Sorry, Jeb Bush: Pope Francis actually is a scientist


Jeb Bush alluded on Thursday that Pope Francis should refrain from speaking about climate change because he "is not a scientist."
"He is a religious leader that I admire greatly," Bush told reporters in Bristol, Virginia. Later, he said "creatures are divinely inspired, which is the Pope's view, he's not a scientist, he's a religious leader." Bush would not directly say that the pope was wrong to talk about global warming (on Thursday, the pontiff called on Congress to take "courageous actions and strategies" to fight climate change), but he did speak out against President Obama's approach. "Put aside Pope Francis on the subject of any political conversation," he said. "I oppose the president's policy as it relates to climate change because it will destroy the ability to re-industrialize the country, to allow for people to get higher wage jobs, for people to rise up."
While Bush is correct that the pope is in fact a religious leader, a quick Google search (which anyone can do, not just people who work at Google) leads to his official biography, showing the pontiff studied to be a chemical technician and briefly worked as a chemist before joining the priesthood. Catherine Garcia
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Today's political cartoons - May 10, 2025
Cartoons Saturday's cartoons - artificial intelligence, cryptocurrency, and more
-
5 streetwise cartoons about defunding PBS
Cartoons Artists take on immigrant puppets, defense spending, and more
-
Dark chocolate macadamia cookies recipe
The Week Recommends These one-bowl cookies will melt in your mouth
-
Prevost elected first US pope, becomes Leo XIV
speed read Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost is a Chicago native who spent decades living in Peru
-
Pope Francis dies at 88
Speed Read 'How much contempt is stirred up at times toward the vulnerable, the marginalized and migrants,' Pope Francis wrote in his final living message
-
Pope returns to Vatican after long hospital stay
Speed Read Pope Francis entered the hospital on Feb. 14 and battled double pneumonia
-
Texas megachurch founder charged with sex crimes
Speed Read Robert Morris, former spiritual adviser to President Donald Trump, is accused of sexually abusing a child
-
Pope Francis suffers setback with respiratory episodes
Speed Read The 88-year-old pope continues to battle pneumonia
-
US Christianity's long decline has halted, Pew finds
Speed Read 62% of Americans call themselves Christian, a population that has been 'relatively stable' for the past five years
-
Pope Francis hospitalized with 'complex' illness
Speed Read The Vatican says their leader has a respiratory infection, raising new concerns about his health
-
The Aga Khan, billionaire spiritual leader, dies at 88
Speed Read Prince Karim Al-Hussaini's philanthropy funded hospitals, housing and schools in some of the world's poorest places