Donate NowOn June 18, 2015, Pulitzer Center grantee Justin Catanoso covered the release of Pope Francis's controversial encyclical on climate change and environmental protection, which drew worldwide attention.
Environmentalists cheered. American conservatives panned it. The pope's sky-high popularity in the U.S. plunged across the board. But what about his home region of Latin America?
Catanoso traveled to Peru in July to test the premise: Will the pope's popularity and moral authority have more influence in a mostly Catholic country that is considered Ground Zero for the fight against climate change?
The answers he found in his reporting may surprise you. And they will illuminate the international struggles that lie ahead for a pope determined to force world leaders to finally take strong action to fight global warming.