Religious Leaders Stand Up for Mother Nature Andri Antoniades - TakePart
go to original November 16, 2013

Dear @BarackObama, the #Pope has a message for you: NO #fracking, & yes it includes saying NO to #KeystoneXL! #NoKXL (Andrea Leon Grossman/twitter)

Is Pope Francis a "fracktivist"?

The leader of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics made headlines this week after pictures of him holding anti-fracking T-shirts went viral. Posing next to Argentine filmmaker and eco-activist Fernando "Pino" Solanas, the pope was photographed holding one T-shirt that read “No To Fracking” and another bearing the message “Water is More Precious Than Gold.”

While the pontiff did not make any official statements about fracking, the controversial process in which a concoction of water and chemicals is injected into the ground at high pressure to release pockets of oil and gas, he has become known as a proponent of environmental preservation since his elevation to the papacy in March.

The pope took his name from St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals and ecology, and during his inaugural Mass described the church’s mission as “respecting each of God’s creatures, and respecting the environment in which we live.” He is also reportedly drafting a papal memo, known as a cyclical, about environmental stewardship.

Read the rest at TakePart

We invite you to add your charity or supporting organizations' news stories and coming events to PVAngels so we can share them with the world. Do it now!