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POPE FRANCIS’ ‘LAUDATO SI’: No Doubt, Lots of Leftism in There

Some time ago, Pope Francis issued an encyclical titled Laudato Si (translation: “praise be to you”). In this encyclical, the Pope criticizes capitalism, as well as discussing the following topics: biodiversity, poverty, global warming, and ecology. In short, taking care of the Earth is what Laudato Si is all about.

The full text of Laudato Si can be found here:.

It is apparent that Pope Francis has taken the liberal stance on such matters. In response to such claims, I had sent my parish priests and other parish officials an email stating that global warming was not man-made. As a result, a series of discussions was then set up for my parish regarding Laudato Si. The first of these discussions took place on Tuesday, August 11. At the meeting, both sides of the story were presented by the various individuals were present.

In preparation for these discussions, I had come up with some notes based on information from the following books: The Politically Incorrect Guide to Science by Tom Bethell, The Politically Incorrect Guide to Global Warming and Environmentalism by Christopher Horner, The Politically Incorrect Guide to Hunting by Frank Miniter, The Politically Incorrect Guide to Capitalism by Robert Murphy, The Politically Incorrect Guide to Socialism by Kevin Williamson, The Politically Incorrect Guide to American History by Thomas Woods, The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Great Depression and New Deal by Robert Murphy, The Politically Incorrect Guide to Women, Sex, and Feminism by Carrie Lukas, and The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Sixties by Jonathan Leaf.

Here are some of the facts presented within these books, based on the following topics: climate change, pollution, biodiversity, environmentalism, and capitalism versus socialism.

Climate Change
— The Earth has been hotter in the past, hence climate fluctuates.
Humans have had little impact on the climate — in fact, solar activity is the main cause of climate change.
— Most greenhouse gases are not man-made
— The Polar Regions have actually expanded and became colder.
— The recording of the Earth’s surface temperatures indicate the following: there was a warming period from 1910-1940, a cooling period from 1940-1975 (despite the high use of fossil fuels), a warming period from 1975-the late 1990s/early 21st Century, and a cooling period since the late 1990s/early 21st Century. One should also take into account the Medieval Warming Period, the Little Ice Age, and the colder winters of recent years.
— Satellite measurements of atmospheric temperatures (which disagree with global surface temperatures) have shown only a slight increase in the Earth’s temperature and the sea levels during the past few decades.
— The Kyoto Treaty (and similar policies) will result in higher energy costs, more government control, economic decline, and less freedom (e.g. carbon taxes, energy rationing).
— Climate change has had no impact on the poor; more developed countries have better infrastructure, institutions, and energy sources thus allowing them to handle the ever-changing climate.

Pollution
— Wealthier countries and healthier and cleaner.
— Nuclear and hydroelectric power are the cleanest and safest sources of energy. Both of them, along with coal, oil, and gas, are reliable, efficient, and less expensive, while green energy sources are more costly and less efficient (nor are they environmentally efficient as environmentalists claim).
— The Three Mile Island accident and Chernobyl accident were not as disastrous as most people believe.
— Radiation, dioxin, and other various substances that are toxic in large doses are actually beneficial in small doses — hormesis.
— DDT is not harmful to the environment, nor does it cause cancer.

Biodiversity
— Most extinctions are not the result of human activity.
— The number of species discovered has increased in recent decades.
— Various species that were endangered have now increased to stable numbers.
— Property development creates edge habitat for various species.
— Hunting is beneficial for the environment and conservation — in fact, hunters have done more for wildlife than any environmentalist.

Environmentalism
— Green is the New Red: “Green” Parties are leftist and thus anti-capitalist. In fact, environmentalists are sometimes referred to as watermelons (green on the outside, red to the core).
— Some Environmentalists do not value human life, because they believe an increase in human population and activity is a threat to the Earth — in fact, some environmentalists have resorted to terrorism.
— Environmentalists rely on consensus, intimidation, and scare tactics to push their agenda.
— Environmentalism is part of the leftist agenda to control economic and population growth (along with everything else). Examples include rationing (especially energy rationing), mandated recycling, green energy, green jobs.

Capitalism versus Socialism
— The United States and other capitalist nations have better environmental records than Communist nations.
— Free markets are the best protection against all types of prejudices, whereas socialist nations are not 100% free of prejudice.
— Capitalism has been more successful than any other system when it comes to raising the standard of living.
— Socialism is about state control, and it is rampant throughout the United States and other capitalist nations.
— The only people who benefit from socialism are the central planners (along with big business).
— Socialism is about class struggle instead of patriotism. It is also anti-establishment and anti-Western (particularly anti-American).
— Socialism is not compatible with international free trade, and it also results in economic breakdown.
— Socialist nations (particularly communist nations) have higher poverty rates (which results in less use of energy) and higher rates of human rights abuses.
— Socialism takes many forms (e.g. communism, progressivism).
— The difference between socialism and communism is that the former is driven by risk aversion, while the latter is driven by revolutionary fervor.
— The “Robber Barons” of the Gilded Age were noted philanthropists.
— The Federal Reserve paved the way for the Great Depression, and the New Deal did not end it.
— The War on Poverty only made poverty worse.
— The gender wage cap is a myth.

As these discussions continue, I will mention to those who will attend that Laudato Si (and other liberal views of Pope Francis) will lead to an increase in anti-Catholicism.

Image: https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laudato_Si%27

Andrew Linn

Andrew Linn is a member of the Owensboro Tea Party and a former Field Representative for the Media Research Center. An ex-Democrat, he became a Republican one week after the 2008 Presidential Election. He has an M.A. in history from the University of Louisville, where he became a member of the Phi Alpha Theta historical honors society. He has also contributed to examiner.com and Right Impulse Media.

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