As an update to the post I had here in mid-November, it is now being confirmed that Pope Francis is prepping an encyclical, a letter to bishops and people worldwide, on the environment:
The Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, said the document was still very much in its early stages and that no publication date has been set. He said it would be about ecology and more specifically the "ecology of man."
Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI, dubbed the "green pope" for his environmental concerns, used the term "ecology of man" to describe not only how people must defend and respect nature but how the nature of the person — masculine and feminine as created by God — must also be defended.
I think the Pope will have a part talking about fracking as well.
Brian Roewe at the National Catholic Reporter thinks so too:
Francis held up anti-fracking and gold-mining shirts -- the pope "mentioned that he is preparing an encyclical about nature, humans and environmental pollution."
Back in Nov, the Pope was photographed with activists from South America protesting fracking and mining.
Check out my old post for more info on that.