When asked about Pope Francis’ focus on climate change and his call for members of congress to protect the environment, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) said that the pontiff is “not a scientist.”
During a campaign event in Virginia, a reporter asked Bush about the pope’s support for President Obama’s efforts to combat climate change, according to a video posted by Democratic group American Bridge and highlighted by the Huffington Post.
“The pope is not wrong. The pope is a religious leader that I admire greatly,” Bush responded, adding that carbon emissions have dropped in the last decade.
The former governor then said that to protect the environment and those that live on the earth, lawmakers should focus on aiding economic growth, noting that Pope Francis is “not a scientist, he’s a religious leader.”
“Put aside Pope Francis on the subject of any political conversation,” Bush said. “I oppose the President’s policies as it relates to climate change because it will destroy the ability to re-industrialize the country, to allow for people to get higher wage jobs, for people to rise up.”
Numerous Republicans, including former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) have dismissed Pope Francis’s qualifications to speak about science, but the pontiff earned a degree as a chemical technician and worked as a food chemist before becoming a priest.
While discussing the pope’s comments on climate change, Bush pointed out that the pontiff discussed the “rights of the unborn and the importance of traditional family” in his encyclical on the environment.
Watch a video of Bush’s comments via American Bridge:
H/t Huffington Post
