Over at the indispensible Whispers, Rocco's reporting that the next Popemobile will be a Mercedes hybrid that can travel 16 miles without emissions thanks to a lithium-ion battery. The Pope, who's already won acclaim from environmental groups for installing solar panels at the Vatican, had called for a solar-powered all-electric vehicle to replace the current popemobile, but ultimately the all-electric idea had to be nixed due to concerns about its inability to accelerate quickly enough, should the Pope's safety be in jeopardy. The folks at Discovery News contest that claim, insisting it should be possible to produce sufficient torque to whisk the Pope away in the event of danger.
Regardless, a hybrid popemobile is a step in the right direction, and one I'm glad to see receiving coverage from major US news outlets. Too often, the only ecclesial movement that attracts the attention of the daily newspapers and cable news networks is something to do with Catholic sexual teachings or the abuse scandal.
Since assuming the Chair of Peter, Pope Benedict has been a vocal advocate for an increased consciousness of ecology, and he has emphasized that environmental stewardship is of primary importance to Christian moral life, going so far as to argue in his 2010 World Day of Peace address that peace with the environment is the foundation for peace throughout all creation, including among humans. As early as 2008, Newsweek he had been dubbed, "The Green Pope," an honorific invoked again this past week in attesting to his ongoing commitment and forceful witness.
For as frequently as the Vatican is indicted on charges of being out-of-touch with the lives of ordinary people and behind-the-times in regards to science, it is uplifting to see the Holy Father at the vanguard of this contemporary moral matter.
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