John Kerry tells Pope US Catholics are 'deeply concerned' about climate change

The Biden administration's Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, John Kerry, told reporters following a visit to the Vatican that Pope Francis was open to the idea of attending the upcoming UN climate summit, COP28, set to take place Dubai this December.

Kerry, a devout Catholic, met with the Pontifex on Monday to discuss a number of issues related to the environment. As CruxNow reports, he pushed the idea that combatting climate change was a responsibility of the religious, and urged more faith leaders to step up and preach to their flock about taking action.



"Is there any indication that the Pope might go to the next COP?" a reporter asked.

"I think he's open to it," Kerry replied. "We didn't spend a lot of time on that, but he was clearly talking about potential future options, and let's see what happens."

Kerry went on to suggest that the Vatican and the Pope have "remarkable leverage" when it comes to combatting climate change "because he has constantly been an outspoken and engaged advocate on this issue; he believes it very deeply."

"He's very troubled by where we are, and where we are not, and where we should be," the former Secretary of State continued. "I think he's thinking about ways he can continue to have an impact on it."

Kerry explained that he believed religious leaders were integral in getting more people involved in fighting climate change, suggesting the issue "goes to the heart of morality, of individual responsibility for others and for mother earth."

"Creation, care, is very much a live theory of Christian and other responsibility, so I don’t think you can fulfill your obligations without taking care of the planet into consideration," he added, noting that many Catholics in the US were "deeply concerned" about the issue.

In 2022, the Holy See signed on to the Paris agreement and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the first in what Kerry said he hoped would be a number of moves by the Pope to use his position to promote change.

While jetting around the world as Biden's Climate Czar, Kerry has pushed for dramatic readjustments that would impact the lives of everyday Americans.