Pope Francis is popular for his image as a radical leader, and this week he will be specifically tackling the subject of climate change in a much-awaited encyclical on the environment. Many are expecting the Catholic Church's highest leader to blame global warming on humans.

On Sunday, days prior to the release of his encyclical, the 78-year-old pope called on Catholics to pay attention to environmental issues, calling them "stewards of creation."

Like Us on Facebook

"Let us pray that everyone can receive its message and grow in responsibility toward the common home that God has entrusted to us," the Argentinian pope told Vatican Radio.

Reuters reported that those familiar with the encyclical have said it will be supporting scientific statements that the pope will be holding humans responsible for climate change.

Considered the most authoritative teaching document to be issued by a pontiff, the encyclical will be presented at the Vatican Thursday, according to The Telegraph.

The title of the encyclical will be "Laudato Si (Be Praised), On the Care of our Common Home."

Apart from placing blame on human activities, the encyclical is also expected to mention that global warming poses grave threat to the poor. The pope will reportedly call on Catholics to tackle climate change as it is a moral imperative.

The pope's encyclical on climate change will be "a call for the world to wake up to the effects of climate change--the Vatican's next big moral mission."

"Climate change is 10 times more likely to impact those in the least-developed countries than those in wealthy countries," said Jessica Hellmann, a professor of biological sciences at Notre Dame University.

Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI have also spoken on climate change and said that it is brought on by human activities like carbon gas emissions, but this is the first time an entire encyclical is devoted on the matter, reported TIME.

It is a hope that the popularity of Pope Francis will allow for the encyclical to reach a wider audience and thus carry great moral weight.

However, skeptics are expected to lash out against the Argentinian. They are expected to argue once again that there is no link between the rise in temperature and human-induced emissions.

Pope Francis is apparently already creating a struggle with Vatican conservatives as well as rightwing church circles, particularly in the United States.

Catholic climate skeptics include Republican leader John Boehner of the House of Representatives and Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum, according to The Guardian.

These sKeptics have reportedly accused the Pope of meddling in a field where he has no expertise of. They also said that bodies such as the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change are feeding the radical pope wrong information.

Tagspope francis climate change, Pope Francis, global warming, Rome, Laudato Si, on the care of our common home, encyclical