06/18/15 06/18/15 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from pacifica, this is democracy now! >> at this point we haven't nine victims -- have nine victims in this crime that has been coitted. >> do believe this was a hate crime? >> do believe this was a hate crime. amy: a white gunman is still a large after killg nine people during a bible study at the histor emanuel african methodist episcopachurch in charleston, south carolina. it is one of the largest and oldest black congregations in the south. the church's pastor clementa pinckney, a state senator, was believed to be among the victims. we will speak to the head of the south carolina naacp. then pope francis calls for decisive action, here and now on climate change urging world leaders to hear "the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor."

>> our house is going to ruin and that harms everyone, especially the poorest. mine is an appeal for responsibility based on the task that god has given to men in creation, keep the garden in which he was placed. i invite everyone to accept with open-heart this document which follows the churches social doctrine. amy: we will speak to naomi klein, author of, "this changes everything: capitalism vs. the climate," as well as nathan schneider, columnist at america magazine, a national catholic weekly magazine published by the jesuits. all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. police are searching for a gunman who opened fire inside a historic black church in south carolina, killing nine people and wounding several others. the victims were attending bible study at the emanuel african methodist episcopal church when the attack occurred, shortly after 9:00 p.m. charleston police gregory mullen called the massacre a hate crime.

>> we are looking for a white male approximately 21 years old sandy blond hair. he obviously is extremely dangerous. what we are asking as anyone in the community, if they have information about this particular individual, he contact law-enforcement immediately. >> do you believe this was a hate crime? >> i do believe this was a hate crime. amy: the known victims include the church's pastor, the reverend clementa pinckney, and his sister. reverend pinckney also served as a state senator. just hours earlier, he had campaigned with democratic hopeful hillary clinton in charleston. after meeting with the victims families, charleston mayor joseph riley described a heartbreaking scene. >> as the said, our city police department, county police department, state law enforcement division other municipalities, the fbi, and others are all combined in working with us to make sure that we catch this awful person and bring him to justice as soon as possible. we just left speaking with

members of the family. it was a heartbreaking scene i have never witnessed in my life before. amy: known as "mother emanuel," the emanuel ame church is home to the oldest black congregation south of baltimore. it was burned in the during a 1820's slave rebellion, and has stood at its present location since 1872. we will have more from charleston after the headlines. eurozone finance ministers are holding crisis talks today over the threat of greece defaulting on its debts and dropping out of the eurozone. the greek government and european creditors are at odds over a deal before greece's current bailout expires at the end of month. the greek government has rejected european demands for further pension cuts in exchange for a new loan to help greece meet its obligations. ahead of today's meeting, european commissioner valdis dombrovskis said the onus is on greece. >> the conditions for reaching the agreement are observed what is needed now is really political will from the greek side to do this effort, to do

the final push to reach the agreement. amy: on wednesday, thousands of people rallied in athens in a show of support for the government's rejection of more european-backed austerity. a deadline has passed in the dominican republic for undocumented workers of haitian descent to register their presence or risk mass deportation. half a million people would be sent to haiti under a ruling that stripped the citizenship of children born to haitian immigrants in the dominican republic as far back as 1929 retroactively leaving tens of thousands without citizenship. on wednesday, thousands of people lined up across the country to register before a midnight deadline. state officials say they will begin patrolling migrant neighborhoods to look for those who have not signed up. the dominican republic's decision to denationalize hundreds of thousands of people has sparked an international outcry. attacks from a group linked to the islamic state have killed dozens of people in the yemeni capital of sanaa. militants targeted three mosques and a political office tied to the houthi rebel movement, which has seized control of sanaa and other parts of the country. the violence comes amid talks in geneva to end yemen's internal

conflict between the houthis and the exiled government backed by saudi arabia. houthi rebels are refusing to withdraw from captured territory, saying al qaeda militants could take their place. the deposed president, abd-rabbu mansour hadi, has demanded the houthis' unconditional withdrawal. some 80% of yemenis are in need of aid. as the talks continue, robert mardini of the international committee of the red cross called for a new humanitarian truce. >> there have been 80 days of chaos, death destruction in yemen. in ahead of the holy month of ramadan, there is really little hope for the people of yemen. fighting is escalating everywhere in the country and it is taking a heavy toll. dozens are being killed every day. at the end of the day or the week in a weather a few minutes in post is negotiated or not, we really hope this might be an outcome of this week, we have one main message, the humanitarian word must go on with or without humanitarian

post. amy: the u.s. says it's training less than one-third of the number of iraqi troops needed to fight the self-proclaimed islamic state as recruitment falls short. testifying before congress secretary of defense ash carter said the u.s. seeks a greater commitment from the iraqi government. >> we simply have not received enough recruits of the 24,000 iraqi security forces we had originally envisioned training our four sites by this fall. we have only received enough recruits to be able to train about 7000. in addition to 2000 counterterrorism service personnel. as i have told iraqi leaders while the united states is open to supporting iraq more than we already are, we must see a greater commitment from all parts of the iraqi government. amy: the news comes one week after president obama increased the u.s. military presence in iraq to boost training for the iraqi forces following isil's capture of ramadi last month. a federal appeals court has reinstated a decade-old case that could hold senior bush administration officials to account for their roles in the post-9/11 detentions, abuse, and religious profiling of muslim, arab, and south asian men. the plaintiffs are among thousands of people rounded and

-- rounded up and held after 9/11, many without charge. they have been attempting to sue bush-era officials including former attorney general john ashcroft and former fbi director robert mueller. we will have more on this story later in the broadcast. the texas town of denton has repealed a voter-approved ban on hydraulic fracking after pressure from state officials and corporate interests. denton voters made their town the first in texas to ban the drilling technique by approving a ballot measure last year. they were immediately threatened with lawsuits by the texas oil and gas association and the texas general land office. those same interests worked with state lawmakers and the american legislative exchange council, or alec, to pass a recent law that outlaws fracking bans in texas. in response, denton officials have now voted to repeal their fracking ban, saying it's unenforceable under the new state law. the council's vote coincided with a protest at a denton fracking site that saw several people arrested, including 92-year old activist violet palmer. adam briggle of the anti-fracking group denton drilling awareness said -- "this is definitely not the end of the line. it is the beginning of a new

chapter in our fight and it's one that's going to be texas-wide now." dozens of harlem residents protested in new york city on wednesday over what they call the state's failure to protect them from soaring rents and neglect. a court monitor was created to oversee castellan real estate partners, the hedge fund-backed owner of more than 50 rent-stabilized apartments. but advocates say castellan continues to squeeze tenants with higher rents and ignoring poor conditions at its buildings. maria aguirre of the movement for justice in el barrio said she faces constant harassment. >> i have been living in an apartment for more than eight years. there is another landlord, but the current one has been harassing us and he is causing us a lot of problems. last winter, i had problems with the heat and hot water. it was really cold in the winter and they just said we have to wait. it is really complicated, especially for us. mothers who are single and working. we have to get home to cook for our kids when they come back

from school. and without gas, it is impossible. amy: jason mckain, devona director of the national independent news network free speech tv, has died at the age of 42. jason mckain drowned on sunday while fishing in colorado's older creek, which is swollen and running swiftly due to intense rain and spring runoff. in addition to his work at fs gb, jason mckain formerly served as coexecutive director of the colorado progressive coalition. he is survived by his wife and their six-year-old twins we mourn jason with our colleagues at free speech tv, which runs democracy now! we have worked with jason for years. and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now! democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. nermeen: welcome to all our listeners and viewers from around the country and around the world. police are searching for a white male gunman who opened fire inside a historic black church in charleston south carolina,

killing nine people and wounding several others. the victims were attending bible study at the emanuel african methodist episcopal church when the attack occurred, shortly after 9:00 p.m. at a news conference early this morning charleston police chief , gregory mullen said nine people had been confirmed killed. >> received a call for shooting that ourred at the emanuel ame church on calhoun street. police were dispatched and arrived at the location. when we did, we initially identified eight victims inside of the church that had suffered gunshot wounds. earlier, we told you there were two victims there were transported to the hospital. there was actually one victim that was transported in that individual is deceased as well. so we have a total of nine victims that were involved in

this very tragic situation that occurred last night. amy: charleston church is one of the largest and oldest black congregation's in the south. killed in the attack was reverend clementa pinckney, the church's pastor, and a member of the south carolina state senate. a survivor told family members the gunman first set in the church before rising and opening fire. the shooter told her he would let her live so she could tell others what had happened. speaking this morning, police chief greg mullen warned people not to turn -- to approach the subject. >> this is a very dangerous individual. he should not be approached by anyone. call on enforcement if you recognize the individual or the car so we can take the appropriate action to address the situation. again, this is a very dangerous individual and we do not want more people harmed trying to

approach him or trying to follow the vehicle as they see it. notify law enforcement and we will address that. nermeen: the church has its roots in the early 19th century. it was founded in part by a freed slave who was later executed for organizing a slave revolt. the shootings were called the 96 to three bombing of an african-american church in birmingham, alabama that killed four girls and galvanized the civil rights movement of the 1960's. amy: we go directly to columbia south carolina where we are joined by the state president of the south carolina naacp. our condolences to you on this horrific crime that has taken place in the loss of so much life in nearby charleston. can you talk to us about who reverend and state senator clementa pinckney was?

>> senator pinckney -- first of all, good morning, and thank you for giving us this opportunity. i, too, want to extend condolences from the naacp to the family of senator clementa pinckney. senator pinckney was a dynamic young man, very bright future, had made great strides in the faith community as well as the legislator and as a senator in the state of south carolina. had so much promise. this is a regrettable situation. nothing can be said to make this matter better -- consolation is very difficult at this time. amy: can you talk to us about what you understand took place? what was it, starting about 8:00 last night at this historic black church in charleston?

>> the program they were having on wednesday night was taking place and this young man came in, a white male, and set for a few minutes. i don't know the exact time. the amount of time. and then, of course, we know what happened after that. several shots were fired. i think thus far there have been nine deaths in several people injured -- and several people injured. that is about all we know. law enforcement statewide has a bulletin out on this individual. and we do hope that person's will remain focused peaceful, and assist in helping to capture

this sick individual. amy: i believe it was something like they are saying now that this killer, this gunman who may be 21 years old, they are showing photographs of him from the church in a gray sweatshirt jeans, and timberland boots. he may have actually participated in the bible study. the images are clearly caught from some kind of videocam and the police are saying this should be shown far and wide, that he ascended blonde hair. they believe he is one in years old. he may have actually participated in the bible study for about an hour before he opened fire and then horrifically, after killing nine people, cap one alive so that she would be able to tell what had taken place. >> i've heard several stories about what happened. i will wait into law enforcement gives us an official report from

the videos, both in the church as well as those on the street. charleston does have an extensive video system outside. i do hope that will assist in the capture of this individual. nermeen: dr. randolph, could you talk about this in the context of south carolina? has there been any precedent for this kind of violence there? >> well, unfortunately, the answer is yes. we don't have a history of being a leader in this country of human rights. unfortunately, it brings us to reality and a reminder of the way south carolina got to be south carolina, the things that south carolina has done throughout history. i am very hopeful and always optimistic and wish that things would change.

we often criticize young people for their conduct. we, too, need to look and the mayor and tell, maybe the older folks, we aren't setting the kind of example that we should set for individuals, regardless of who it is and regardless of what they do, but i don't see the human aspect of life the way i would like to see it, that all people are treated in a fair, just, and equitable manner. this morning, one of our senators, a senator from claritin county, was one -- was on one of the earlier programs. he talked about just the climate in government and south carolina. and while we may think what we do only lasts tuesday wednesday, thursday and six onset of the year, the disrespectful things that we see that comes from government are things that we should work on

and the reason that we should work on them is that the people who are voters in the state should be the ones that decide we will send people to our statehouse who will do the job of protecting all citizens in treating people fairly and equitably in the state. i don't know whether this individual will be diagnosed. if he has some type of mental illness. but our mental institutions are no longer assigned to taking care of this person to have mental illness. we have some problems here. i hope during my lifetime that i can see uth carolina taking a real serious step to improving the conditions of not just some people, but of all people in this state. amy: can you talk about the significance of mother emanuel the emanuel ame church, from booker t. washington to dr. martin luther king? >> in the history of south

carolina, as well as the history of the ame church, that church has always been on the forefront of advocacy and human rights and civil rights, much like the very beginning, the persons who founded the church. and it has a very rich history. i think it is the oldest ame church in south carolina. it is unfortunate. i think the bigger picture is still the fact this humane act took place in a community and in a state that should do everything it can to promote good and decency as opposed to some of the things we see daily in this state. nermeen: dr. randolph, could you give us some instances? you alluded to disrespectful things the government has done. could you give specific examples

of fat? >> well, again, south carolina has a rich history of not being humane. if you go back in history and look at the real first major confrontation on the floor of the united states senate, a young man was i was beaten to that -- was almost beat to death by a person from south carolina for the purpose -- he was an abolitionist and speaking against the evils and the perils of slavery. almost lost his life. missed some three years from the senate, did suffer a brain injury after the beating with a gold came. a human rights activist from the northeast who was an abolitionist. and, of course, we know in the area south -- civil rights, we have had persons speak out

vehemently against the civil rights of all people will stop we were the first state in the country to secede from the union, to declare slavery will not end in america, that we will continue to fight this country, kill 620,000 able to spend over $8 billion for the sake of promoting an agenda that was inhumane. and then, of course, we had members of our delegation in our congress -- i only mention them because these are supposed to be the leaders. unfortunately, in too many instances, south carolina has led in the wrong thing. of course, we still fly the symbol of the confederacy -- the symbol of confederacy flies on our statehouse grounds. that tells people around the world that south carolina does not care about everybody that it is not humane and the way it deals with its people. amy: of course, in charleston

in this very place where the emanuel ame church massacre has just taken place, north charleston is where walter scott was killed, an african-american man killed by a white police officer who has now been charged with murder. >> you are absolutely correct. again, all of those situations that you mentioned, if you add them to the things that happen here every day, it does make you wonder and wish -- i think i did hear one person on your program earlier say, when of your programs say this should be a time that we should come together. well, i disagree with that. we should come together all the time. don't wait until tragedies and hostilities and the death of someone or persons take place. i can't imagine a time where it is appropriate to be for an end -- for an individual to be inhumane. any person. nermeen: i want to go to the

late reverend clementa pinckney in his own words speaking in 2013. >> where you are is a very special place in charleston. it is a very special place because this church in the site, this area, has been tied to the history and life of african-americans since about the early 1800s. this church was built in 1891. the congregation was formed in 1818 by the reverend morris brown, who later became the second bishop of the african methodist episcopal church. and for those of you who may know a little something about our denomination, we started in 1787 through our founder richard allen, who left then st. george's methodist episcopal

church because they were telling him he needed to pray after the regular members prayed. that is how our denomination began. a set of civil disobedience in a little issue with theological ceremony, if you will. nermeen: he went on to talk more about the history of the church. >> again, let me welcome you to mother emanuel. just a little story about our church and how it really ties into the life of african-americans in south carolina, and also little bit of the nation. i mentioned to you earlier that the founder of our church's name was morris brown, who later became the second leader of our denomination, founded this church in what was actually a three-part circuit in the african-american community outside of the city of charleston. the street right in front of the

church is called calvin street. the several hundred years ago it wasn't calvin street, it was called boundary street, which meant that is where the city boundaries were. and outside the city boundaries out in the country or the suburbs, is where most of the african-americans in the greater charleston area resided. in particular, those who were free, those who had gained their freedom. the majority of them state also the charleston area. so there were churches in and around the area. the three later became one church. in about 1822, there's an interesting minister here in the church. he led -- i should say planned, not lead, but planned an insurrection. it was planned -- the rebellion was planned so well that once the authorities found out about it, they had a little guaanamo

experiment. they basically took the man and all of the co-conspirators they could find and interrogated them. for years, they did not really revealed the plan because they were afraid that someone else would pick it up and ask lou put it into practice. and that was from the minister who was here at the church. nermeen: that was reverend clementa pinckney, pastor of the ame church. he was killed last night. he was 41. it was also a state senator, elected to the house of representatives in 1996 at the age of 23. four years later, he was elected to the state senate will stop dr. randolph, your thoughts? >> i could not have said it any better. your words in the section of the tape that you gave on senator pinckney spells out the history

of the ame church. it has always been a promoter and fighter for justice and equality for all citizens, for all people of this state. that church, throughout its history, has done an excellent job in this ongoing fight for democracy in america. what this does do, in my comments on this unless you have additional questions, it shows as -- and i think we has south carolinians and americans, all of the hoopla and falsification that we have regarding improvements or the improvement of race relations in america, i think -- i've heard several persons in the last particular two years speak about the need for us to have a serious discussion about race in this

country. we can put a band-aid on it. we can continue to put a band-aid on it as we continue to hemorrhage. we can continue to act like it doesn't exist. and we shouldn't allow those of us who are pro-democracy and freedom for all people, we should not allow what we see on the tv on weekends without football games in our basketball games, showing the great sports and entertainment talented exploits of african-americans. we should make america sit back and before they reach our young men as college players, we need to educate our young people as to the history and what they can do to better come into the system that we have here in place and make it better. and i'm disappointed that when you talk about race relations in america, especially in south

carolina, we talked about sporting events. and there are other events -- we should be able to talk about race relations and sports, education. in the 22nd here were approaching the 22nd year of education lawsuit where the state has refused to pay and fund in an adequate way the education of our children here in south carolina in 38 school districts. 22 years. and of course, 1954 supreme court decision did not start into figure, kansas, it started right here in south carolina. the basic issues of life and the fundamental issues of life, it appears when we sit and analyze and talk about the problems we have in this state, it appears that we are not really making the progress -- it just doesn't appear. it is true, we have not made the progress that people want you to think we have. we still have a lot of work to do. amy: dr. randolph, south

carolina becomes a major focus in a presidential election. in fact, hillary clinton was with reverend and state senator clementa pinckney yesterday as she was campaigning. and jeb bush was supposed to come in today, that he has canceled his trip because of the massacre at mother emanuel. when state senator clementa pinckney was on the floor of the state senate, among the issues he has been pushing for are the video cams on the uniforms of police officers, and was seen as a moral center of the state senate. as we wrap up, you are talking about the issues that need to be addressed. can you talk about what state senator pinckney stood for when he was there outside of the church, what he has been fighting for and what you think

has to be the focus of national attention when all the country's media comes to south carolina -- the issues you are talking about are not very much focused on 06/18/15 06/18/15 well, the issue is one of race. again, we tried to disguise it try to dress it up as the ballplayers and basketball players and track stars and we don't take the issue of human rights and senator pinckney -- i also attended the press conference last week with the governor signed the bill dealing with the body count. i celebrate -- i am happy it has been signed, but if we continue on the pace where we are when you talk about legislation and things of that nature, we should not have to wait seven or eight years before we receive adequate funding for cameras. cameras are not going to solve the problem other than make people tell the truth.

we have had persons in america who had body cameras and still killed persons of color with a body camera on. what we need to do is start talking about those persons who wear the uniform, those persons who take the out of office to be an law enforcement. we need to talk about ways to get better individuals into those professions individuals that are not connected with groups that are subversive and are anti-american and anti-human. because we still, in fort lee, have too many law enforcement departments across the state of south carolina and across the country where we have people because someone recommends them or because someone knows them, and not because they have the skills and qualifications to be on the force of law-enforcement agencies. amy: i want to thank you very much, dr. lonnie runoff, junior for joining us today from columbia, south carolina.

state president of the south carolina naacp. again, what we know at this point, in nearby charleston at the historic black church, the mother emanuel, the emanuel ame church, last night about 9:00, a white male gunman believed to be about 21 years old with sandy blond hair, standing about 5'9" open fire in the church, killing nine people, wounding several others. the victims were attending bible study at the emanuel ame church when he opened fire shortly after 9:00 p.m. on wednesday. the police, the mayor, are calling this a hate crime. they are saying whoever he is, they are districting his picture widely, is extremely dangerous. we will continue to follow this story, this tragedy, this horrific crime. i am amy goodman with nermeen

shaikh. when we come back, we look at pope francis's encyclical on the environment and climate change. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

amy: this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with nermeen shaikh. nermeen: we turn now to the vatican where pope francis has called for swift action to save the planet from environmental ruin, urging world leaders to hear "the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor." earlier today, the vatican published the pope's long awaited encyclical on the environment and climate change. pope francis called for a change of lifestyle in rich countries steeped in "throwaway consumer culture" and an end to obstructionist attitude is that sometimes put profit before the common good.

>> our house is going to ruin and that harms everyone, especially the poorest. mine is an appeal for responsibility raised on the past that god has given to man in creation, till and keep the garden in which he was placed. i invite everyone to accept with open hearts this document which follows the church's social doctrine. amy: pope francis at protecting the planet is a moral and ethical imperative for believers and nonbelievers alike, that should supersede political and economic interests. he also dismissed those who argue that technology will solve all environment of problems in the global hunger and poverty will be resolved simply by market growth. nermeen: a major theme is the disparity between rich and poor. he said "we fail to see the some are mired in desperate integrating poverty was no way out while others have not the faintest idea what to do with their possessions, vainly

showing off their supposed superiority and leaving behind them so much waste which, if it were the case everywhere, we destroy the planet." if i'm at all welcomed the pope's action on climate change. the executive director of greenpeace in italy. >> as greenpeace, we have already expressed our gratitude to his holiness because we too, see climate change is a mostly moral and ethical issue. climate change is already happening in its effects have already been disastrous on the poorest countries in the poorest people don't have the means to defend themselves from it. there are also part of the human population who have the least responsibility for what is happening, being they consume less fossil fuels. we are absolutely grateful for this encyclical that for us is a source of inspiration. amy: we are joined now by two guests, naomi klein is the author of "this changes

everything." she will speak at the people and planet first, the imperative to change course conference. she is joining us by video stream from canada. and here in new york, nathan schneider a columnist at america , magazine, a national catholic weekly magazine published by the jesuits. naomi, respond to the pope's encyclical on climate change and the environment 06/18/15 06/18/15 good morning. before i begin, i would really like to express ideas, deep sadness and outrage at the hate crimes in charleston, it is been a grief-struck morning and an attack on a religious institution, which is also worth bearing in mind as an attack on african-americans. i think this encyclical, we

can't overstate the importance of it, the impact it will have. it is hard to respond to document that runs close to 200 pages when it was just released and non-draft form a few hours ago. we are all still digesting it amy, but it is very clear that a door has just been opened in a gust of wind is blowing through. where it is now possible to say some very powerful truths about the real implication of climate change. really the root causes. and i think a lot of the discussion about the encyclical in the u.s. media cycle has focused and will continue to focus on the impact on republicans and climate deniers many of whom are catholic. and it is certainly a challenge to that demographic in the united states because the public is coming out so clearly on the

side of climate scientist saying this is real and happening. but i think it is too easy to say this is just a challenge to rick santorum and jeb bush. frankly, it is also a challenge to hillary clinton and barack obama in two large parts of the green movement because -- and large parts of the green movement because it specifically says climate denial is not just about denying the science, it is also about denying the urgency of the science. the document is very strong in condemning delays come half measures, so-called market solutions. it specifically criticizes carbon market, the carbon offsetting as an inadequate measure that will encourage speculation and rapid consumption. it i think probably the most significant part of it, the big picture, the for grounding of the culture of phonetic consumption and the wealthy

world and among the wealthy. this is really significant because i think large parts of the climate change discussion tries to have it always. saying, we'll just have green growth, we will consume green products and this goes a lot different than that and says no, we need to get at the underlying [indiscernible] feeding the culture of franetic consumption that is entirely unsustainable. nermeen: image of the fact the pope calls for radical change repeatedly. i want to ask about a suit is civic citation -- specific citation from the leaked document that appeared earlier this week. he said, in a corrupt culture we can't believe loss will be enough to change behaviors that affect the environment. could you talk specifically about that, about the loss he may be referring to -- laws he may be referring to?

>> i believe he is referring to the influence of polluting companies, the multinational corporations, which he also goes after in the encyclical. this is one of the musick the forget things about the document. -- this is one of the most significant things about the document. to erase differences, to say we're all in this together and talking about the earth is our common home, but it is also explicitly the power dynamics in capitalism, which is to say there are forces within the system that are actively working against change. and that is probably what he's referring to when he is talking about how there may be laws but the laws are not enforced. in the laws are also inadequate, which is also addressed in the document and it has very specific calls for another level of environment a law.

there's a part of the document i have not been able to look at closely enough. another thing i have to say, i have accepted an invitation to speak at a conference which is about digging more deeply into the document because there is an understanding that it does take time to digest the document of this length, this multilayered, and it requires that kind of deeper analysis. and i think this intervention five months ahead of the yuan, -- u.n. climate conference is going to push political leaders to go further, will be a tool for social movement -- a lot of the language of the climate justice movement has just been adopted by the pope. used phrases like ecological debt. he is talking about the debt the wealthy world news -- owes to the poor. this framing was richly coming

from ecuador, from the movement against drilling in the amazon. this was a phrase that you never heard in mainstream circles until just now, actually. i've never seen such a mainstream use of that term. so it is very important in that way. i have to say on a personal level, as thrilled as i am that the vatican is leading in this way and the pope is leading in this way in bringing together the fight against poverty with the fight for climate change, it doesn't mean there is a complete merger between the climate justice movement and the vatican here. obviously, there are huge differences that remain over issues like marriage equality and reproductive rights and freedom, just to name a few. amy: nathan schneider your columnist with the catholic weekly america. you been covering catholic engagement with climate change. talk about the scope of this.

just for people to understand what this encyclical is the number of languages it has been released in and how large it is and what it means for the catholic community. >> this is really the first third world encyclical. this is coming from a pope who was shape and really significant ways that, crises to the cold war in argentina and being in the middle of the battleground between the first and second world powers. it was drafted by a cardinal from ghana. so this is coming from the side of the world we don't normally hear from. it is very much in line with things that popes have insane for decades, going back to paul vi, benedict the 16th and a lot of the content is actually not so new for catholics, but the emphasis and that -- the language of climate debt, the

recognition there is a divide here between the rich countries and the poor. and this is a cry from the developing world from what has been labeled the third world for change. amy: we're going to take a break. when we come back, we will hear the words of the cardinal is gone of himself. we urge you to stay with us. this is democracy now! back in a minute. ♪ [music break]

>> amy: this is democracy now! democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with nermeen shaikh. our guests are naomi klein author of, "this changes everything" and she is headed to the vatican to participate in a major conference there. and we are joined by nathan schneider a columnist at america , magazine, a national catholic weekly magazine published by the jesuits. we're going to turn to a clip. nermeen: one of the authors of the encyclical, cardinal peter turkson of ghana, spoke earlier this morning at the vatican. >> pope francis has a positive outlook for the possibility to

change attack on the impairment issue. humidity says pope francis still has the capacity to work to build our common home. human beings are still capable of intervening. nermeen: speaking this morning nathan schneider, can you comment on that and the fact is you pointed out earlier this is the first third world encyclical ? pope francis is the first pope of the global south? >> that's right. and i think we see real change of emphasis as a result. we see the highlighting of the global inequality that has been exacerbating, change in an emphasis on the impact on the poor. that this is not an elite kind of luxury style environmentalism, this is environmental is some of the poor that puts the concerns and the needs of the poor first. amy: this is global. but we are in the mid-of her presidential campaign, and soon

we will never be out of presidential campaign season. i want to turn to some of was considered one of the more moderate second republicans, jeb bush. republican presidential candidate jeb bush speaking at a town hall event in new hampshire, he commented on the pope's encyclical. >> i want to read it, but -- first of all, pope francis is extraordinary leader will stop he speaks with such clarity and speak so differently and he is drawn people back into the faith, all of which is a converted catholic now 25 years i think is really cool. i don't get -- i hope i'm not going to get castigated for saying this by my priest back on, but i don't get economic policy from my bishops or my cardinals or from my pope and i

would like to see what he says as a relates to climate change and how that connects to these broader, deeper issues before i pass judgment, but i think religion ought to be about making us better as people and less about things that end up getting into the political realms. amy: that is republican presidential candidate jeb bush. i would like both of you to comment. he is a converted catholic. >> it is a very strange statement. catholics don't divide our faith between the private and the public. we might disagree, we might struggle with teachings that come from the church, but we still have to engage with them. and to dismiss it in this way is very strange to hear. and i think very inconsistent. one of the things that is so distinctive about this document, it is measured. it is a unity document. this calling people to a common conversation.

is not radical in certain senses in that it invites as all to find ourselves as part of a common community. i think it is an invitation to jeb bush, and i hope one the republican candidates will take seriously the coming months. amy: naomi klein, jeb bush saying the pope should stay out of politics. >> it is interesting he defines it as a political document. i think it is probably the most threatening part of the document is the way it engages directly with this argument over what it means to have dominion over the earth, which is the part of the bible that the climate change denier movement uses most, right? they talked about -- i have been to these climate change denier conferences and there's always a

strong religious presence there. basically, making the argument that god gave us the earth and now we can do whatever we want with it. and it is plasma this -- blasphemous to say otherwise. the encyclical is very pointed in rebuking that interpretation and saying actually, the earth is a sacred gift and it is ours to take care of and when we destroy it, we are committing a sin. i am paraphrasing, obviously this is not my religion, but it speaks to something -- a true line that basically, every belief system in history which has seen the earth as sacred, as something to respect and fear whether mother earth or living system or gift from god, really this document is a challenge to

that, to this idea that we have the right to ask -- act as god's armor. this is intimately related to climate change because it really was fossil fuels that allowed humidity or parts of humanity to convince themselves that we had this godlike power. and, change is coming and saying, actually, all of this time you are making the world flat and acting as if we had these powers, these godlike powers over geography and that we were really masters of the earth, treat the earth as a machine, we were burning carbon which was entering the atmosphere and now comes this response that shows us come actually, we are guest and we can be evicted for bad behavior. i don't think jeb bush wanted to be having to get into an argument with the pope on his

first day on the campaign trail. this was obviously not good for his campaign. not good for a campaign whose main selling point has been that he has an appeal with latino voters. honestly, a very large catholic constituency would probably choose the pope over jeb bush. this has big implications. nermeen: rick santorum, a practicing catholic, was asked about the pope's actions during a recent interview conducted by chris wallace on fox news sunday. >> the pope doesn't have a right to talk about this? >> the pope can talk about whatever he wants to talk about. what should he use his moral authority for. what's he would say he's protecting the earth. >> i was a that is important thing to do but i think are more present problems confronting the earth and climate change. nermeen: naomi klein, your response to what rick santorum said? >> it is just another example of an awkward situation so many

republicans are in right now. mark marino of fox news, climate change denier types from the heartland institute, you know talking about the unholy alliance within the vatican and the united nations. you're not going to out catholic the pope. the document is not just about climate change. it is a broader ecological crisis. it is also about the crisis of inequality. i think the most significant aspect of the document, and certainly why i had been invited to speak at this conference at the vatican is because they are trying to make the conversation about the failures of our economic system, which is a very live conversation around the world, and the conversation about climate change come together. because they are so often segmented.

this is true, for instance, in europe right now where europe is in the grips of austerity crisis and poverty is exploding and there is this idea that, first, you have to solve economic crisis and then you think about climate change. and rick santorum saying, i think there are more pressing issues than climate change, right? i think the holistic nature of the analysis that -- what pope francis is saying is that the root of poverty and the roots of climate change are the same. it is the logic of domination and endless greed that has created this broken economy and is breaking the planet, and the way out of the crisis -- both crises -- is another economic model that lives within nature's limits. amy: nathan schneider? >> the pope is calling here for us to change how we live, what we do with our resources.

this is not just moving from one count of consumers him another. this is a kind of spiritual renewal and also a material renewal that -- in which we turn ourselves toward an economy that is sustainable that is life-giving both for humidity and the rest of the world. an eco-nathan schneider of the catholic magazine and naomi klein, author of "this changes , everything: capitalism vs. the climate." thank you for joining us. democracy now! is looking for feedback from people who appreciate the closed captioning. e-mail your comments to outreach@democracynow.org or mail them to democracy now! p.o. box 693 new york, new york 10013. [captioning made possible by

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