Former Green Party leader and minister, Éamon Ryan, has hailed Pope Leo’s commitment to tackling climate change, having attended a conference with him near Rome last month.
The former politician attended the Raising Hope Conference in Castel Gandolfo and had the opportunity to see Pope Leo at the landmark event marking the tenth anniversary of Laudato Si’.
While speaking to The Irish Catholic, Mr Ryan described Pope Leo as being “very similar” to late Pope Francis.
“He’s different in personality but in terms of what he wants to do and what he emphasises, he’s very much a continuation of Francis in both the issues of social justice and climate.
“I thought Pope Francis was an incredible leader and visionary, and I thought it was very encouraging that Pope Leo is going to continue on the same path – not just on the issues but on how you go about your work in terms of listening and synodality.”
Mr Ryan also said that he saw a strong link between spirituality and environmentalism.
“For me, a lot of my motivation for being involved in protecting nature and issues like climate change is because I do have a sense of wonder at creation and the joy of seeing God.
“St Columban wrote, ‘If you want to see the creator, look at creation’.
“If you look back at the Irish Church’s history, back to the monastic period which was our golden age, in that world nature was centre stage.”
The former Green party leader also welcomed an announcement from The Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference last week, which called on the government to support the Holy See-backed Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative.
The proposed treaty would end fossil fuel exploration and expansion, and phase-out existing production.
