Pope Francis has asked the faithful to join in prayer for the victims of an avalanche triggered by the melting of a glacier in northern Italy, highlighting the effects of climate change.
Pope Francis invited Catholics - and anyone else interested - to join a seven-year journey to widen the reach of his 2015 encyclical on the environment in a time of global climate change.
The Vatican stressed that the movement to combat climate change is unstoppable and worldwide, although it said it would welcome a U.S. return to the Paris agreement.
Pope Francis is opening a divisive meeting on preserving the Amazon and ministering to its indigenous peoples, as he fends off attacks from conservatives opposed to his ecological agenda.
