Pope Francis passed away during the night. May he rest in peace. Francis was the first pope from Latin America. Glad he got to rejoice another Easter, the highest celebration in Christianity.  The Catholic Church will now begin the process of selecting a new pope. Generally, 3-5 weeks is the time interval needed. 

As Pope Francis didn't define "deniers," we have no idea to what/whom he was referring. Two of his primary climate advisors are (highly unfortunately) Al Gore and Naomi Oreskes, neither of whom are climate scientists. Oreskes is an atheist and I don't know Gore's current thinking regarding faith. Francis can and should get better advisors.  With the above said, please allow me to clear up a recent controversy on Twitter. When Pope Francis says these things they are not  infallible statements. We Catholics believe the Pope is infallible only in narrow circumstances which are, He must be talking about faith or morals. Science doesn't count.  He must be speaking Ex Cathedra , which is in his official capacity and through an official document such as an encyclical. This qualifies as neither. And, while on the subject, Dr. Katharine Hayhoe frequently uses her (alleged) Christianity to justify her, sometimes extreme, positions on global warming. I don't know why...

I saw this tweet yesterday evening, followed up, and found it was true.  The story is  here . You will have to have a vaccine passport to get into the Vatican. So, we are clear, I want you to be vaccinated unless your physician advises you otherwise. Please, get the vaccine!   Back to the religion aspect of the Pope's actions: The  Gospels say Jesus acted differently . What makes Pope Francis' requirement of vaccine passports especially galling is because  he has been a frequent critic of U.S. immigration policy under President Trump .  “I say it publicly. I have even said that those that build walls end up being prisoners of the walls they build.” So, the Pope believes it is okay for the Vatican to restrict the people coming into that country but it is not okay for the U.S. to do so. Leprosy, like COVID-Delta, is highly contagious which is why, in Roman times, they were forced to live away from others. Gospel historians say Jesus set an unusual example by...

Pope Francis knows better. Far better. In 2018, the Pope hosted a meeting about global warming at the Vatican. It seems to be one of his pet issues.  Depending on source and inflation adjustment, the world has spent $2 and $4 TRILLION on global warming since 1990. That is hardly "inaction." Yet, nothing has changed. The world temperatures continue to rise (below).  Perhaps Francis could return to the reign of Pope Benedict and re-read the following: Earth is still here.  Regardless of the dozens of "tipping points" that have passed without catastrophe, the climate parasites tell us, we need to devote even more of our precious resources on trying to control the weather 80 years from now.  In a lengthy story in the Daily Mail , there is nothing the Pope or other religious leaders recommend we do differently other than continuing to throw even more money at the problem. That is not a solution, it is political posturing. It is also a good reason why the Vatican should ...

Remember this posting from August 27? It explained how the world's, and especially U.S's., journalists are being called upon to participate in a global propaganda campaign ahead of a United Nations' meeting about global warming later this month.  As a Catholic, I'm dismayed Pope Francis is participating.  I'm so old that I remember when a Pope's job was to teach the Gospel of Jesus and to facilitate our trips to Heaven rather than rotting in Hell. Unfortunately, our current Pope seems to be attracted to liberal political causes. With regard to Ms. Steinhauser's reporting that Francis' trip to Mozambique is linked to the recent hurricane (called a "cyclone" in southeast Africa), you should know that hurricanes are frequent in that part of the world. If you wish to read how the genuine science relates to hurricanes, here is an excellent article  (published today) by Dr. Roger Pielke, Junior. Roger is a bit more bullish on the ...