Washington – Congressman Jerry McNerney (CA-09) issued the following statement in response to Pope Francis’ historic address to a joint session of Congress:
“Pope Francis delivered an inspirational message to the American people, rightfully calling on us all to treat everyone with a sense of dignity and respect, with the same level of compassion we would hope that others would show to us. I hope that the Pope’s aspirational words about working together for the common good resonate with people all across our nation. The Pope also urged us to be stewards of the earth – to nurture the environment and ‘redirect our steps’ when it comes to combating the threat of climate change so that future generations will be able to enjoy the natural resources of our planet that we do now. I agree that Congress does have a critical role to play and we should not delay in confronting this significant environmental challenge of our time. Working together, we can harness the technologies and innovative ideas that will result in communities with less pollution and healthier families, a cleaner environment, and a sustainable future where we all thrive.”
Ahead of Pope Francis’ visit, Rep. McNerney joined fellow House Democrats in a video message calling on the Pope to discuss ways to take action on climate change.
Rep. McNerney’s message in the video is as follows:
“Pope Francis, thank you for your work on climate change. We must support clean power alternatives such as wind and solar to keep our environment healthy for the sake of families here in America and around the world.”
The video message can be viewed on YouTube using this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUxiBmPWvHs&feature=youtu.be.
Photo provided by the Office of Congressman Jerry McNerney
