The World is a real mess. Divided, demoralized, on the precipice of environmental destruction. We need a true hero to pull us out of this turmoil and help us save ourselves and our planet. There is one man who can do that … the Pope!

1. that Saved the Planet
The Pope

2. by
Joy Meredith

3. The World is a real mess.
Divided, demoralized, on the precipice of environmental destruction.
We need a true hero to pull us out of this turmoil
and help us save ourselves and our planet.
There is one man who can do that …

4. The Pope

5. In the beginning God created
… the Earth.

6. Sure, Heaven too, but as far as we’re aware
that’s still you know— heavenly.
So the Earth and its greatest challenge
Climate Change
is where we too shall begin.
For the love of Cronutt
this must STOP!!

7. Women’s Rights
Of course, there are many other
important pressing socioeconomic
issues that are in need of addressing.
But if we don’t also focus on the
Climate Emergency
all other problems will cease
to matter when
the Earth is uninhabitable.
Economic InstabilityIncome Inequality
Racial Justice

8. Now Pope Francis is no superhero
(although he does have a fabulous cape)
So what can he do
?

9. Well, before we get to him let’s talk about me…
Hi, I’m Joy 👋
And I’m the last person, well maybe not the last
person, you’d think would be approaching the
Pope on a project. You see I’m not only not
Catholic, or Christian… I’m not anything.
(As in, not a believer of any organized religion.)
But I know a good man when I see one and
Pope Francis is a good man.
And there is no one I can think of who can pull
together our divided world at this particular time
than him. He transcends the political, the cultural
and with his usual warmth and openness invites all
that are people of goodwill to work with him.
Who better to save our world then a man with a soul this full of love?!

10. A little background…
The Pope has already begun a mission to combat what he calls the
Socio-environmental Crisis that scientists have told us needs to be
addressed this decade or within 30 years it might be too late.
His solution: Integral Ecology 🌎 as in “everything in the world is
connected”. This interconnectedness includes environmental,
economic, political, social, cultural, and ethical issues.

11. In order to get to an Integral Ecological fix for
our intertwined problems we need to be brave,
bold and blunt about what is causing our issues
and then put every option on the table and be
willing to sacrifice some of our own stances for
the good of our planet and
all mankind.

12. While politicians, business leaders and environmentalists
fight about which element
( fossil fuels, vehicle emissions, even cows 🐄 💨 )
is to blame
Scientists know there is one overlaying factor
that seems too touchy for many to take on,
yet is the true key in this all
…

13. Over Population

14. It took 200,000+ years to get to a
population of a billion, then 126 years
to get to our second billion, then
30
14
13
12..
We simply can not manage a
population that continues to
grow at this rate!
Sure, we could probably manage the
physical space to have each person
actually on the planet but we do not
have the natural resource and pollution
capacity to absorb all that this amount
of people produces.
worldometers.info

15. Now brace yourself, I’m about to be blunt.
But we are adults who need to thoughtfully consider
anything viable to save our planet and its inhabitants.
And if you think about it long enough you’ll arrive
at the same conclusion. Until we can live on Mars
( get going Elon! )
we need to be practical and get real about the
only feasible solution that is available at this time.
And that is …

16. Birth Control

17. Warned you it was tricky 😬
Because even if every person from every nation started
recycling, went vegan, and only wore sustainable clothing
while someone created a magical solution to mix the perfect
amount of capitalism with a social safety net -
- the one thing that will help solve human destruction is still
going to be getting our population growth under control.
Note: We should definitely still move forward with
these and many other solutions simultaneously
but this calls for a multi-front approach.

18. And to be crystal clear
I mean providing it
to those who want it for
prevention and family planning
not as a coercive demand
!

19. Ok, I said it Birth Control is the #1 Climate Change solution.
Which should be great news because we already have
this technology and we know it’s safe for most and
also supports many other Integral Ecology goals.
But, here is the rub:
This solution goes against the Catholic and
many other religious doctrines.
So we need to find a way to open up this dialogue.

20. Jesus never mentioned birth control
so
why are Christian folks against it
?

21. Well, let’s quickly explore the 3 main religious moral objections
and ponder if there is another way to see this issue 🤔
God’s Word: Be fruitful and multiply.
🤔 This was said to Adam & Eve when there were 2 humans.
Today at ~8 Billion, time to declare mission accomplished!
Note: Jesus did not have children, nor (most) Popes.
Taking a Life: Thou shall not kill.
🤔 Stopping an egg from being fertilized is not killing
anything. Actually, prevention means far less abortions.
God’s Will: It is stopping God’s will.
🤔 If God wanted a woman pregnant He would impregnate
her as was done with Mary.
Also if we all followed God’s will literally we wouldn’t be
using most medical interventions including pacemakers,
which thankfully saved Pope Benedict XVI’s life.

22. A few other objections:
Tradition: Many devout Catholics will believe it goes against the church’s
teachings and traditions and will resist this change and provoke a backlash.
🤔 But this is how it always is with change. As we advance in our
understanding and logic, our thinking and actions must too.
Jesus was considered a troublemaker to his faith’s leaders.
Numbers: Historically, institutions of any kind do not want to slow their
chances of creating the most members they can (including birthing them).
But in many parts of the world, including the U.S., the numbers are
decreasing with younger generations rejecting rigid rules and adherence to
doctrine of centuries and centuries past.
🤔 This is actually a wonderful opportunity to enroll the youth of
today who are eager for leadership on climate issues. And also
reunite various other Christian followers, who were once turned
away, in a more unified message around Jesus’ teachings.
Jesus was of his time he wasn’t preaching about the ways of
2000 BC— thus we also need to be of our time.

23. The hottest topic in the U.S. political divide is the one of abortion.
It has divided us as a nation to the point where it has turned
friends and family members against each other.
But here again is where science and math can get us to a win-win:
More birth control means less abortions.
It is a fact.

24. Let’s Talk About Sex…
Past interpretations of scripture have been that only married
people who want to create children have sex.
This ideal was envisioned when girls were married off at around 12
(the age Mary was when impregnated) which happens to also be
when Mother Nature begins menstruation.
We do not want in our modern society girls married off, having sex
and procreating at this young age, so if we changed that norm it is
long past time to consider changing this one.

25. Getting back to the Pope and why he would want to take this
chance to go against long held church beliefs…
Because unlike ages ago when the church was resistant to
embrace science (Galileo) or stand up to political dictators (WWII)
this pope has embraced knowledge and science in particular.
He knows that to let our planet be poisoned on his watch and
take the church’s followers and the rest of mankind to extinction
would serve no-one. And would be an exercise in foolish pride.
Which would be a sin (#7).

26. In order to save our planet we must unite all people in this one goal.
Luckily there is already a model for bringing the world together:
The United Nations
One of the UN’s initiatives is to dispense contraception;
which not only helps reduce millions of abortions a year
but improves:
Poverty
Malnutrition
Educating Girls
AIDS Prevention
Gender Equality
Health
Birth control saves lives!

27. Going back to the Pope’s mission for Integral Ecology…
Each element of an improved world
environmental
economic
political
social
cultural
ethical issues
is made more possible when women are able to access birth control.

28. Of course this is not an insignificant thing,
but by making an announcement granting
birth control should be available—
it would change the trajectory of this issue overnight.
One statement could alter the fate of humanity.
(Not hyperbole- it truly could!)

29. It could also alter (no pun intended) the strength of the
Catholic Church and its influence in the world.
Pope Francis could use his leadership on this issue as an example
of where he was willing to take Jesus’ message of love and
live the example
To put love of humanity and our shared home before
doctrine and dogma.

30. My Vision
The Pope takes in this idea, consults his scientific and ethical advisors,
prays on it and feels called to make a statement that birth control
is no longer at odds with his direction for the church.
He then works with the United Nations and willing faith leaders
to create an interfaith-platform to lead all people of good will
on this same mission of: Integral Ecology
I see the young folks, like Greta Thunberg and Prince William
(and his Earthshot Prize) joining together with him on this goal.
Like Gandhi, Martin Luther King jr. and Nelson Mandela
spoke up for justice and peace in their time.
This is Pope Francis' time to call us all to our better angels.

31. In times like no other with such a huge and consequential issue
he might be the only person who can…

32. Save the Planet

33. Amen!
Peace, Love & Joy
@JoyMeredith