Rep. Rob Bishop is unimpressed with Pope Francis’s new encyclical on the environment, saying it won’t change any minds in the U.S. climate debate.
Reports the Associated Press:
While the encyclical drew praise from church, science and government leaders, some politically conservative Catholics criticized its economic analysis, and some U.S. Republican politicians said religion had no place in climate policy. Some in the fossil fuel industry took the unusual tack of citing Francis’ focus on the poor, arguing that his thinking would hurt and not help the disenfranchised.
“No, I’m sorry, it’s a political issue,” said Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources. “Most people have their minds made up on this issue, so any more rhetoric about the issue doesn’t really add a heck of a lot more to it.”
