Bob Destro , professor, law, was interviewed on the Diane Rehm Show on Laudato Si . See below.
From: The Diane Rehm Show Date: June 18, 2015
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DESTRO: Well, an encyclical is a teaching document, and basically it lays out, as Father Reese said, it lays out a moral framework for discussion. And the pope's very clear at the very beginning of it, I'm going to lay out the science, I'm going to lay out the morals, I'm going to lay out some suggestions, and it's actually very well
REHM: Exactly.
DESTRO: You know, but what's really clear to me is that if you begin with his orientation, in Paragraph 67, he says we are not God. He says we are creatures, and we are a part of this creation. And that settles, in one respect it kind of roots the conversation.
REHM: Is this the first time a pope has taken on the climate?
DESTRO: No, no, no, actually he refers to several of his predecessors, and this question of responsibility for God's creation runs through hundreds of years' worth of documents. So this is just -- this is not new. This is the current pope's add-in.
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Read more about Destro's expertise .