Pope Francis receives the German Luisa Neubauer, who railed on Instagram against the alleged “repression and criminalization” of climate activists.
Vatican City – Luisa Neubauer criticized the alleged “repression and criminalization” of climate activists after a highly publicized visit to Pope Francis. The head of the Catholic Church had previously expressed sympathy for climate movements such as “Fridays for Future” – and called on politicians to act.
Fridays for Future: Pope Francis receives climate activist Luisa Neubauer
This obviously meant a lot to Neubauer. The representative of the activist group “Fridays for Future” wrote to the pontiff on Instagram: “It was an honor for us that you were our host at a crucial moment in contemporary history and that you provided a platform for our demand, climate activists against oppression and To defend criminalization.”
This Thursday (October 5th), the Papal States invited people to a press conference in the Vatican under the title “Laudate Deum – Voices and Testimonies on the Climate Crisis”. Among the participants committed to sustainability and climate protection was the Italian Nobel Prize winner in physics, Giorgio Parisi, and Neubauer.
What scares her “is not just the crisis. What scares me is how our political leaders will respond to this crisis. Pope Francis is right to be deeply concerned,” said the 27-year-old from Hamburg in her speech to representatives of the Vatican City in the Italian metropolis of Rome and to the climate activists present.
Luisa Neubauer in the Vatican: Climate activist sharply criticizes governments
“Instead of holding accountable those who continue to burn fossil fuels, governments have begun criminalizing those who defend land and life,” Neubauer continued. “They started portraying us as ‘radicalized,'” she said. “I used to be afraid of the climate crisis. What scares me now is how we as climate activists should continue in the escalating climate of oppression and criminalization.”
Neubauer spoke emotionally in front of the Vatican about the “empty promises” of governments and “hopelessness.” She called for climate activists to be “protected” and asked the Catholic Church to “become a true ally of those fighting on the front lines.”
Pope Francis has sympathy for “Fridays for Future”
“Fridays for Future”, founded in August 2018 as a movement by schoolchildren and students, advocates for quick and efficient climate protection measures. In Germany, Neubauer is one of the main organizers of the climate strike. At the beginning of the year, Neubauer was taken away with around 100 other demonstrators during the sit-in in the brown coal mining town of Lützerath.
Pope Francis had loudly Süddeutscher Zeitung (SZ) Meanwhile, he has repeatedly expressed his understanding and sympathy for the “Fridays for Future” movement. He also urged politicians to address the causes of climate change. Because, says Francis: “The world that surrounds us is crumbling.” (pm)
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