This year marks the 10th anniversary of Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical Laudato Si, a groundbreaking letter to the entire world addressing global warming and the unjust pillaging of our common home.

Laudato Si inspired humanity to see climate change as far more than a fringe concern for environmentalists, but as the fundamental “life” issue of our time and an existential threat to humanity. Laudato Si forever linked the ecological collapse unfolding around us with scarcity conflicts, forced migration and the plight of the world’s poor, marginalized and forgotten.

On May 8, the first American was elected to succeed Pope Francis and immediately signaled his continued commitment to Catholic social justice by taking the name Leo XIV, invoking the author of Rerum Novarum, which outlined modern Catholic teaching on social justice. While it remains to be seen how Pope Leo XIV moves the message of Laudato Si through his papacy, initial indications are encouraging.

On May 19, Pope Leo XIV stated: “If we Christians and members of other religious traditions stand together, free from ideological and political conditioning, we can be effective in saying ‘no’ to war and ‘yes’ to peace, ‘no’ to an economy that impoverishes people and the Earth and ‘yes’ to integral development.”

On May 22, the House of Representatives narrowly passed a budget bill that drastically cuts U.S. commitments to the working poor and hard-won progress on clean energy and climate. Maine’s two congressional representatives, Chellie Pingree and Jared Golden, proudly stood against the injustices and negligence of this legislation, with the extremely careful Rep. Golden even calling it “one of the easiest ‘no’ votes I’ve ever taken.”

The cruelty and recklessness of this legislation couldn’t be more transparent: (1) cutting $800 billion from Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act; (2) cutting food assistance (which feeds 1 in 8 Mainers), putting 18 million kids nationally at risk of losing school meals; (3) increasing health care costs by an average of $180 per month for tens of thousands of Mainers; (4) adding $3.1 trillion to the national debt to benefit the affluent (giving households earning more than $1 million a year an annual tax cut around $90,000, while low-income households receive an average of just $90 from the tax cuts — while burdening them with increased costs from Medicaid and SNAP rollbacks).

On energy and climate, experts warn this budget raises energy costs for Mainers by 4.7% in four years, increases pollution and local health costs, and decimates clean energy investments transforming our statewide and national energy grid (to the glee of our rivals like China, which increasingly corners the clean energy market, where the winner of the 21st-century economy is being decided).

Mainers will suffer greatly under this legislation. Ending clean energy tax credits will put energy-efficient heat pumps, insulation and rooftop solar out of reach just when we need their help to save money, reduce pollution and stabilize our energy grid.

Analysis by American Clean Power and ICF estimates that continuing clean energy incentives will add $13 billion and support 39,000 full-time jobs in Maine annually. That’s not hypothetical — that’s real money and real livelihoods for Mainers. Rural job creators like Lincoln Battery Storage Project, Northern Maine Renewables Program, County Line Wind Farm and others would likely be shuttered with this legislation.

Maine has become a true climate leader and energy leader, thanks to the outstanding work of the Maine Climate Council; bipartisan lawmakers like Gov. Janet Mills and Sens. Rick Bennett, R-Oxford, and Stacy Brenner, D-Scarborough; and business and community groups like ClimateWorks Maine and E2Tech. We are grateful for Maine U.S. Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King, who have likewise led admirably to address climate change and clean energy. Compliance with the current budget’s painful unraveling of the progress would only hurt Maine’s economy, people and environment.

Ten years ago, Pope Francis told the world we needed to take climate change seriously with Laudato Si. Ten years ago, Sens. King and Collins were in the audience when Pope Francis personally called on the U.S. government to protect the poor, the marginalized and God’s life-giving gift to us all, our common home. We pray they were (and are) listening.