Arnold Schwarzenegger told reporters he knows that people get “pumped up” spiritually at Mass, but he wishes he could go to Mass at least once and hear a homily on what Catholics can and should do to reduce pollution. Source: CNS.
The Catholic actor, former California governor and former body builder who inspired the Saturday Night Live tagline “We just want to pump you up!”, spoke at the Vatican yesterday during a news conference to present “Raising Hope for Climate Justice”, a celebration of the 10th anniversary of Pope Francis’ encyclical “Laudato Si’, on Care for Our Common Home.”
As founder of the Schwarzenegger Climate Initiative, which promotes actions individuals can take to fight pollution and climate change, he was invited to the Raising Hope meeting, which Pope Leo is due to open today in Castel Gandolfo.
Brazilian Cardinal Jaime Spengler of Porto Alegre, president of the Brazilian bishops’ conference, prefaced his remarks at the news conference by saying that “Arnold is an idol of my youth” from his films, but “I thought he’d be taller.”
Turning to climate change and the 30th United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP30, which Brazil will host in November, Cardinal Spengler said, “We cannot escape or ignore the challenges that our mistreated planet is placing before us. The signs are undeniable! We are living in times marked by danger – the danger of reaching a point of no return, a breaking point.”
Too many people think that “reality, goodness and truth” can spontaneously emerge from technology and the economy, he said. “This model tends to place the human being in the place of God, making man the greatest danger to himself.
“The Earth, with all that it contains, is a living being,” he said. “And like every living being, it is fragile!”
But human beings can change, the cardinal said, and the Spirit of God can renew the face of the earth if people are willing to cooperate.
Salesian Sister Alessandra Smerilli told reporters it was providential to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Laudato Si’ during the Jubilee of Hope because “it is not just a magisterial document but a navigation guide”, and one that hundreds of dioceses, thousands of parishes and universities and millions of people already are acting on.
FULL STORY
Schwarzenegger says joint action needed to ‘terminate’ pollution (By Cindy Wooden, CNS)
