· 2 min read
We remained neutral when, on our pages, the Greenpeace Director General denounced for a first time the then-booming carbon credits as greenwashing, and at the same time, the founders of South Pole, Carbon Sink, and Supercritical—used illuminem to make a compelling case for environmental markets as a catalyst for real, measurable progress.
We remained neutral when, on illuminem, the heads of the world’s leading nuclear agencies historically condemned nuclear energy as a perilous path forward—while other renowned scientists rose to defend it as an indispensable pillar of a green future.
We held our neutrality also when the Director of Italy’s National Research Center and the “Greentech Prime Minister” of Estonia laid out the ecological imperative for scaling EVs—while others challenged their viability, arguing they were worse than combustion engines and a detour from a public-mobility-first world.
In short, you understand the specialty of our stance today.
We tribute you, dear Pope Francis, the Green Pope as the only universal voice who stood, unwavering, for the forgotten and the voiceless: the poor, the displaced, the sick, the imprisoned, the migrants, the victims of war and greed. Regardless of their faith, status, or nationality, you gave them what the modern world too often withholds—dignity, and the right to hope.
Your Laudato Si’ became the most widely read sustainability text in history. After years of technical discussions, you changed the argument and ignited a global moral urgency which catalyzed the unprecedented consensus at the Paris COP (the Paris Agreement).
With integrity and the rare power of example, you introduced the concept of Integral Ecology: sustainability is not only about hard facts, it requires “humanity”, compassion, social justice, mercy—care for both the Environment and the People.
It is precisely today, as the world’s foremost leaders gather to honor you, dear Francis, that we feel your message is not only urgent but has been betrayed.
The world’s leaders may have heard your call—but they did not listen. Not to your cry for peace, for brotherhood, for inclusion, or for sustainability.
And so, we believe the world has lost its voice for Good. That is why, today, we dedicate our own to You.
For the first time, we declare an editorial line. Dear Pope Francis, we embrace the hardest challenge: to live your message, to carry your voice and ethereal legacy.
Yours,
Andrea, on behalf of the illuminem team
