Is Climate Change the New Doctrine of The Catholic Church?

At Castel Gandolfo last week, Pope Leo XIV managed to make global headlines—but not for preaching the gospel. Instead, he solemnly blessed a block of ice at the Raising Hope for Climate Justice conference.
The gesture, intended as a symbol of melting glaciers and a warming world, was met with laughter and disbelief. “Will this become Holy Water?” one observer quipped online. Others were blunter: the papacy, they said, has become climate theater.
The pope’s symbolism was meant to inspire. Instead, it revealed something troubling: the Vatican’s moral authority is being melted down into a prop for environmental politics. When the Bishop of Rome plays to the gallery with ice blocks and photo ops, the message is clear: faith is be …