Britain’s unilateral climate policy is indefensible, both socially and economically and that it should be suspended in the absence of an international agreement.
Cardinal Pell Questions The Price Of Climate Action
By Guest Column Benny Peiser——Bio and Archives--October 27, 2011
CATHOLIC Archbishop of Sydney George Pell has questioned the morality and cost benefits of imposing heavy financial burdens in the cause of curbing climate change. Last night Cardinal Pell presented the annual lecture to London's Global Warming Policy Foundation, chaired by former British chancellor Nigel Lawson. --Tess Livingstone, The Australian, 27 October 2011
My suspicions have been deepened over the years by the climate movement’s totalitarian approach to opposing views, their demonizing of successful opponents and their opposition to the publication of opposing views even in scientific journals. The rewards for proper environmental behaviour are uncertain, unlike the grim scenarios for the future as a result of human irresponsibility, which have a dash of the apocalyptic about them. The immense financial costs true believers would impose on economies can be compared with the sacrifices offered traditionally in religion, and the sale of carbon credits with the pre-Reformation practice of selling indulgences. Some of those campaigning to save the planet are not merely zealous but zealots. –-Cardinal Pell, 2011 Annual GWPF Lecture, Westminister Cathedral Hall, 26 October 2011
Leaving aside efforts to establish nonexistent tensions between cardinal and pope, the usual suspects — secular and religious — will surely excoriate Pell for this lecture. But in an age where far too many Christian thinkers are way too submissive to transitory intellectual fashions that make them acceptable at fashionable cocktail parties but also partakers in profound intellectual incoherence, it’s refreshing to know not everyone is so intimidated. -–Samuel Gregg, National Review Online, 26 October 2011
Because climate policies are having a detrimental impact on many families, not least the poorest in society, we should listen carefully to the social and ethical concerns raised by Cardinal Pell. I believe that nobody has done more to raise these awkward questions within the Catholic Church than Cardinal Pell. It is an irony of our bewildering times that it is a courageous churchman who dares to question one of our society’s most entrenched dogmas – but that is exactly what he will do tonight. –-Benny Peiser, Westminster Cathedral Hall, 26 October 2011
The Churches have tended to follow climate alarmism with uncritical enthusiasm, but it is now time to take stock. The moral issues surrounding climate policy, as well as the underlying scientific and economic issues, are much more complex than is usually acknowledged. It is time for the Churches to recognise this, and to lead a debate which helps our society to a more sensible set of policies. --Peter Forster, Bishop of Chester, Church Times, 21 October 2011
POPE Benedict opened an Australian pilgrim centre in Rome yesterday. His willingness to open the centre was a reflection of his belief that the Catholic Church in Australia was doing a good job tackling the problems of an increasingly secular Western world, according to Cardinal George Pell. Cardinal Pell said the Pope had made it clear to him that he believed the church in Australia was battling hard against a rising tide of non-Christian values in modern Western societies. -– The Australian, 21 October 2011
