Pope Francis is convening a landmark climate change conference April 28 in Vatican City. Entitled "Protect the Earth, Dignify Humanity: The Moral Dimensions of Climate Change and Sustainable Development," the meeting will feature an opening address by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (shown with the pope in 2013) as well as statements and panel discussions involving 60 world religious leaders and scientists. The day-long event is sponsored by the Pontifical Academies of Sciences and Social Sciences, the UN's Sustainable Development Solutions Network, and Religions for Peace, a non-governmental organization (NGO) headquartered at the United Nations in New York City.
Bishop Sanchez Sorondo, chancellor of the Pontifical Academies of Sciences and Social Sciences, told the Catholic aid agency CAFOD that the pope hopes to influence the UN's climate change talks scheduled to begin this November in Paris....