Throwing plastic into the sea is criminal – Pope Francis

By Fatima Saka

Pope Francis said it is criminal dumping plastic in waterways and it must end if humanity wants to save the planet for future generations.

The Pope made the declaration during a television interview on Sunday.

In the long- hours interview on state broadcaster RAI’s Channel 3, the Pope who reiterated some of the key themes of his papacy, condemned excessive spending on armaments, defended the rights of migrants, and condemned ideological rigidity by conservatives in the Church.

Also, he has made defending the environment a cornerstone of his pontificate, recounted how Italian fishermen came to him one year ago and told him they had found many tons of plastic in the Adriatic Sea.

The next time he saw them they said they had found twice as much and took it upon themselves to help clean some of it up.

“Throwing plastic into the sea is criminal. It kills biodiversity, it kills the earth, it kills everything,” he said.

“Looking after creation is an education (process) in which we must engage,” he said, citing a song by Brazilian singer Roberto Carlos in which a boy asks his father why “the river no longer sings” and the father responds that “we finished it off”.

Asked to elaborate on his taste in music, Francis, who made a surprise visit to a Rome record store last month, said he mostly likes classical music but also tango.