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By JASON BEEFERMAN - May 13, 2024
THE POPE AND HOCHUL: Gov. Kathy Hochul will be jetting away to Rome this week for a climate conference hosted by Pope Francis.
She’ll be giving a 15-minute talk, titled “Climate Leadership in the Empire State: Building Resiliency for All,” at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, Vatican City time.
The pontiff will hold an audience with the governor and other world leaders shortly after Hochul’s speech.
The governor’s trip to the Vatican comes just days after Mayor Eric Adams also visited the Holy See. (Adams and his team flew back from Rome today, after arriving on Friday).
The nearly back-to-back visits to the Vatican seem to be coincidental.
“Our goal for this trip is simple: strengthen international connections that will create economic opportunities for New Yorkers and a cleaner future for the next generation,” Hochul said in a statement.
Hochul, unlike Adams, is Catholic, and she frequently talks about her faith during public addresses.
The three-day summit will also be attended by California Gov. Gavin Newsom; Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey; the mayors of Boston, London, Rome, São Paulo, Paris, Athens and Venice; and other politicians and academics.
A main goal of the summit will be to create a “Planetary Climate Resilience protocol,” fashioned in the likes of the Montreal Protocol, and all the global leaders will sign their names to it. The document will then be submitted to the United Nations.
“This is a great opportunity for New York to discuss their climate bill and all the actions going on right now to reduce our climate footprint,” said Adrienne Esposito, executive director at Citizens Campaign for the Environment. “This is a critically important meeting that can hopefully inspire other leaders to take action.”
It won’t be the first time the governor and the pope are side by side. In 2015, then-Lt. Gov. Hochul visited the White House on behalf of her boss, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, for the pontiff’s first visit to the U.S.
“For me personally, as a Catholic, it was amazing to be in the presence of such a humble but inspirational individual,” Hochul said at the time.
Hochul spokesperson Avi Small said the trip is official business of the governor and will be bankrolled by the state.
“Climate change is a critically important issue to the Holy Father, and we are pleased that Governor Hochul will have a chance to possibly meet him and discuss this pressing matter period,” said Dennis Poust, the executive director of the New York State Catholic Conference.
“Our hope is it would be a moment of grace for her as a Catholic to meet Pope Francis.” — Jason Beeferman