that it is indeed the Pope's "job" to urge the world to act on climate change "as a moral imperative." It will be interesting to see whether this encyclical is issued as "infallible" (many of them are not designated as such).
Vatican I’s decree “Eternal Pastor” taught: “The Roman Pontiff, when he speaks ex cathedra, that is, when discharging the office of pastor and teacher of all Christians, and defines with his supreme apostolic authority a doctrine concerning faith or morals that is to be held by the universal Church, through the divine assistance promised him in St. Peter, exercises that infallibility which the divine Redeemer wishes to endow his Church for defining doctrine concerning faith or morals.”
Infallibility is a guarantee that neither the pope teaching individually as the Church’s supreme pastor nor the pope teaching in communion with the whole college of bishops can mislead the faithful on an issue essential to salvation.
Encylicals remain very important teaching documents. No pope since 1870 has designated an encyclical as an exercise of papal infallibility, which requires three conditions: 1) the subject is a matter of faith or morals, 2) the pope must be teaching as supreme pastor, and 3) the pope must indicate that the teaching is infallible.
http://www.stanthonymessenger.org/AskAFranciscan/Question.aspx?Question=176
I know very little about Catholic theology, so I have no idea whether the Pope would consider the need to act on climate change to be a crucial issue "concerning faith or morals," but if he believes climate change is likely to cause great suffering and destruction, and if failing to act on it would violate God's directive to care for the earth, maybe he will go all infallible. I would, if I were the Pope. And wouldn't that put the GOPers in a pickle?
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