summit of the United Nations, held since 1995. One of the major achievements of the COP was the ratification of the Paris Climate Agreement during COP21 in 2015.  

This article was edited by Jacob Stein.