Jeb Bush Says He Won’t Take Orders From The Pope On Climate Change

Former US Governor Jeb Bush speaks at the Economic Council in Berlin, Germany, Tuesday, June 9, 2015. The Economic Council is a German business association representing the interests of more than 11,000 small and med... Former US Governor Jeb Bush speaks at the Economic Council in Berlin, Germany, Tuesday, June 9, 2015. The Economic Council is a German business association representing the interests of more than 11,000 small and medium sized firms, as well as larger multinational companies. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn) MORE LESS
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Jeb Bush, a Catholic, is not on board with Pope Francis’ upcoming encyclical that will call on the world to acknowledge climate change and avoid “unprecedented destruction of the ecosystem.”

“I hope I’m not going to get castigated for saying this by my priest back home, but I don’t get economic policy from my bishops or my cardinals or my pope,” the former Republican Florida governor said at a Tuesday campaign rally in New Hampshire, according to MSNBC. “And I’d like to see what he says as it relates to climate change and how that connects to these broader, deeper issues before I pass judgment. But I think religion ought to be about making us better as people and less about things that end up getting in the political realm.”

Since the pope revealed that he would address climate change in an encyclical, Republican lawmakers have told him to back off.

Former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) told the pope to “leave science to the scientists.” And Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK), a vocal climate change denier, said, “The pope ought to stay with his job, and let us stay with ours.”

The encyclical, which was leaked to the press on Monday but will be officially published on Thursday, could put pressure on other Republican Catholic presidential candidates like Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL).

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Notable Replies

  1. Bet he quotes the Pope on matters like abortion, though.

  2. The whole reason we can’t address our biggest threat in any meaningful way is because it’s been relegated to the “political realm.” If anything, we should be arguing about solutions, not about the existence of the problem.

  3. What about orders from your billionaire benefactors? How about from Grover Norquist?

  4. Of course. They always do. They quote the Popes that they love on stuff like Abortion, Same-Sex Marriage and Contraception and then ignore the Popes and even Jesus Christ when it comes to treating people better and all the rest of it.

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