Presidential candidate Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) addressed Pope Francis’ encyclical on the environment and human ecology in a speech delivered at the Lincoln Day Dinner, an event sponsored by the Miami-Dade County Republican Party. “I have no problem with what the pope did,” said Senator Rubio, who is Roman Catholic. “He is a moral authority and as a moral authority is reminding us of our obligation to be good caretakers to the planet.”
“My job as a policymaker is to act in the common good,” he added. “And I do believe it’s in the common good to protect our environment, but I also believe it’s in the common good to protect our economy… what I am not going to support are measures that will hurt our economy and put people out of work and increase the cost of living.”