Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer laid into a Catholic priest for appearing to question Pope Francis's warning on the dangers of global warming.
In an alternately snide and angry exchange during a hearing Wednesday, the California lawmaker needled the Rev. Robert Sirico of the conservative Acton Institute,
the Daily Caller reports.
"So do you disagree with the pope when he says that climate change is one of the biggest issues?" Boxer asked.
"I'm very grateful for your defense of the pope," Sirico replied. "Perhaps not in all of his magisterial authority and the cherry-picking of this or that."
Boxer then snapped, "I can ask you what I want," the Daily Caller reports. "Do you disagree with the pope on climate change, it's a simple yes or no."
Last year, Pope Francis
published an encyclical blaming humans for global warming.
"When the pope says things that have to do with science, he does not speak from the magisterial authority of the church," Sirico replied. "When he speaks on moral issues, such as abortion and contraception and the like, then he speaks on magisterial authority."
"So who's cherry-picking?" Boxer shot back. "You're saying that when the planet is facing all these problems, it's not a moral issue."
"I never said that," Sirico replied. "Where did I say that? Could you give me that quotation, senator?"
"You just said it, sir," she volleyed. "Sir, you receive money form the Koch brothers, from Exxon, you disagree with the pope.... I think you ought to have a talk with Reverend [Herbert] Nelson."
"Who is by the way, not a scientist," Sirico noted, the Daily Caller reports.
Nelson paneled the hearing, and told Congress he's worried about the impacts of global warming.
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