by Shannon Kelly ’26 on October 9, 2025

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News

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A Speech from Pope Leo 

On Wednesday, Oct. 1, Pope Leo XIV spoke at a conference centered on climate change in Castel Gandolfo, Italy. This was his first speech on the environment since becoming pope in May. In light of celebrating ten years of Laudato si’, an encyclical written by Pope Francis which focuses on the importance of caring for our common home, Pope Leo XIV centered his call around the need for global action to protect the world as we know it. As explained by Pope Leo XIV, “the challenges identified in Laudato si’ are in fact even more relevant today than they were 10 years ago.” 

Pope Leo XIV put pressure on the people to call on their respective governments to take action and involve themselves in addressing one of the world’s most pressing issues—climate change. He emphasized the fact that “We cannot love God, whom we cannot see, while despising his creatures.” Pope Leo XIV also spoke to the connection that is often formed between environmental degradation and poverty. He continually emphasized the bond that remains between having a concern for nature, seeking justice for the poor, remaining committed to society, and desiring interior peace. He stated that striving for the common good should always be at the forefront of all that we do, while sticking to the fact that there is no room for indifference or resignation in conversations centered on climate change. 

Pope Leo XIV acknowledged the need for upcoming international conferences, such as the 2025 Climate Change Conference, the 53rd Plenary Session of the Committee on World Food Security, and the 2026 Water Conference, to listen to the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor, families, indigenous peoples, involuntary migrants, and believers all over the world. The Pope reminds us that we are all one family, who depend on one another and whose actions reap consequences both in the present day and in the future. Pope Leo XIV preached the need for unity in his own words: “We inhabit the same planet, and we must care for it together.”

Pope Leo XIV has recently spoken in regards to the political climate in the United States at this current moment. He weighed in on the dichotomy of those who say they are pro-life, but agree with the inhumane treatment of immigrants in the U.S., stating that he does not know if that is truly pro-life. Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich highlighted the divisions that exist in the U.S., saying that Catholics have been left “politically homeless.” In Pope Leo XIV’s final remarks, he concluded with a question regarding each and every one of us as people. After acknowledging that God asks us to cultivate and care for the world that he created, which we all are called to do as believers, we must reckon with taking true care of our brothers and sisters. Will we cultivate the earth, care for the environment, and support our loved ones for the benefit of future generations, or in the words of the Pope, “what will be our answer?”

by David Salzillo Jr. '24 on February 16, 2023
Opinion Staff

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Opinion

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The rise and fall of your cryptocurrency empire/Ponzi scheme (sorry, but the truth is the truth) has raised many questions about the model of “effective altruism” you embraced. As for me, I can only think, “If only you had listened to the Church Fathers.”

“Effective altruism,” as advocated for by philosophers like your mentor William MacAskill, proposes “using evidence and reason to figure out how to benefit others as much as possible,” In other words, satisfy your greed, make your fortune, and then give the poor the crumbs that fall from your table. I understand that MacAskill had good intentions and that you may have been a true believer. But either way, effective altruism is nothing more than a cover for greed, covetousness, and injustice.  

Those in the early Church would have understood this well. As disciples of St. Basil the Great put it, “Acts of charity from unjust gains are not acceptable to God.” They remind us of the words of the prophet Isaiah: “Cease to do evil, and learn to do good,” (Isaiah 1:16-17). Really, the prophet tells us to “cease to do evil, and then learn to do good.” You are not doing good if you are not ceasing to do evil. If you are defrauding your customers and then passing off your plunder as charity, then you are not bettering the world with evidence and reason. At best, your offerings towards social justice are a net zero; the world would have been none the poorer if you became a barista at Starbucks. Your pseudo-Enlightenment project only forced the world to place another person in jail.  

Therefore, the Church Fathers challenge us to “possess with justice and dispense with mercy,” (On Mercy and Justice). To possess justice, “the rich should carefully consider their means from which they intend to make offerings, in order to make certain that they have not wielded power over the poor, or used force against the weak, or committed extortion against those in a subordinate position,” (On Mercy and Justice). I challenge you to do the same. I am sure you have heard the saying, “The road to Hell is paved with good intentions.” Good intentions do not stop the cycles of poverty, greed, and exploitation; right actions do. Always “beware of practicing your piety [or, in this case, your charity] before others,” (Matthew 6:1). A small gift unstained by injustice is better than a massive monument to folly.