Catholic priest fires back at Pat Sajak for 'sinning': 'More racist to deny climate change'

Roman Catholic priest Rev. Edwards Beck, who believes that denying climate change is a sin, on Wednesday lashed out at game show host Pat Sajak after he compared environmental activists to racists.

On Monday night, Sajak had taken to Twitter to attack climate change believers.

"I now believe global warming alarmists are unpatriotic racists knowingly misleading for their own ends. Good night," the longtime Wheel of Fortune host wrote.

"The church has indicated that this is a moral issue," Beck explained to CNN's Carol Costello on Wednesday. "We're stewards of creation, we need to care for it. This is God's gift to us. And if you abuse it, then you are really maligning that gift."

The reverend pointed out that Sajak had not thought the comparison to racism all of the way through.

"What's interesting to me is -- the racist, unpatriotic -- is how you link the two," Beck said. "I think the argument could be made that it is more racist to deny climate change because those being effected by it are the poor. The global poor are effected most by climate change, not the rich, who can afford air conditioning, and who can get around all the deleterious effects of climate change."

Evangelical Rev. Mitchell Hescox told Costello that he was praying for Sajak to get over his "angry hatredness."

"You just have to look at the world around you," he added. "You know, the world is changing. And we need to do something about it before it's too late."

Watch the video below from CNN's Newsroom, broadcast May 21, 2014.