The pope’s encyclical on climate change was to be released today. As luck would have it, it got leaked four days ago. By this special day, it is nigh forgotten.

Addendum I (June 28, 2015)

I was kidding a bit when I penned this haiku, all right, but it is right on the money only ten days later. After some banter in the media, the encyclical is nigh forgotten, indeed. As luck would have it, so many disasters took place across the globe in the intervening period. Once again, climate change has been pushed into the proverbial corner. In short, not even Pope Francis, popular as he is around the world, can bring the focus on the greatest danger facing the world at present. And I doubt if anyone else could make a difference right now. Dalai Lama? Angelina Jolie? Lionel Messi? Stephen Hawking? All right, all right, I am only kidding one more time. But climate change is surely not.

Addendum II (September 7, 2015)

Less than three months later, the pope’s encyclical on climate change is forgotten for true. And no kidding this time around. In the meanwhile, the world has moved on to more important things. As of late, the refugee crisis in Europe is the rage in the media. And so is the financial crisis in China. But this pertains only to the best and the brightest in the richest countries in the world, of course. As ever, celebrities, entertainment, and sports preoccupy the hoi polloi across the globe. Climate change will come to the fore during the Paris climate talks in December, but this will be only a brief interlude from the idiocy of everyday life. By Christmas and New Year’s, climate change will become the proverbial history. If only it were kidding, too.

Addendum III (October 22, 2015)

I just searched for the pope’s encyclical on climate change on Google Trends, which provides useful statistics on searches on the World Wide Web. And the verdict is loud and clear: the interest in the encyclical skyrocketed as soon as it appeared, and then it plummeted following an almost identical trajectory. By now, a bit more than a month before Paris climate talks, the interest in the subject is almost at zero. And Google Trends does not lie about such things. By the way, the explosion of interest in the encyclical immediately upon its release has much more to do with the pope himself than with climate change as such. He is quite a celebrity by now. Which sums up the story pretty well. Humans are beyond redemption. Pace Pope Francis, but you had better stick to your own job.

Addendum IV (November 26, 2015)

Only a few days before the onset of Paris climate talks, I cannot find any mention of the encyclical in the online newspapers I regularly visit. The pope has appeased his own conscience, and that is that. The encyclical is as good as dead. My own book on climate change is in the same boat, to be sure. But enough. It makes no sense to keep waiting for a surprise from the human species. It is as it is, and it will take thousands upon thousands of years for any change in its ways worth noting. As for significant changes, or changes worth bragging about, it is a matter of millions of years. Amen.

Addendum V (June 6, 2016)

Nearly a year since the pope’s encyclical on climate change got leaked, I can round off this sad story once and for all. By now, it is forgotten for good. Although the media will dutifully mark its first anniversary, which will offer yet another occasion to stress the worldwide importance of the papal letter in question, it will be just a sham. Nobody cares about climate change at this juncture, and the media will not dwell on it for too long. There is so much else of interest to cover, anyhow. In particular, there is entertainment, sports, celebrity gossip, and much, much more. By comparison, the encyclical is nothing if not boring. At best, it will be remembered as the pope’s token of good will. Next!