The Pope came to the United States and, as chance would have it, his visit coincided with a political effort to defund Planned Parenthood (PP), the major abortion provider in the United States. A series of sting videos indicated that PP was profiting by selling the parts of the aborted fetuses. Moreover, the Pope was scheduled to address the Congress where the Speaker, John Boehner, and the Minority Leader, Nancy Pelosi, are both Catholics. The stars had aligned in the fight against abortion and the Pope pressed Congress on the issue... of climate change.
The Papacy is not necessarily political. Though the very teachings of Catholicism come down on one side or another of a great many political issues (e.g. abortion, capital punishment, gay marriage, welfare, etc.), it is not incumbent on the Pope to lobby or cajole governments to follow these teachings. Render unto Caesar what is Caesar's. But this Pope isn't that kind of Pope. He has been more political than his predecessor and has taken a decidedly leftist view of the world. Clearly, Pope Francis has embraced climate change and he takes a dim view of capitalism. So one wonders why, when the table was set for a victory against abortion, he put his political capital behind climate change.
I'm not Catholic and may be missing something. Perhaps someone who follows the doings of Popes is fully aware of the reasons behind this. It's been my understanding that the Church has a very long standing opposition to abortion while this climate change interest is very recent. Pope John Paul II spoke about it but it was not top of his docket. Pope Francis has elevated it considerably.
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