Priest: Blame man, not God, for climate change

MANILA, Philippines  — A priest from Leyte in his homily on Sunday said God should not be blamed for climate change as it is a consequence of the activities of man.

"Blaming God for climate change is wrong," priest of the Archdiocese of Palo Oscar Lorenzo said in his homily at the Sto. Niño Church in Palo town.

"Whatever is happening to Mother Nature now is a repercussion of the activities of man," he added.

Lorenzo said the person who thinks God "allows" environmental disruption should rather admit that climate change actually started with oneself.

Lorenzo said that as the Catholic faithful enter the Advent season, their lifestyles should be friendly to the environment as they wait for the coming of Christ, whose birth is traditionally celebrated on December 25.

The priest said the frequency of unusually destructive calamities may not yet be the "end of times" referred to in the Bible.

He said, however, that man's acts may be speeding up the signs of the "end of times" by destroying Mother Earth.

Lorenzo cited in his homily folklore describing how deep floods came after the image of Sto. Niño was stolen.

According to the folk tales, people cried that God was punishing them for the loss of the image and added that the flood subsided when another image, that of a first lady of the country, was stolen.

Lorenzo said this mentality is both odd and baseless since the real reason for the disasters is sustained man's habits, which include illegal logging, abusive mining and massive gas emissions.

The homily came as global leaders meet in Paris, France for a United Nations summit in an attempt to come up with a binding agreement to alleviate the effects of climate change and cut down on factors that contribute to it.

President Benigno Aquino III will deliver a keynote speech at the Climate Vulnerable Forum to share the Philippines's experience suffering from disasters attributed to global warming and climate change.