Pope Francis has challenged Latin America’s youth to take up his environmental protection campaign, saying the defence of God’s creation is not just a recommendation but a requirement.
Francis’ appeal, delivered at Quito’s Catholic University, is particularly relevant for Ecuador, a Pacific nation that is home to one of the world’s most species-diverse ecosystems in the Galapagos Islands and Amazon rainforest, but is also an Opec country heavily dependent on oil extraction.
The pontiff told students and professors that God gave humanity the Earth to not only cultivate, but to care for - a message he framed earlier this month in his headline-grabbing encyclical on the environment.
