A draft of Laudato Sii is circulating and causing an uproar. This document seems to align with climate scientists, arguing that “the bulk of global warming is caused by human activity.” However, this draft may not be the final encyclical, Rev. Federico Lombardi, a Vatican spokesman, said that it is merely a “intermediate version” and not the final encyclical.

Whether or not this is the final language and content that will be in the ing encyclical on the environment, much of the dialogue starting on Thursday (when the encyclical is officially released) will be on if anything in the draft has been changed and if it has, why. The Washington Post asked Acton’s Director of Research, Samuel Gregg ment:

“If this is indeed not the final text, as the Holy See’s press office is stating, then much of the attention will be on differences between the draft text and the actual encyclical. That will fuel ultimately unprovable speculation on why the things that were changed were altered, thereby potentially distracting from the messages of the final text,” he said.

Read the full analysis of the situation at the Washington Post.