The Pope speaks; people don’t listen
December 13th, 2007
I nearly fainted when this number from UK’s Daily Mail arrived in my inbox yesterday morning, sent by a friend who probably also nearly fainted.
The Pope condemns the climate change prophets of doom
Pope Benedict XVI has launched a surprise attack on climate change prophets of doom, warning them that any solutions to global warming must be based on firm evidence and not on dubious ideology.
The leader of more than a billion Roman Catholics suggested that fears over man-made emissions melting the ice caps and causing a wave of unprecedented disasters were nothing more than scare-mongering. . .
Right after my urge to quickly find a new planet to inhabit given that the primo Man of God on the planet we’re occupying would be that intemperate, I . . . uh . . . looked at what the Pope actually said (you see, he’s got his own website in all sorts of languages, very handy when one is actually trying to understand what the Pope says).
In the interest of refusing to cherry-pick, please just read the entire items under #7 and #8. It will take you 5 minutes max and you’ll be oh-so-much-more-informed than everyone else. The Pope offered up a fair caution to avoid hasty action based on ideology rather than fact, while still urging that we act. Suffice it to say that the Pope clearly strived for an intelligent, balanced assessment of the situation, sort of like what you’d like to hear from - er - a world religious leader.
Ah, but not so with the press. (And I believe in this case I am applying the term “press” loosely.) UK’s Daily Mail and “journalist” Simon Caldwell might want to keep an eye cast heavenward for bolts of lightening with their name on it. Not far behind them is Fox News who proclaims that “Global Warming Skeptics Have Friend in the Vatican” and proceeds to pick out only the parts of the Pope’s address that support their pre-existing opinion before they read his address, and by “reading” it I mean not reading it.
Then there’s the blogosphere. Conservative site “The Free Republic” posted the Daily Mail screed, to which readers made the predictable “you’ll never read this in the mainstream media” comments. Nor, I believe, will you find the big news that Elvis is actually living on a previously undiscovered Samoan island romping with primordial sea creatures and practicing his lounge act for Komodo dragons to prep for his big plans to re-debut on “American Idol” next season. Or did The Enquirer do that one already?
And the big Village Square civility thumbs-down goes to a blog on the left, Wonkette, for this beauty (cover the children’s eyes):
The Pope Sucks
Pope Benedict XVI has decided to stick his little Nazi head directly up Al Gore’s peaceful a** by calling global warming fears nothing but “scare-mongering.” He will make these completely unnecessary and regressive remarks, coincidentally, for World Peace Day on Jan. 1. That’s the same day when we’ll be wishing the Pope a jolly f***-you. [*My edits, they didn’t bother.]
Let’s just say that today I’m not so worried that The Village Square will run out of work.
Entry Filed under: Religion and politics, Energy & Environment
7 Comments Add your own
1. lea | December 14th, 2007 at 7:10 am
we should invite the pope to blog here and set the record straight! (though he is wordier than both of us, oh and holier. does more holy give you more words to use? no WONDER i always use more words than liz!)
2. Liz | December 14th, 2007 at 10:25 am
I feel sure that if he won’t blog for us, he’ll agree to be a “Dinner at the Square” guest. That would be a big get, wouldn’t it? No, I guess it would be a “Big Get.” But I have questions, like:
Would he have to do his presentation from the Pope-mobile?
Will he use powerpoint?
And if so, does he change his own slides?
Will we get a tad bit more interest than Alfriend Hall at St. John’s will accomodate?
Would it be poor form to fact check him?
And who exactly do you get to be the counterpoint to the Pope?
How does one get on the Pope’s calendar? Email him?
You know how you can figure out some email addresses logically. . . well maybe I should just try ThePope@vatican.va ?
3. Adam | December 21st, 2007 at 3:58 pm
Dear liz,
When the Pope uses Power Point, the “P” is to be capitalized.
Regarding climate change, remember, it can be hotter than hell in the summer, and colder than hell in the winter. Hell sounds a little bit like San Diego to me -good fig leaf weather.
4. Liz | December 22nd, 2007 at 4:01 am
I stand corrected. And, having appropriately capitalized Power Point when used by The Pope, I’m thinking that the question at hand would be:
When The Pope uses Power Point, do we even need to plug in the projector?
If hell is a lot like San Diego, I guess I’m a big fan. Especially if it comes with La Jolla.
5. Liz | December 22nd, 2007 at 4:03 am
I just noticed I made a tongue-twister:
“When The Pope uses Power Point do we Plug in the Projector?”
Beats “she sells sea shells down by the sea shore” for intrigue, if not for tongue-twisting.
6. Counselor1 | January 8th, 2008 at 10:39 am
By now there should be bipartisan acknowledgement that global climate change is real and will have adjustment costs, even if we don’t know all its causes or how severe it will be. And unless governments put in place programs to mitigate it, the greatest costs will fall on the poorest and politically weakest people. For example, people in Bangladesh will be repeatedly flooded out and forced into smaller areas. Will wealthier Florida coast dwellers find ways to pass on the cost of repeated rebuilding to all home-insured people?
7. John | January 11th, 2008 at 5:38 pm
Dear Counselor1,
I appreciate your effort at conciliation, but you seem unaware that many scientists don’t agree that there is a real problem. The last few years average temperatures have declined. Estimates that concede the earth got warmer in the last century typically estimate the increase was maybe one degree. In many parts of the world warmer would be better.
I doubt this post will change many minds. But true tolerance shouldn’t ignore the fact that other views exist, even when they question a new religion like global warming.
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