The first ‘Green Pope’ the world has seen

Kottayam: Pope Francis can be described without any doubt as the first ‘Green Pope' the world has ever seen. He stood firm in the stance taken for protecting nature. He showed us that we should not do anything bad to the planet which we inhabit. The pope explained climatic changes as a global issue having environmental, social, economic, political and logistical repercussions. He said the majority of people residing in places affected by global warming are economically backward. We have heard so many scholarly talks and read articles on global warming and climatic changes, but the pope takes us to a new level when he explains that climate is a public virtue which is owned by all and is meant for all.It was Pope Francis who explained that farming means taking care, protecting, supervising, maintaining, etc. Nobody has given such an explanation. The pope also explains that this demands a relation of mutual responsibility between man and nature. We see a modern environmental scientist in Pope Francis when he announces with clarity that every society can take what they want for their existence from the abundance of the earth, but they have the responsibility to ensure that the earth is protected for future generations.When the leader of the global Catholic Church, who conquered the minds of the world, was born in Argentina and loved human beings, nature, the entire living world and football, is leaving, the vacuum created cannot be filled. Even during his last moments, he tried to shed light on the destruction caused by wars. He was hurt by the crying children of Gaza in the bomb blasts and gunfire. A tearful adieu to the great shepherd who, until his last moments, thought of the poor and needy and found the reflection of God in them. — P Prasad | Agriculture minister, Kerala