(LifeSiteNews) – Cardinal Peter Turkson, the chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences and the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, lamented during an interview published this week that there are still several Catholic bishops and priests that “deny climate change” despite the purported progress made by Pope Francis’ landmark encyclical letter Laudato Si’ that called for “climate and ecological justice.”

During part of an interview with the Austrian newspaper, Der Sonntag, published September 2 after the Pontifical Academy of Science’s “From Climate Crisis to Climate Resilience in Europe at Local and Regional Levels” conference in Vienna, Turkson praised the Church’s commitment to combating “climate change” in the decade since the publication of Laudato Si’. But the cardinal also notably criticized clergy who continue to deny “climate change,” or dismiss it as irrelevant to the faith.

“I know Bishops and priests who deny climate change and consider the issue irrelevant. But I also know many young people who are passionate about climate protection,” the cardinal said. “So there is both ignorance and commitment.”

“But the Church has created a credible instrument with Laudato Si’. And many of us who represent it do so with great conviction,” he added.

READ: Vatican unveils ‘care of creation’ Mass rooted in Laudato si, ‘theology of creation’

Since its publication in 2015, Laudato Si’ has become the reference text for numerous Vatican and papal initiatives focused on the so-called “green” agenda. In it, the late Argentine pontiff spoke about a “true ecological approach” that listens to “both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor.”

The document has given rise to the Laudato Si’ Movement, which aims to “turn Pope Francis’ encyclical letter Laudato Si’ into action for climate and ecological justice,” as the mass divestment from “fossil fuels” is inspired by the pontiff’s environmental writings.

Later in the interview, Turkson stressed that it is a contradiction for Catholics to disregard environmental concerns.

“Whoever believes in God believes in the Creator. And whoever worships God as Creator cannot at the same time disregard or destroy his creation,” the cardinal said. “That would be a contradiction to one’s own faith. Secondly, in Psalm 19, it says: ‘The heavens declare the glory of God.’ The creation itself is therefore a praise of God.”

“A Christian who does not respect or even exploits creation does not live in harmony with his faith,” he added.

While Turkson is correct that the faithful are tasked with being stewards of the environment, they are not obligated to believe in “climate change,” or is the issue of the environment the most pressing for Catholics, as the cardinal seems to indicate.

READ: Why Catholics should ignore what Pope Francis pronounces in Laudato Si’

“Anthropogenic global warming” (AGW) or “climate change,” the thesis that human activity, rather than natural phenomena, is responsible for Earth’s changing climate and that such trends pose a danger to the planet, is based in large part on manipulated data. AGW proponents suffered a blow in 2010 with the discovery that their leading researchers at the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, East Anglia Climate Research Unit, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration had engaged in widespread data manipulation, flawed climate models, misrepresentation of sources, and suppression of dissenting findings in order to make the so-called “settled science” say what climate activists wanted it to.

Turkson has become notorious for his promotion of environmentalism and population control. In 2015, the Ghanaian cardinal had to explain himself after a controversial BBC interview in which he claimed Pope Francis had called for “a certain amount of birth control” to address the lack of food and other environmental concerns, thus giving credence to the theory that the planet is overpopulated.

READ: Pope Francis appoints environmentalist cardinal as chancellor of Pontifical Academy of Sciences

Turkson has also served as the Vatican’s top liaison to the World Economic Forum, the group behind the infamous “Great Reset” scheme “to revamp all aspects of our societies and economies.” The cardinal delivered remarks at several of WEF’s annual summits during Pope Francis’ pontificate and hosted the Vatican’s own WEF “roundtable” in 2020.

In 2021, Turkson also supported the idea that then-pro-abortion president Joe Biden should continue to be admitted to Holy Communion. The Ghanaian cardinal asserted that the dissident, abortion-promoting “Catholic” Democrat is not in a “state of sin” and that “the Eucharist should not in any way become a weapon.”