18 septembre 2015 / 14 h 20 / Pope doesn’t hate science enough

WASHINGTON — When Pope Francis delivers a history-making address to a joint session of Congress next week, Rep. Paul Gosar, a Prescott Republican, won’t be there.

Gosar, a Catholic, said it was a tough decision to make, but he has decided to stay away from the address because he is “ashamed” of the pope’s position on the “false science” of climate change and what Gosar sees as a failure to speak out against radical Islam and Planned Parenthood.

“I don’t need to be lectured by the pope in regards to science or false science,” Gosar said Thursday, calling the pope “hardly a scholar with regards to the climate.”

While some reports have suggested what the pope may include in his speech, Gosar said he is “mortified and ashamed” by what could be absent from the address.

“The foremost authority on religion — one of the recognized leaders in the world — is coming to one of the greatest stages in the world, and his comments aren’t going to be directed on religious tolerance and the sanctity of life,” Gosar said. “If there’s anybody that can call out the Islamic faith, it’s the pope.”

Arizona Daily Star, Charles McConnell : “Arizona Rep. Gosar to skip pope’s speech in protest.