Essay by Eric Worrall
Archbishop Julian Porteous of Tasmania, Australia is in hot water over promoting the words of climate “denier” Ian Plimer, on the seventh anniversary of the Pope’s climate encyclical “Laudato Si”.
Archbishop accused of promoting climate change denier’s views on anniversary of Pope’s landmark letter
Tasmania’s Archbishop has been accused of promoting the views of a climate change denier at the same time the global church is marking the seventh anniversary of Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si: On care for our common home.
Key points:
- The official publication of the Catholic Church in Tasmania has published an article quoting a climate change denier
- The article appeared at the same time the church globally was marking the seventh anniversary of Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si: on care for our common home
- Concerned Catholics Tasmania said the article had caused widespread concern among the faithful
The May edition of the Catholic Standard included an article titled Exposing the ‘modern green religion’, a report of a speech given by geologist Professor Ian Plimer in Hobart at the invitation of the Christopher Dawson Centre, a think tank established by Archbishop Julian Porteous.
In the article, Catherine Sheehan, the Archdiocese of Hobart’s communications coordinator, wrote: “Professor Ian Plimer has written his most recent book on what he believes is a worrying trend in the debate of the science of climate change.
“He argues that the movement claiming human activity is responsible for global warming has been transformed into a ‘modern green religion’ filling the void left by the decline of traditional Christianity in first-world Western countries.
“For 25 years Professor Plimer has been asking fellow scientists to provide even one study that clearly shows human emissions of carbon dioxide are causing global warming. To date, he maintains no such proof has been offered.”
…
Ten climate scientists reviewed the article for Climate Feedback, a global network of scientists who fact-check and analyse claims made in the media and said: “As was the case with three other op-eds written by Plimer that we evaluated previously, reviewers unanimously rated the scientific credibility of this article ‘very low’ … the scientists identify a large number of inaccurate or incorrect statements about the way Earth’s climate system works, how climate has changed during Earth’s history, and what we know about the impacts of continued climate change.”
The article was also found to have breached standards by the Australian Press Council.
…
The article “Exposing the ‘modern green religion’” is available here. All fairly mild for a climate critique, it points out that the EV industry is driving child slave labour in Africa’s cobalt mines, challenges the environmental credibility of renewable energy, challenges the claim we are experiencing unusual climate shifts. Also mentions Ian Plimer’s book “Green Murder”.
Heaven forbid that Catholics would pay heed to Proverbs 31:8 :- “Speak out on behalf of the voiceless, and for the rights of all who are vulnerable”. There is an ongoing effort to censor climate skeptics, or even imprison climate skeptics, for the crime of disagreeing with others in public.
Those child slaves in the EV battery Cobalt mines of Africa, or the Chinese Uyghur slaves manufacturing cheap solar panels for the Western green energy revolution, could do with more people speaking up on their behalf.
The ABC claimed “the article was also found to have breached standards by the Australian Press Council.“. I can’t find a reference to any adjudication on the Press Council website. But we’re talking about the same body which once tried to adjudicate against James Delingpole for breach of standards, when Delingpole suggested wind turbines are a noisy, medically harmful government funded Ponzi scheme, so I don’t take anything the Press Council says too seriously.
The one thing this over-the-top fuss has achieved is massive publicity for the Catholic Standard article. Likely not what the climate puritans at the ABC intended.
via Watts Up With That?
June 13, 2022
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