Pope Francis took a historical step Thursday publishing a 180-page document urging every citizen of the world to take action on climate change. But the pontiff didn't leave it at a lengthy letter -- he tweeted, a lot.
Over the course of Thursday he sent 63 tweets using the hashtag #LaudatoSi, including: "The earth, our home, is beginning to look more and more like an immense pile of filth," which struck a particular chord with the thousands that retweeted it.
Pope Francis took over the @Pontifix Twitter account when he became the bishop of Rome in 2013 and has sent more than 600 tweets to his 6.3 million followers. It was Pope Benedict XVI who signed the Vatican up to Twitter, setting up the @Pontifix account in 2012 and tweeting 39 times. After Benedict became the pope emeritus the Vatican deleted all of his tweets.
Here's everything Pope Francis tweeted about climate change:
I invite all to pause to think about the challenges we face regarding care for our common home. #LaudatoSi— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) June 18, 2015
We need a new dialogue about how we are shaping the future of our planet. #LaudatoSi— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) June 18, 2015
There is an intimate relationship between the poor and the fragility of the planet. #LaudatoSi— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) June 18, 2015
There is a need to seek other ways of understanding the economy and progress. #LaudatoSi— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) June 18, 2015
There is a value proper to each creature.— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) June 18, 2015
The throwaway culture of today calls for a new lifestyle. #LaudatoSi— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) June 18, 2015
“To commit a crime against the natural world is a sin against ourselves and a sin against God.” (Patriarch Bartholomew)— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) June 18, 2015
The climate is a common good, belonging to all and meant for all.— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) June 18, 2015
Climate change represents one of the principal challenges facing humanity in our day. #LaudatoSi— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) June 18, 2015
The earth, our home, is beginning to look more and more like an immense pile of filth.— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) June 18, 2015
These problems are closely linked to a throwaway culture.— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) June 18, 2015
One particularly serious problem is the quality of water available to the poor. #LaudatoSi— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) June 18, 2015
The human environment and the natural environment deteriorate together.— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) June 18, 2015
The deterioration of the environment and of society affect the most vulnerable people on the planet.— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) June 18, 2015
We have to hear both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor. #LaudatoSi— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) June 18, 2015
To blame population growth, and not an extreme consumerism on the part of some, is one way of refusing to face the issues.— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) June 18, 2015
A true “ecological debt” exists, particularly between the global north and south.— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) June 18, 2015
Developed countries ought to help pay this debt by limiting their consumption of nonrenewable energy.— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) June 18, 2015
There is no room for the globalization of indifference. #LaudatoSi— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) June 18, 2015
Economic interests easily end up trumping the common good.— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) June 18, 2015
The alliance between economy and technology ends up sidelining anything unrelated to its immediate interests.— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) June 18, 2015
Whatever is fragile, like the environment, is defenceless before the interests of a deified market.— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) June 18, 2015
We need only to take a frank look at the facts to see that our common home is falling into serious disrepair. #LaudatoSi— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) June 18, 2015
The present world system is certainly unsustainable from a number of points of view. #LaudatoSi— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) June 18, 2015
Each community has the duty to protect the earth and to ensure its fruitfulness for coming generations.— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) June 18, 2015
“Creation” has a broader meaning than “nature”; it has to do with God’s loving plan. #LaudatoSi— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) June 18, 2015
Every creature is the object of the Father’s tenderness, who gives it its place in the world.— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) June 18, 2015
A fragile world challenges us to devise intelligent ways of directing, developing and limiting our power.— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) June 18, 2015
At times more zeal is shown in protecting other species than in defending the equal dignity of human beings.— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) June 18, 2015
We should be particularly indignant at the enormous inequalities in our midst. #LaudatoSi— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) June 18, 2015
We continue to tolerate some considering themselves more worthy than others.— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) June 18, 2015
Earth is essentially a shared inheritance, whose fruits are meant to benefit everyone. #LaudatoSi— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) June 18, 2015
For believers, this becomes a question of fidelity to the Creator.— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) June 18, 2015
Never has humanity had such power over itself, yet nothing ensures that it will be used wisely.— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) June 18, 2015
Each age tends to have only a meagre awareness of its own limitations.— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) June 18, 2015
It is possible that we don’t grasp the gravity of the challenges before us. #LaudatoSi— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) June 18, 2015
We are learning all too slowly the lessons of environmental deterioration. #LaudatoSi— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) June 18, 2015
By itself the market cannot guarantee integral human development and social inclusion.— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) June 18, 2015
Scientific and technological progress cannot be equated with the progress of humanity and history.— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) June 18, 2015
There is an urgent need for us to move forward in a bold cultural revolution. #LaudatoSi— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) June 18, 2015
Christian thought sees human beings as possessing a particular dignity above other creatures.— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) June 18, 2015
The culture of relativism drives one person to take advantage of another, to treat others as mere objects.— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) June 18, 2015
It is contrary to human dignity to cause animals to suffer or die needlessly. #LaudatoSi— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) June 19, 2015
We need an integrated approach to combating poverty and protecting nature.— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) June 19, 2015
For indigenous communities, land is not a commodity, but a gift from God, a sacred space.— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) June 19, 2015
Having a home has much to do with a sense of personal dignity and the growth of families. #LaudatoSi— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) June 19, 2015
The world we have received also belongs to who will follow us. #LaudatoSi— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) June 19, 2015
What kind of world do we want to leave to those who come after us, to children who are now growing up?— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) June 19, 2015
What is at stake is our own dignity.— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) June 19, 2015
Leaving an inhabitable planet to future generations is, first and foremost, up to us.— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) June 19, 2015
Interdependence obliges us to think of one world with a common plan.— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) June 19, 2015
Reducing greenhouse gases requires honesty, courage and responsibility. #LaudatoSi— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) June 19, 2015
A decrease in the pace of production and consumption can at times give rise to another form of progress and development.— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) June 19, 2015
We know how unsustainable is the behaviour of those who constantly consume and destroy.— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) June 19, 2015
Believers must feel challenged to live in a way consonant with their faith. #LaudatoSi— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) June 19, 2015
Many things have to change course, but it is we human beings above all who need to change.— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) June 19, 2015
The emptier a person’s heart is, the more he or she needs to buy, own and consume. #LaudatoSi— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) June 19, 2015
The teachings of the Gospel have direct consequences for our way of thinking, feeling and living. #LaudatoSi— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) June 19, 2015
Living our vocation to be protectors of God’s handiwork is not a secondary aspect of our Christian experience.— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) June 19, 2015
Christian spirituality proposes an alternative understanding of the quality of life.— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) June 19, 2015
An integral ecology includes taking time to reflect on our lifestyle and our ideals. #LaudatoSi— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) June 19, 2015
Let us sing as we go. May our struggles and our concern for this planet never take away the joy of our hope.— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) June 19, 2015
Lord, seize us with your power and light, help us to protect all life, to prepare for a better future. #LaudatoSi— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) June 19, 2015