Pope Francis asks thousands of children to chant ‘nature is our future’ at Vatican event
Pre-selected questions from the kids were about 'climate change,' peace efforts, the pope's friends and personal life, but notably absent were any pertaining to the Catholic faith.
Pope Francis
surrounded by children at the Paul VI Audience Hall. November 6, 2023 YouTube screenshot
- 22
Tue Nov 7, 2023 - 5:54 pm EST
Listen to this article
0:00 / 6:23
VATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews) –– Welcoming thousands of children to the Vatican on Monday, Pope Francis fielded selected questions and heavily focused on imparting his support for “climate change” talking points to them.
In a meeting organized by the Vatican’s Dicastery for Culture and Education, Pope Francis hosted around 7,000 children in the Paul VI Audience Hall for an encounter on the theme “Let’s Learn from Boys and Girls.”
The pinnacle of the event was Francis’ presence in the Audience Hall with the children, where he fielded a series of pre-approved questions, and read back his answers. Yet while the event was themed “Let’s Learn from Boys and Girls,” the prominent theme was Pope Francis’ devotion to promoting the “climate change” agenda.
Of the 14 questions posed to the Pope by children from around the world, four were specifically devoted to discussing the environment. Other questions focused on the continuing conflicts in various countries across the globe.
READ: Don’t be fooled by claims of ‘consensus’ on climate change, science is not a popularity contest
The questions ranged from how can children “save the Earth” to why the weather is hot, along with what appeared to be essentially a springboard question for the Pope to expand on his theme – “Are you concerned about the environment?”
Questioned about if he believed “children can save the earth,” Pope Francis replied:
Yes, because you are simple and you understand that to destroy the Earth is to destroy us. We must guard the Earth: Do you understand this? If you destroy the Earth, you destroy yourself.
Francis punctuated the meeting, and his answers, with repeatable slogans for the children to chant along with him. “Let’s say it all together, slowly, without shouting, ‘to destroy the Earth is to destroy us.’”
He expanded on this slogan, stating that “because the Earth gives us everything to live: It gives you oxygen, it gives you water, it gives you herbs, it helps you so much to live.”
If we destroy the Earth, we destroy us. All together: he who destroys the Earth, destroys us. All together: to destroy the Earth is to destroy us. Thank you!
The Pontiff also responded to a question about “why is it so hot even though it’s autumn,” stating that warm temperatures were due to man’s actions toward the earth. The reason, Francis agued, is “because we, the people, do not guard creation, we do not guard nature and nature rebels.”
Haut du formulaire
subscribe to our daily headlines
Bas du formulaire
Haut du formulaire
US Canada Catholic
Bas du formulaire
Stating that “we have to learn to guard creation, to guard nature and not to soil nature,” Francis instigated another repeated climate slogan chant in the Audience Hall: “Together: ‘guarding nature.’”
When the time came for what was likely one of the Pope’s favorite questions, Francis did not fail to deliver – yet again – with the environmental talking points. “Are you concerned about the environment,” the organizers arranged for a young girl from Samoa Tonga to ask.
“I am very concerned, because nature is being ruined,” the Pope replied before presenting anecdotes regarding the polar ice caps and sea levels.
Think that at the North Pole now the ice has melted and you can sail. Think that at the South Pole a mass of 200 km squared of ice has fallen because the Earth is getting warmer. Think that the seas are rising and coming into the Earth; think that the fish in the sea are ruined because we throw so many things into the sea. That’s why I am concerned about nature. All of us have to be concerned about nature, and we have to help.
“I am concerned about nature, and you must also be concerned about nature,” he added.
With children gathered from 84 countries, the questions approved by the Papal household for the Pope to answer also included aspects related to ongoing wars, efforts to effect peace, Pope Francis’ friends and personal life.
But notably absent from the selected questions were any pertaining to the Catholic faith or efforts intended to catechize the assembled children. A short mention was made of prayer at the start of the Pope’s meeting, when to close his remarks about the importance of young witness on matters such as “climate change, hunger, war, poverty,” he stated:
Our Lady will help you. I recommend: always pray to Our Lady! Do you pray to Our Lady? Do you pray to Our Lady? That’s it, always, don’t stop. And pray for me, too. Thank you.
As part of the occasion, San Paolo publishers – whose store is based on the road leading up to the Vatican – published a book entitled “The Children’s Encyclical. Re-educating the world of adults.” Penning the preface for the work, Pope Francis again focused on ecological issues.
“Dear children, I embrace you, and know that your Pope and ‘grandfather’ will do everything so that you may live in a more beautiful and good world,” Francis wrote.
Moments before Pope Francis took center stage, the thousands of children gathered in the Audience Hall heard a live performance from the Italian rapper known as Mr. Rain. The singer had performed at the Vatican’s human fraternity day in June.
READ: Pope Francis calls for obligatory global ‘climate change’ policies in new document ‘Laudate Deum’
The Pope’s focus on climate change issues is a consistent and recurring theme of the current pontificate. With the publication of his second environmentally themed document in early October, Laudate deum, that focus has become every more clear as the Pontiff called for international governments to ensure compliance with pro-abortion “climate change” agendas.
Since then, Francis made the unprecedented step of announcing his participation at the COP28 United Nations climate change conference in early December, which is taking place in Dubai.
READ: Pope Francis confirms he will attend UN’s COP28 ‘climate change’ conference in Dubai
He has been publicly critical of the fact that the temperature reduction goals of the pro-abortion Paris Agreement had not yet been met, and in light of this has described the upcoming COP28 event as a key event in human history.
Topics
Tagged as
- Catholic
- Climate Change
- climate change agenda
- COP28
- COP28 climate conference
- Dicastery for Culture and Education
- Laudate Deum
- Pope Francis
