The actor and former governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger will participate between October 1 and 3 in the conference “Raising Hope for Climate Justice”, convened by Pope Leo XIV in Castel Gandolfo. The event, which coincides with the tenth anniversary of the encyclical Laudato Si’, seeks to bring together religious, political, and social leaders to drive a global response to the climate crisis.
It will be the second occasion on which the star of Terminator meets a pontiff. In 2017, he greeted Pope Francis in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall during a general audience.
An actor with an environmental message
Beyond his Hollywood career, Schwarzenegger has been involved in the fight against pollution for more than 20 years. During his time as governor of California, he promoted pioneering laws, such as the Global Warming Solutions Act and the Million Solar Roofs Initiative, which made the state a benchmark in clean energies.
After leaving politics, he created the Schwarzenegger Climate Initiative, headquartered in Vienna, from where he organizes the annual summit Austrian World Summit and funds climate action projects. His motto, “fewer words, more action,” has made him an influential figure in international environmentalism.
Three days of debates and events in the Vatican
The Raising Hope for Climate Justice conference will open on October 1 with an event presided over by Pope Leo XIV, in which Brazil’s Minister of the Environment Marina Silva, the president of the Focolar Movement Margaret Karram, and the director of the Laudato Si’ Movement, Lorna Gold, will also intervene, along with the aforementioned Schwarzenegger.
On October 2, Brazilian Cardinal Jaime Spengler, president of the Brazilian Episcopal Conference and CELAM, will deliver the central lecture titled “A Reason for Hope”. On October 3, the focus will be on practical proposals to apply Laudato Si’ and prepare for the upcoming COP30 in Brazil.
A global list of participants
The program includes prominent figures such as Cardinal Michael Czerny, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development; Argentine economist Martín Guzmán; climatologist Katharine Hayhoe; the secretary general of Caritas Internationalis, Alistair Dutton; and Amazonian indigenous leader Patricia Gualinga. Activists, academics, and officials from international organizations will also be present.
The organizers emphasize that the goal is to celebrate the fruits of Laudato Si’, mobilize concrete commitments from religious and political leaders, and foster long-term cooperation between the Church, civil society, and governments.
A “decisive moment”
The organization itself presents the meeting as a key moment: a year of anniversaries—Laudato Si’, the Paris Agreement, and the 2025 Jubilee—in the midst of a succession of extreme weather events affecting millions of people.
“This world needs beauty so as not to fall into despair,” the Pope recently recalled, quoting St. Paul VI. Castel Gandolfo will be, for three days, the stage where the Church seeks to offer hope in the face of the ecological crisis.
The Holy See as a globalist platform
The initiative demonstrates how the Church is diluting the Gospel in political and environmentalist discourses. The presence of civil leaders and an actor turned media environmentalism reference reinforces a secular agenda under the umbrella of faith.
The Church’s mission is not to promote climate programs, but to proclaim Christ and defend the truth of the Gospel. Care for creation is part of Catholic teaching, but when Vatican forums become platforms for globalist propaganda, the spiritual message ends up being instrumentalized.