"In weighing whether to add 'sins against ecology' to the Catholic Church's official teachings, Pope Francis is bolstering not only his climate credentials, said religious experts, but also his approach to environmental justice.

During a speech Friday at the Vatican, Pope Francis said it was a 'duty' to add the 'ecological sin against the common home' to the church catechism. His speech came during the 20th World Congress of the International Association of Penal Law.

The pope told the crowd of legal experts that ecological sin is an 'action or omission' against God, the community and the environment.

'It is a sin against future generations and is manifested in the acts and habits of pollution and destruction of the harmony of the environment,' he said."

Maya Earls reports for ClimateWire November 21, 2019. [2]