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Pope Francis unveils plan for Vatican to go solar

June 26, 2024 Catholic News Agency 1
Pilgrims shield themselves from the sun at Pope Francis’ general audience in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican, Wednesday, June 26, 2024. / Credit: Daniel Ibanez/CNA

Vatican City, Jun 26, 2024 / 17:30 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis has announced measures to transition Vatican City to using solar energy as its main source of electricity, as outlined in his latest motu proprio titled Fratello Sole, or “Brother Sun.”

The Holy Father has tasked the relevant Vatican governing bodies to collaborate with Italian authorities and build an “agrivoltaic system,” which would use land in Santa Maria di Galeria, an extra-territory of Vatican City situated outside of Rome, for farming and solar energy production. 

“We need to make a transition toward a sustainable development model that reduces greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere,” reads the motu proprio, a decree authorized by the pope. 

“Humanity has the technological means necessary to face this environmental transformation and its pernicious ethical, social, economic, and political consequences and, among these, solar energy plays a fundamental role,” the document reads.

In “Brother Sun,” the Holy Father expressed his desire to “contribute to efforts of all states” to abide by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement, which came into effect in Vatican City in 2022 on the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi (Oct. 4) to combat the challenges of climate change on our “common home.” 

Though the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) reports the Vatican’s global emissions were around 0.0000443% in 2022, it recognized the state is “committed to achieving a reduction in emissions in line with the goal of keeping global warming below 2 degrees Celsius, as well as to pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels as foreseen in the Art. 2 of Paris Agreements.” 

The transition to solar energy as the main power source is the latest initiative of the Vatican to become more “green” and ecologically sustainable. But solar energy has already been in the sight of the Holy See for nearly two decades. 

During his pontificate, Benedict XVI encouraged the international community “to respect and encourage a ‘Green Culture’ characterized by ethical values,” according to Cardinal Paul Poupard, the former head of the Pontifical Council for Culture, in a 2007 statement.   

In 2008, Benedict XVI also approved the installation of 2,400 solar panels on the roofs of the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall “to power the lighting, heating, and cooling of a portion of the entire country” according to a National Geographic report.

Under Pope Francis, the Vatican partnered with Volkswagen to introduce an all-electric car fleet to reduce the state’s carbon footprint in 2023. One year after the release of the encyclical Laudato Si’, the Vatican innovated its recycling system in 2016 to reduce waste and pollution. 

[…]

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Pope Francis: Drug cartels are ‘traffickers of death’ and ‘murderers’

June 26, 2024 Catholic News Agency 2
Pope Francis greets pilgrims at his General Audience in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican, Wednesday, June 26, 2024 / Daniel Ibanez/CNA

Vatican City, Jun 26, 2024 / 07:48 am (CNA).

Pope Francis called drug traffickers criminals, murderers, and “traffickers of death” during his general audience on Wednesday.

“We cannot ignore the evil intentions and actions of drug dealers and traffickers. They are murderers!” Pope Francis said in St. Peter’s Square on June 26.

“Drug traffickers are traffickers of death driven by the logic of power and money at any cost,” he added.

Pope Francis reads from remarks at his General Audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Wednesday, June 26, 2024. Daniel Ibanez/CNA
Pope Francis reads from remarks at his General Audience in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican, Wednesday, June 26, 2024. Daniel Ibanez/CNA

The pope dedicated the entirety of his last Wednesday audience before taking a break for the summer to mark the World Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.

The United Nations’ annual report on drug trafficking, released on June 26, reports that drug use worldwide has increased to 292 million people in the past decade, with cocaine production trafficking reaching an all-time high in 2022. 

The UN report also details the increase in overdose deaths due to the emergence of nitazenes – a group of synthetic opioids it describes as “potentially more dangerous than fentanyl.”

Pope Francis lamented the “plague” of drug addiction in many countries, saying that “drugs trample on human dignity.”

“Having known many tragic stories of drug addicts and their families, I am convinced that it is morally necessary to put an end to the production and trafficking of these dangerous substances,” he said.

The pope underlined that “a reduction in drug addiction is not achieved by liberalizing their consumption,” calling the idea “a fantasy.”

Pope Francis waves to pilgrims at his General Audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Wednesday, June 26, 2024. Daniel Ibanez/CNA
Pope Francis waves to pilgrims at his General Audience in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican, Wednesday, June 26, 2024. Daniel Ibanez/CNA

Pope Francis also applauded efforts by Catholic ministries around the world who offer assistance and recovery programs to those struggling with addictions, as well as bishops’ conferences who have advocated “just legislation and policies.”

He highlighted the efforts of the Latin American Pastoral Accompaniment and Prevention of Addictions organization known as PLAPA for their work to address alcoholism, drug abuse, and other forms of addiction, such as pornography.

“Let us remember … that every drug addict brings with him a different personal story, which must be listened to, understood, loved and, as far as possible, healed and purified. … They continue to have, more than ever, a dignity, as people who are children of God. Everyone has dignity,” Francis said.

The U.N. established the World Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking in 1987. The theme for this year is “The evidence is clear: invest in prevention.”

Quoting St. John Paul II’s 1987 speech against drug trafficking, Francis said, “‘Drug abuse impoverishes every community in which it is present. It diminishes human strength and moral fiber. It undermines estimated values. It destroys the desire to live and contribute to a better society.’”

Pilgrims at the pope's General Audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Wednesday, June 26, 2024. Daniel Ibanez/CNA
Pilgrims at the pope’s General Audience in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican, Wednesday, June 26, 2024. Daniel Ibanez/CNA

After his strong words about how drug traffickers “sow violence and death,” Pope Francis offered a prayer for their conversion.

“Let us pray for these criminals who give drugs to young people. They are criminals, they are murderers. We pray for their conversion,” Francis said.

[…]