Watching first Rick Santorum then Jeb Bush suggest the Pope should limit himself to religious matters and leave science and politics to the scientists and politicians is both amusing and frustrating. The two of them, and the GOP as a whole, have been arguing for a couple of decades now that religious belief and faith-driven moral stands should absolutely play a significant role in our political culture, our laws, and our way of doing things as a society and as a "Christian" nation.
Which seems to be all fine and good until someone prominent enough in Christian circles starts suggesting that maybe we should do something about climate change. At which point the GOP tries to hustle the Pontiff offstage and into the "Just talk about abortion and gay marriage some more" corral.
Jeb Bush Responds to Pope Francis’s Cimate Change Enycyclical – The Atlantic
The former Florida governor suggests that the pontiff shouldn’t weigh in on climate change—again flubbing a predictable question.
As Republican leaders like to say “I’m not a scientist…”
However the Pope actually IS! (Masters in Chemistry)