Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday delivered a forceful call for global action to tackle climate change, demanding citizens to put pressure on governments to implement tougher environmental regulations and stressing that harming the planet is fundamentally incompatible with the Christian faith.

In his first major environmental address since his election in May, the American pontiff told an international conference, “We cannot love God, whom we cannot see, while despising his creatures.” He insisted that everyone in society, including non-governmental organizations and advocacy groups must put pressure on governments to develop and implement more rigorous regulations, procedures and controls.

The conference, “Raising Hope for Climate Justice,” was held at the papal summer residence in Castel Gandolfo.

The event was organized by the Laudato si’ Movement and saw attendees including actor and former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Continuing Francis’s Legacy

Pope Leo XIV, who has signaled his intent to continue his predecessor’s focus on the climate crisis, paid tribute to Pope Francis’s 2015 encyclical, which established environmental stewardship as a moral imperative for Catholics and connected environmental degradation with poverty.

Leo referenced the upcoming COP30 climate change conference in Brazil, expressing hope that it and other summits will listen to the cry of the Earth and the cry of the poor, families, indigenous peoples, involuntary migrants and believers throughout the world.

The Pope’s remarks came just over a week after President Donald Trump publicly called climate change the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world during a speech at the United Nations General Assembly.