On climate change, Pope Francis isn’t listening to the world’s poor

The global elite has little idea what afflicts the poor, says Pope Francis. He’s right — but that observation sometimes applies to him, too.
In his US visit, the pope is already creating headlines about the urgent need to respond to climate change. Invoking the need to “protect the vulnerable in our world,” he calls for an end to humanity’s reliance on fossil fuels.

This comes after his June declaration that global warming is one of the pre-eminent problems facing the poor. The elite, he said, are out of touch if they don’t realize this: “Many professionals, opinion makers, communications media and centers of power, being located in affluent urban areas, are far removed from the poor, with little direct contact with their problems.”