Expert says church is 'waking up' to climate crisis under Pope Francis

LEICESTER, United Kingdom – A leading Catholic expert on the environment has said that under Pope Francis' leadership, “the whole church is waking up” to the climate crisis.

“It feels like Pope Francis is acting as a barometer for climate action,” said Neil Thorns, Director of Advocacy and Communications at CAFOD, the overseas development arm of the Catholic church in England and Wales. The comments came despite Pope Francis’s physical absence from the COP-28 climate change summit currently underway in Dubai due to lingering health concern.