Readers React: Pope Francis’ climate-change encyclical: If only Galileo could see it

To the editor: Pope Francis’ urgent call to all humanity, both to recognize that protecting the planet is a moral and ethical imperative and, while there’s still time, to cut off at the knees the destructive juggernaut of global climate change, will hopefully create the political will among the world’s leaders to act in unison to establish a road map to a sustainable energy economy for all nations, rich and poor. (“Pope Francis says culture of consumption has led to global warming,” June 18)

If successful, this pope’s encyclical will more than make up for the harm the Catholic Church caused in the past by its intransigent denial of the science proving that the Earth is not the center of the universe. Too bad Galileo isn’t here to see the church take the lead this time.

Sarah Mosko, Santa Ana

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To the editor: I commend Pope Francis for his stand linking global warming to human activity and to the growing cultural trend of instant gratification. However, I can’t help but ask this question: Does his encyclical address population control?

How are we going to get a handle on global warming if we humans keep expanding exponentially?

Mackay Crampton, Laguna Woods

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