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).
