The Claim
Disclose.tv took to Twitter on Tuesday to post: “NEW - Pope Francis is warning that mankind ‘faces a second flood’ if political leaders do not address climate change, in a book released Tuesday,” in a tweet that gained more than 800 likes and 200 retweets.
Another user tweeted a similar claim: “Pope Francis warns of a second ‘great flood’ from global warming.”
The Facts
Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera on February 28 released excerpts of “Of Vices and Virtues” in which Pozza, who is the chaplain of the Due Palazzi prison in Padua, published his interview with Pope Francis.
The pope offered his thoughts on subjects such as anger and bullying, the wrath of God, the act of governing, and faith and doubt in the book that was released on Tuesday by Rizzoli publishers.
In the Vatican’s February 28 online announcement of the book, only partial excerpts of those released in Corriere della Sera’s article were included.
Pope Francis delved into matters of climate change regarding “God’s wrath,” in his interview with Pozza by mentioning a popular biblical story.
“God’s wrath is meant to bring justice, ‘clean up.’ The flood is the result of God’s wrath, the Bible says,” the pope said in the released excerpts regarding Noah and the flood in the Bible’s book of Genesis. In the story, God flooded the earth to wipe out and reset humanity from its corruption.
The pope continued by mentioning the biblical flood is a mythical tale, according to experts, although “the flood is a historical tale, archaeologists say, because they found traces of a flood in their excavations.”
He then issued a warning and said humanity might see another flood if actions related to the climate do not change.
“A great deluge, perhaps due to a rise in temperature and the melting of the glaciers: what will happen now if we continue on the same path,” the pope said. “God unleashed his wrath, but he saw a righteous one, took him and saved him. The story of Noah demonstrates that God’s wrath is also a savior.”
“Of Vices and Virtues,” which translates in Italian to “Dei vizi e delle virtù,” can be purchased online.
The Ruling
True.
Pope Francis warns of the possibility of an impending great flood in “Of Vices and Virtues” as a result of climate change if humans do not change their actions. The book was released on Tuesday.
