How Pope Leo will approach climate change is unclear, but the vibe is positive

Pope Francis denounced the insatiable consumerism that drives the destruction of the Amazon .

He denounced extractive industries and conservation efforts that “under the guise of preserving the forest, hoard great expanses of woodland and negotiate with them, leading to situations of oppression for the Native peoples”.

In 2022 , Francis officially apologized to Canada for the residential schools that ripped Indigenous children from their families, leading to the deaths of many who were later buried in unmarked graves.

He rejected the Doctrine of Discovery , a religious concept that colonizers used to justify the illegal seizure of land from Indigenous peoples.

Francis ’ progressivism had its limits, but could have implemented “more direct institutional action”.

Pope Leo XIV was critical of the government’s human rights abuses in Peru in the 1990s .

He refrained from taking sides in the fight between Maoist rebels and the government of then-dictator Alberto Fujimori .

In 2016 , the would-be pontiff spoke at a conference in Brazil where attendees talked about threats to the Amazon rainforest and Indigenous peoples who lived there.