EarthBeat Weekly: One year ago, the world met Pope Leo. What he's said and done on ecology

One year ago, the world met Pope Leo. What he's said and done on ecology   EarthBeat Weekly Your weekly newsletter about faith and climate change May 8, 2026   Pope Leo XIV feeds fish at a pond in the Pontifical Gardens of Castel Gandolfo, Italy, Sept. 5, 2025. (CNS/Lola Gomez) Friday marks one year to the day since Pope Leo XIV first appeared to the world upon the balcony overlooking St. Peter's Square. Over the past two weeks, National Catholic Reporter has published numerous articles and commentaries examining all aspects of the first year of the first U.S.-born pope. Stories have looked at his Chicago roots, his Augustinian influences and what it even means to have a pope from the United States.  Today, Vatican correspondent Justin McLellan reports on how peace has become a central priority of Leo's early papacy. And on Thursday, a team of reporters from Global Sisters Report looked at how he has sought to advance justice.  A day earlier, contributor Chelsa Jordan King reflected on another area Leo has emphasized over the past 365 days: ecology.  King wrote that one of the closely watched questions with Leo was how he might follow Pope Francis' legacy on addressing the socio-environmental issues, such as climate change, impacting all parts of our world today.  Indeed, moments after Pope Leo emerged from the conclave inside the Sistine Chapel, I began researching and digging into what, if anything, Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost might have said on the environment.  As it turns out, he had said quite a bit. At a 2024 Vatican conference, Prevost observed the time had come to move "from words to action" on climate change. His time as bishop of Chiclayo, Peru, put him upfront with the impacts of climate change on rural, Indigenous and impoverished communities, at one point leading him to don rubber boots to survey storm damage in floodwaters. A review of his now-deleted X social media account revealed numerous tweets advocating for climate action, including for the U.S. not to abandon the Paris Agreement (it has done so twice now).  Those early clues have shown how Prevost as pope would engage environmental matters. As King writes, Leo has not retreated from the powerful positions and teachings on creation that Francis imprinted on the church. Rather, he is propelling it forward.  "Over the past year, he has insisted there is 'no room for indifference or resignation' in responding to the climate crisis. Like Francis, Leo has maintained that care for the earth cannot be separated from care for the poor, and has demonstrated a willingness to confront the structural drivers of environmental harm, criticizing economic systems that prioritize extraction and profit over human dignity and ecological health." As he hinted at the 2024 Vatican conference, Leo has placed an emphasis on action, King notes, pressing both policymakers and everyday Catholics to put Francis' words in his encyclical "Laudato Si', on Care for Our Common Home" into tangible, impactful measures.  Leo has done so by example in completing or continuing numerous initiatives begun by Francis and undertaking others of his own.  He added a Mass for the care of creation to the Roman Missal. He is overseeing plans to build a vast solar farm outside Rome to turn Vatican City into the world's first carbon-neutral state. He inaugurated the Borgo Laudato Si', an integral ecology education and training center in Castel Gandolfo, where Leo spends a day each week in the stillness of its vibrant gardens. He oversaw the Vatican submitting a new emissions reduction target under the Paris Agreement. Like Francis, Leo has delivered forceful messages of his own on the environment, including at a conference marking the 10-year anniversary of Laudato Si', in multiple messages to world leaders at the COP30 United Nations climate summit in Brazil, and as part of numerous other speeches. "If Francis helped the church name the urgency of the ecological crisis," King writes, "Leo appears focused on deepening the response by embedding it more fully in the spiritual, educational and institutional life of the faithful." Read more: One year in, Pope Leo forges ahead with Francis' ecological legacy Additional reading:  Aug. 16, 2025: In his 100 days as pope, Leo links climate, environment to broader global issues Oct. 1, 2025: Pope Leo calls for 'true ecological conversion' from words to action on environment What else is new on EarthBeat:   Catholics see promise in climate talks among nations on fossil fuel phaseout by Brian Roewe After conversations among nearly 60 nations on ways to wean the world from fossil fuels, Catholics who attended the first-of-its-kind summit in Colombia left encouraged by the promise the conversations represented. Read more here »   Tribes sue to halt exploratory drilling in Black Hills near sacred ceremonial site by Sarah Raza, Associated Press Read more here »   With Rome's gaze toward Africa, nuns reflect on Pope Leo XIV's first year by Doreen Ajiambo One year after the pope's election, religious sisters across Africa say his early visit affirmed the continent's place in the church and now challenges communities to turn his message of peace into lasting action. Read more here »   'Saved by the Beauty of the World' — and by the poetry of Mary Oliver by Elizabeth Hamilton In the upcoming PBS documentary, "Mary Oliver: Saved by the Beauty of the World," director Sasha Waters pays homage to one of America's most beloved modern poets. Read more here » What's happening in other climate news: 'A huge setback': New EPA directive could weaken hundreds of chemical regulations —Sharon Lerner for ProPublica AI boom sparks rare warning of 'significant risks' to grid —Christa Marshall for E&E News More than 150 wind projects stall as Pentagon delays reviews —Brad Plumer for The New York Times Georgia officials knew chemicals from carpet mills were polluting local water. The people did not —Jason Dearen for the Associated Press, Dylan Jackson and Justin Price for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution This herbicide is so toxic it's been banned in over 70 countries. But plants in the South are releasing it into the air. —Delaney Nolan for The Lens Soil at D.C. golf course where East Wing debris was dumped contains toxic metals —Maxine Joselow for The New York Times Ted Turner, a media mogul who tried to repair the land —Rhett Ayers Butler for Mongabay From neat lawns to wild havens: how No Mow May is transforming England's gardens —Isaaq Tompkins for the Guardian The Earth is full of marvels that inspire care for creation —Olivia Bardo for U.S. Catholic Final Beat: Readers of EarthBeat and NCR over the years are no doubt familiar with the Catholic Climate Covenant. Based in Washington D.C., it works with 20 national Catholic partners to raise awareness and mobilize action around the church's teachings on creation and the environment.  The Covenant has taken a leading role in animating many corners of the U.S. church in initiatives ranging from prayer services, creation care teams, educational resources, solar installations and political advocacy. Last week, the nonprofit organization — originally formed as the Catholic Coalition on Climate Change — celebrated its 20th anniversary.  "You can't talk about Catholic social teaching without talking about care for creation now. It's just a given, and that was not the case 20 years ago," John Carr, a longtime official with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said at an April 30 event marking the anniversary. A video of the full event is available on the Catholic Climate Covenant YouTube page.  As always, thanks for reading EarthBeat. Brian Roewe Environment Correspondent National Catholic Reporter broewe@ncronline.org     Featured Advertisers   Looking to Hire? Offering Retreats? Selling Books? Place an Ad in NCR's Online Classified Section for Only $75 per Month!   Advertisement