Sandra M. Mazo-Nix: Pope shows rare leadership

The Sept. 27 editorial “A profound papal message” clearly described what makes Pope Francis a leader. It seems lately we don’t have too many of those in our world, someone who goes back to the fundamentals and has most of the world listening and considering his words.

Pope Francis showed us how many of the current main problems – the earth’s deterioration, poverty, war, immigration – are all interrelated.

I hope the pope’s message resonates not only in Congress and with the audience at the United Nations but also with the common folk. We need to become more aware of the repercussions of climate change, not just for the climate per se, but for everyone, particularly the poor.

I hope the example of leadership shown by Pope Francis will be emulated by other people and the discussion about climate change is kept alive so actions are taken.

Pope Francis didn’t discuss the specifics of what should be done, but at least as a leader, he expressed that we must address this problem urgently. It will be up to us and our elected officials to act to mitigate climate change and become resilient to whatever the future might bring.

This story was originally published October 6, 2015 at 5:33 PM with the headline "Sandra M. Mazo-Nix: Pope shows rare leadership."