MAGA has slammed Pope Leo XIV as being “woke” after the head of the Catholic Church blessed a block of ice at a climate conference.
The American pontiff asked world leaders to “act with courage” to fight climate change, embracing his predecessor’s environmental legacy.
The pope spoke to 1000 representatives at the tenth anniversary celebration of the late Pope Francis’s climate summit, named Laudato Si.
He was joined on stage by actor and former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who watched as Leo placed his hand on a large chunk of ice taken from a melting glacier in Greenland.
The pope said that he hopes the U.N. climate conference will take action and “listen to the cry of the Earth and the cry of the poor.”
Although Leo did not direct his plea towards any politicians in particular, his comments came just a week after Donald Trump claimed that climate change was a “con job” during an address at the United Nations General Assembly.
Leo’s support for climate change initiatives has infuriated some right-wing influencers, with many branding him as “woke.”
“What did the world learn today? The left can’t meme and the pope is woke,” one wrote.
“The new woke pope is making a joke of the Catholic religion,” wrote another.
However, in his speech, Leo told listeners that “We cannot love God, whom we cannot see, while despising his creatures.”
“Nor can we call ourselves disciples of Jesus Christ without participating in his outlook on creation and his care for all that is fragile and wounded,” he added.
The current leader’s predecessor, Pope Francis, was a staunch environmentalist, giving his approval for a vast solar farm to be constructed north of Rome.
The vast site, which will transform Vatican City into the world’s first carbon-neutral state, has seen continued support from Pope Leo.
After the Laudato Si conference, Leo told reporters that he sees a contradiction in the beliefs of people who are “pro-life” but also agree with the “inhuman treatment” of immigrants.
“Someone who says ‘I’m against abortion but says I am in favor of the death penalty´ is not really pro-life,”’
“Someone who says that ‘I’m against abortion, but I’m in agreement with the inhuman treatment of immigrants in the United States,’ I don´t know if that´s pro-life,” he said.
Karoline Leavitt, Trump’s press secretary, rejected the idea that immigrants were being treated in an “inhumane” manner in the US but did not directly reference Leo’s comments.
“This administration is trying to enforce our nation’s laws in the most humane way possible, and we are upholding the law.
“We are doing that on behalf of the people of our country who live here,” Leavitt, a Catholic, added.
Leo has previously criticised the Trump administration’s stance on immigration to America, clashing with JD Vance in February.
The vice president, a Catholic, said that there is a “Christian concept” which requires believers to “love your family and then you love your neighbour.”
He went on to say that you “prioritize the rest of the world after that” in an explanation of his hardline position on immigration.
However, Pope Leo said that the vice president was “wrong.”
“Jesus doesn’t ask us to rank our love for others,” the Pope added.
The spat between Leo and Vance also involved podcaster and British politician Rory Stewart, who said that “Christian order of Love is not an argument for putting family and America first.”
He added that Christianity called for people to love everyone “without exception.”
“I’ve said before and I’ll say it again: the problem with Rory and people like him is that he has an IQ of 110 and thinks he has an IQ of 130.
“This false arrogance drives so much elite failure over the last 40 years,” Vance replied.
However, Leo had criticised Trump’s immigration policies even in 2018 when he said there was “nothing remotely Christian” about a policy that takes “children away from their parents and warehouses them in cages.”
And, in 2018, during the first Trump presidency, Leo reposted a tweet by Cardinal Cupich that Trump’s immigration policies brought “shame” on “us all.”
“There is nothing remotely Christian, American, or morally defensible about a policy that takes children away from their parents and warehouses them in cages.
“This is being carried out in our name and the shame is on us all,” the post read.
