Pope Leo XIV has urged citizens and advocacy groups to hold governments accountable in safeguarding the planet, warning that harming creation runs contrary to Christian values.
He delivered the message Wednesday at a climate conference commemorating the 10th anniversary of Pope Francis’ influential environmental encyclical.
“We cannot love God, whom we cannot see, while despising his creatures,” Leo told participants. “Everyone in society, through non-governmental organizations and advocacy groups, must put pressure on governments to develop and implement more rigorous regulations, procedures and controls.”
It was the pontiff’s first major address on climate since his election in May. He has already signaled continuity with Francis’ legacy, establishing an ecological center at Castel Gandolfo, his summer residence just outside Romeand urging “conversion of people inside and outside the church” who fail to grasp “the urgent need to care for our common home.”
Leo praised his predecessor’s encyclical Laudato si’ (“Praised be to you”), which framed environmental protection as a moral duty and drew a direct connection between ecological destruction and global poverty.
That 2015 document, released ahead of the Paris COP21 summit, helped mobilize religious groups and wider society to take climate action, inspiring the now prominent Laudato si’ Movement.
The movement organized Wednesday’s gathering at Castel Gandolfo, which drew high-profile attendees, including actor and former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, a vocal supporter of papal environmental initiatives.
Looking ahead, the pope referenced the upcoming COP30 summit in Brazil, expressing hope that global leaders “will listen to the cry of the Earth and the cry of the poor, families, indigenous peoples, involuntary migrants and believers throughout the world.”
His remarks came shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump dismissed climate change as “the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world” in a UN address.
Quoting Francis’ later text Laudate Deum, Leo reminded his audience that “some have chosen to deride” the science on climate change and even “ridicule those who speak of global warming.”
For Leo, the problem extends beyond data to the human heart: he called for a “true ecological conversion” that transforms lives and communities.
“We must shift from collecting data to caring,” he declared, before leaving his audience with a challenge. “God will ask us if we have cultivated and cared for the world that he created for the benefit of all and for future generations, and if we have taken care of our brothers and sisters. What will be our answer?”
