Pope Francis climate change call to action makes waves in faith communities

A few months ago, Pope Francis urged humanity to have more respect for nature, saying that we are the custodians of a planet created by God.

 

It's not for nothing that the Pope chose to name himself after St. Francis of Assisi -- the Patron Saint of Ecology who, it is said, preached to birds and blessed wolves.

 

The environment may feature highly among the Pope's priorities in 2015. There are reports that Pope Francis will issue a powerful edict -- called an Encyclical -- telling the Catholic world to step up the fight against climate change. And news of the Pontiff's environmental intentions have made waves -- both within the Catholic world and outside it.

 

For more on this we were joined by:

 

Heather Eaton is as an ecological Catholic Theologian at Saint Paul University in Ottawa.

 

Asma Mahdi is an environmental scientist and a board member of a non-governmental organization called Green Muslims in Washington.

 

Jim Wallis is a Christian Evangelical writer and political activist and the founder of Sojourners magazine. He was in Daytona Beach, Florida.