Death of a Pope Who Championed the Environment
United Methodist Insight Updates April 21, 2025
United Methodist Bishop Mary Ann Swenson greets Pope Francis in Geneva, Switzerland, in 2018, during the commemoration of the World Council of Churches’ 70th anniversary. The leader of the Catholic Church spoke about the significance of Catholic involvement in ecumenical work and pledged his commitment to the cause of Christian unity. United Methodists around the world are mourning Pope Francis, who died April 21 at age 88. (File photo by Albin Hillert, World Council of Churches)
United Methodists offer remembrances of Pope Francis – honored by some as the world’s greatest environmental champion – as they prepare to celebrate Earth Day.
United Methodists Remember Pope Francis
United Methodists are among the prominent church leaders paying tribute to the late Pope Francis. The pope “embodied qualities so needed in our world today: humility, curiosity, faith and courage,” said one United Methodist bishop.
Pope Francis and the Sun by Bill McKibben
Perhaps the world's greatest environmental champion, Pope Francis, is dead, writes environmentalist Bill McKibben. Francis' great epistle, Laudauto Si, rightly pegs the climate crisis as a spiritual issue more than a technical one.
10 Last-Minute Tips to Observe Earth Day by Crys Zinkiewicz
Earth Day comes on April 22, and Crys Zinkiewicz and UM Creation Justice Movement have some ideas to mark the observance and care for Mother Earth.
UWFaith Celebrates Earth Day with Webinar by Ilka Vega
United Women in Faith will hold a webinar featuring Dr. Grace Ji-Sun Kim to celebrate Earth Day on April 22.
The Last Good Man by Richard Bryant
Pope Francis is dead. He said unsettling things: that God was found among the poor, the strange, the unloved. He spoke of mercy as if it were not an asterisk but the headline.