<p class="bodytext">Pope Francis is encouraging grass-roots movements to protect the environment after coronavirus lockdowns have “revealed once more the beauty of so many places free from traffic and noise.”</p>.<p class="bodytext">Francis, speaking to a few hundred people gathered in St. Peter's Square on Sunday, encouraged initiatives to care for the planet that began as a result of the pandemic, such as one on Sunday to clean up the banks of the Tiber River in Rome.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Francis has made environmental protection a hallmark of his papacy and just this past week, the Vatican released a guide on implementing his 2015 encyclical “Praised Be,” which blamed wealthy countries and corporate interests for destroying the Earth in search of profit.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Scientists around the world are studying the effects of lockdowns and industrial shutdowns on air and sea pollution as well as wildlife.</p>
<p class="bodytext">Pope Francis is encouraging grass-roots movements to protect the environment after coronavirus lockdowns have “revealed once more the beauty of so many places free from traffic and noise.”</p>.<p class="bodytext">Francis, speaking to a few hundred people gathered in St. Peter's Square on Sunday, encouraged initiatives to care for the planet that began as a result of the pandemic, such as one on Sunday to clean up the banks of the Tiber River in Rome.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Francis has made environmental protection a hallmark of his papacy and just this past week, the Vatican released a guide on implementing his 2015 encyclical “Praised Be,” which blamed wealthy countries and corporate interests for destroying the Earth in search of profit.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Scientists around the world are studying the effects of lockdowns and industrial shutdowns on air and sea pollution as well as wildlife.</p>