Pope Francis
Discusses Ecology with Actor Leonardo DiCaprio
by Thomas D. Williams, Ph.D.29 Jan 2016
On Thursday, Pope Francis met
with Titanic
star Leonardo DiCaprio in the Vatican, where the two reportedly
discussed the care of the environment, among other things.
DiCaprio requested the meeting, which took place from
11:15 to 11:30 in the morning. DiCaprio has worked for years on ecological
issues and sustainability.
The actor spoke on the subject of climate change at the UN COP21 Paris climate conference and at
the World Economic Forum in Davos.
“Our world leaders are here in Paris in an effort to
finalize a global agreement 20 years in the making, to finally address the very
real threat that climate change poses to our planet,” DiCaprio said to a group
of mayors
in early December 2015.
“These leaders have met before. They met in Kyoto, they
met in Copenhagen, and in cities on every continent, but each and every time,
they have come up short. This time must be different, because we are
fundamentally running out of time.”
“Climate change is the most fundamental and existential
threat to our species,” he continued. “The consequences are unthinkable and
worse, it has the potential to make our planet unlivable.”
Earlier last year, DiCaprio came under fire
for having flown on a private jet from NY to LA six times in only six weeks,
while simultaneously urging others not to use fossil fuels.
Not long afterward, the actor returned to New York to
accept a Clinton Global Citizen Award for his environmental preservation
efforts.
Another group mocked
DiCaprio as a “celebrity hypocrite” for having celebrated the World Cup in 2014
aboard a 482-foot super yacht, owned by United Arab Emirates sheik Mansour bin
Zayed Al Nahyan, whose family’s $150 billion fortune came mostly from the sale
of oil.
The Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation funds a project titled Green World Rising, which urges visitors to the website to
“Lighten your carbon load.”
The site says that “we can lead by example in reducing
our own ‘carbon footprints’ at home, at work, and at school,” while not
specifically referring to air travel on private jets.
The arrival of the American star in the Vatican occurred
without publicity, with the name “Mr. Leonardo DiCaprio” appearing on the daily
list of the Pope’s audiences the morning of the meeting.
Pope Francis reportedly gave DiCaprio a leather-bound copy
of his encyclical
letter on the environment Laudato Si and his earlier document, The
Joy of the Gospel.
Leonardo DiCaprio
Leonardo DiCaprio
is a Titanic (1997) actor, a trustee
at the Natural Resources Defense Council,
and was a board member for Global Green
USA.
Note: Natural
Resources Defense Council is a member of the U.S. Climate Action Partnership.
Open
Society Foundations was a funder for the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank), the Human Rights Watch, and the Catholic Relief Services.
George
Soros is the founder & chairman for the Open Society Foundations, was a benefactor for the Human Rights Watch, and was the
chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.
Foundation
to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Human Rights Watch, and the Sundance
Institute.
John J.
Studzinski is a director at the Atlantic
Council of the United States (think tank), a director at the Human Rights Watch, and a papal knighthood knight.
papal knighthood
is an honor conferred by pope from the Roman
Catholic Church.
Pope Francis I
is the pope for the Roman Catholic
Church.
Robert Redford
is a trustee at the Natural Resources
Defense Council, the founder & president for the Sundance Institute, and an honorary board member for Green Cross International.
Robert Redford
Robert
Redford an honorary board member for Green Cross International.
Global Green USA
is a US affiliate for Green Cross International.
Mikhail Gorbachev
is the founder of Green Cross
International, was the general secretary Communist Party of the Soviet Union, and the president of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).
Leonardo DiCaprio
was a board member for the Global Green
USA, is a trustee at the Natural Resources Defense Council, and
a Titanic (1997) actor.
Patricia E.
Mitchell is a board member for the Global
Green USA, the vice chair for the Sundance
Institute, was a director at the Human
Rights Watch, the president of CNN
Productions, and an executive in charge of original productions for the Turner Broadcasting System Inc.
Patricia E. Mitchell
Patricia E. Mitchell
Patricia E. Mitchell an honorary board member for Green Cross
International.
Ted
Turner is the founder of CNN,
the founder of the Turner Broadcasting
System Inc, and an honorary board member for Green Cross International.
Ted Turner
Ted Turner
an honorary board member for Green Cross
International.
Global Green USA
is a US affiliate for Green Cross International.
Leonardo DiCaprio
was a board member for the Global Green
USA, is a trustee at the Natural Natural
Resources Defense Council, and a Titanic
(1997) actor.
Natural
Resources Defense Council is a member of the U.S. Climate Action Partnership.
Barbra
Streisand Foundation was a funder for the Natural Natural Resources Defense Council, and the Human Rights Watch.
John J.
Studzinski is a director at the Human
Rights Watch, a director at the Atlantic
Council of the United States (think tank), and a papal knighthood knight.
papal knighthood
is an honor conferred by pope from the Roman
Catholic Church.
Pope Francis I
is the pope for the Roman Catholic
Church.
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