Pope Francis Warns of Gluttony’s Devastating Impact on the Planet
In a recent sermon, Pope Francis has singled out gluttony as a potentially grave sin, emphasizing its destructive consequences for the environment. The Catholic leader expressed concern about the immoderate consumption of food, stating that while enjoying meals is not inherently wrong, humans have developed a habit of excessiveness.
Pope Francis, who has previously raised alarms about the world facing a breaking point due to accelerating climate change and insufficient global action, has identified developed Western nations as primary contributors to the crisis.
During his weekly General Audience on Wednesday, the Pontiff argued that, from a social perspective, gluttony may be “perhaps the most dangerous vice that is killing the planet.” He criticized the voracious exploitation of the Earth’s resources over the past few centuries and lamented the shift from being stewards of the planet to becoming mere “consumers.”
According to Pope Francis, the imbalanced relationship with food has led to eating disorders, primarily linked to psychological and soulful torment. He highlighted food as a manifestation of inner qualities, such as the predisposition to balance or immoderation, and the empathy or selfishness exhibited through sharing or hoarding.
In his Apostolic Exhortation last October, the Catholic leader underscored the escalating consequences of climate change, manifested in extreme weather phenomena. He rejected the notion that poorer nations bear the majority of responsibility for global warming, pointing out that individual emissions in the United States are significantly higher than those in China and the average of the poorest countries.
Pope Francis also expressed disappointment in the apparent lack of interest from major economic powers in addressing the climate crisis, reiterating his concerns about the planet’s future and the urgent need for collective action.
In the third installment of his catechetical series on vice and virtue, Pope Francis on Wednesday focused on the sin of gluttony, noting that the vice is not about “food in itself, but on our relationship with it.”https://t.co/kLNKbbjP6u
— Catholic World Report (@cworldreport) January 10, 2024