CNN
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When Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected to lead the Catholic church in 2013, he chose the papal name Francis, after the 13th-century figure St. Francis of Assisi, known as the patron saint of ecologists and champion of the poor.
It was a befitting choice. Pope Francis was the fiercest climate and environment advocate in the church’s history.
The pope spoke often about the importance of environmental stewardship in a way none of his predecessors had, connecting climate change to social inequities, going so far as to blame industry, world leaders and “irresponsible” Western lifestyles for the worsening crisis.
In his landmark 2015…
