When Pope Francis called the Earth an "immense pile of filth" and pushed hard for a greater focus on environmental issues, Catholic leaders in Iowa were listening. And today, the bishops in the state that holds the presidential race's critical first-in-the-nation caucuses will call for 2016 candidates to listen as well, the Associated Press reports.
"I trust that those who aspire to lead our country will incorporate these values and encourage American-style ingenuity that will produce viable solutions. They will hopefully embrace a clean environment and also sustainable work so that we can all be free to enjoy the created gifts God has given to us," Bishop Richard E. Pates wrote yesterday in The Des Moines Register. As the Associated Press notes:
The push from Pates and other bishops in Iowa threatens to disrupt the historically reliable alliance of evangelical Christians and conservative Roman Catholic voters, putting pressure on Republicans who have leaned on their religious faith to guide them on social issues. [AP]
The pope's environmental push, and the Iowa bishops backing him up, may be a particular problem for the six Roman Catholic candidates who are actively seeking the GOP presidential nomination: Jeb Bush, George Pataki, Chris Christie, Bobby Jindal, Marco Rubio, and Rick Santorum. The Week's Damon Linker summed up the bind quite well: "In the age of Pope Francis, can a good Republican be a good Catholic?" Iowa's Catholic bishops clearly aren't going to make it easy.
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