--- title: Pope Francis Encyclical on Climate Change Praised by John Kerry description: Secretary of State John Kerry praised Pope Francis' encyclical on climate change, saying that religious engagement can help spur agreement. canonical: https://time.com/3926306/pope-francis-encyclical-climate-change-john-kerry/ author: Elizabeth Dias article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-06-18T14:26:27.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:47:57.934Z article:section: Politics og:title: John Kerry Praises Pope Francis' Climate Change Encyclical og:description: "The Pope’s powerful encyclical calls for a common response." og:url: https://time.com/3926306/pope-francis-encyclical-climate-change-john-kerry/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt768ea05934626144/698855225f570f3862b1c0de/pope-francis-john-kerry.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 594 og:image:height: 334 og:image:alt: Pope Francis speaks with Secretary of State John Kerry (R) during a private audience with US President Barack Obama on March 27, 2014 at the Vatican. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: John Kerry Praises Pope Francis' Climate Change Encyclical twitter:description: "The Pope’s powerful encyclical calls for a common response." twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt768ea05934626144/698855225f570f3862b1c0de/pope-francis-john-kerry.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # John Kerry Praises Pope Francis' Climate Change Encyclical > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=1bb31005-68d4-4d5f-8bae-1e45cfbcb3c4&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: 2013 Person of the Year: Pope Francis Reimagines the Papacy [Watch (HLS stream): 2013 Person of the Year: Pope Francis Reimagines the Papacy](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/aYRnrfUV.m3u8) (3:30)  _Published 2013-12-11. From his comments on gays to his penchant for Twitter, Pope Francis's every move has garnered strong reactions from the world media._ by [Elizabeth Dias](https://time.com/author/elizabeth-dias/) ## Elizabeth Dias Jun 18, 2015 2:26 PM UTC  Pope Francis speaks with Secretary of State John Kerry (R) during a private audience with US President Barack Obama on March 27, 2014 at the Vatican. Pope Francis speaks with Secretary of State John Kerry (R) during a private audience with US President Barack Obama on March 27, 2014 at the Vatican. SAUL LOEB—AFP/Getty Images by [Elizabeth Dias](https://time.com/author/elizabeth-dias/) ## Elizabeth Dias Jun 18, 2015 2:26 PM UTC Secretary of State John Kerry called [Pope Francis’ encyclical](http://time.com/3925736/pope-francis-climate-change-encyclical-laudato-si/) a “powerful” statement on the threat of climate change Thursday. Kerry, who is Catholic, told TIME in a statement that religious engagement on the issue will help spur agreement at the upcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris. --- > “” --- Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs Sheba Crocker met with Vatican officials, including the Holy See’s Undersecretary for Relations with States Antoine Camilleri, on May 26 at the Holy See to discuss climate change and Pope Francis’ 2015 Development goals. “When he speaks on issues—whether it’s on climate change, alleviating poverty, or peace and security issues—it just has a real resonance and that’s something that we find incredibly useful,” Crocker says. “It’s so important for Pope Francis to be speaking in the way that he is—with such a clear voice. He brings such a moral authority to these questions, and his voice resonates in a way throughout the world, which we think provides him with crucial impetus—both political and moral—to help us reach an agreement in Paris at the end of the year.” It’s another sign that the Obama administration is hoping to leverage Pope Francis’ efforts on shared commitments, especially in advance of his upcoming trip to the U.S. In September. “We have really renewed energy—strong leadership from the United States, but also countries from around the world, and I think real dedication and commitment to try to reach a durable agreement in Paris, which is the historic step, obviously, at the end of this year,” Crocker tells TIME. “It’s a top priority for the administration.” U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See Ken Hackett was at the Vatican press conference Thursday morning for the encyclical’s release. ## Transcript -[ Foreign Language ] >> He is the first named Francis, the first from Latin America, the first Jesuit. >> The first to take selfies, and make personal phone calls in reply to letters written by ordinary Catholics. >> A pope who carries his own bag. A pope who abandoned the isolating opulence of the Vatican's papal apartment for more modest Vatican digs. >> This man who served as a cardinal in Buenos Aires, where he lived a modest life and is known as something of a champion for the poor. -[ Foreign Language ] >> Francis is the choice of cardinals said to be divided into 2 factions: the reformers who want to clean up the Vatican's dysfunctional bureaucracy and focus on bringing new energy to this global institution, and the old guard who want to maintain the status quo. -[ Foreign Language ] >> He has a very open mind in order to analyze all the themes. For him, there is not a closed theme. -" We cannot insist only on issues related to abortion, gay marriage, and the use of contraceptive methods ." >> And specific about gay priests. " If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge ?" >> Choosing to become Pope Francis, he takes the name of 13th century preacher, Saint Francis Assisi, who lived a life of poverty. >> And he spoke of material things saying, " Love of money is the root of all evil ." -[ Foreign Language ] >> He seems somebody who lives out the teachings of Christ. Incredible humility, incredible sense of empathy to the least of these, to the poor. >> He comes from a country where the church has had to learn how to be missionary again, and I think he wants the entire church to learn from that experience. >> And he's also somebody who's, I think, first and foremost, thinking about how to embrace people as opposed to push them away. How to find what's good in them as opposed to condemn them. -[ Foreign Language ] >> Vinicio went with his aunt, Caterina, to St. Peter's Square, where Pope Francis approached him, and without a moment's hesitation, kissed and hugged him. " When he embraced me ," he recalls, " I quivered and I felt a great warmth ." >> He laughs with a big laugh, and it's coming out from his heart, because he knows that he must transmit an image of hope, of a-- of hope through his laugh. -[ Foreign Language ] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3926306/pope-francis-encyclical-climate-change-john-kerry/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3926306/pope-francis-encyclical-climate-change-john-kerry/"},"headline":"John Kerry Praises Pope Francis' Climate Change Encyclical","datePublished":"2015-06-18T14:26:27.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-19T07:47:57.934Z","description":"Secretary of State John Kerry praised Pope Francis' encyclical on climate change, saying that religious engagement can help spur agreement.","url":"https://time.com/3926306/pope-francis-encyclical-climate-change-john-kerry/","keywords":["faith","Environment","climate change","White House","Pope Francis","John F. 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