VATICAN CITY: Arnold Schwarzenegger came to the Vatican on Tuesday to throw his weight behind Pope Leo’s efforts to enc­o­urage world leaders to add­ress global climate change and transition away from fossil fuels.

“Every single one of (the) 1.4 billion Catholics can be a crusader for the environment and can help us terminate pollution,” the former California governor, actor and bodybuilder said, referencing one of his blockbuster film roles, the Terminator.

“God has put us in this world to leave this world a better place than we inherited it,” said Austrian-born Schwarzenegger, who is a Catholic.

“I’m so excited that the Catholic Church and the Vatican are getting inv­o­lved in this because we need their help.” Schwa­r­zenegger, a Republican Party member who is a longtime proponent of add­ressing climate change, spoke at a press conference ahead of a three-day Vati­can meeting this week on the issue, where he will offer a keynote address alo­ngside Pope Leo. The three-day event is tied to the 10th anniversary of a major environmental document by the late Pope Francis, which was the first papal text to embrace the scientific consensus about climate cha­nge and urged nations to reduce their carbon emissions.

Leo, the first pope from the United States, has also emphasised the Church’s environmental teachings. Earlier this month, Leo opened a Vatican-run ecological training centre on the sprawling grounds of a Renaissance-era papal vil­la in Castel Gandolfo, an Italian lakeside town about an hour’s drive from Rome.

Some 400 faith and civil society leaders are exp­ected to take part in this week’s Vatican event, inc­luding Brazil’s environment minister, the director of the UN’s Faith for Earth coalition, and the CEO of the European Climate Fou­ndation.

Published in Dawn, October 1st, 2025