In a long-awaited encyclical, Pope Francis on Thursday called for a "revolution" on climate change, a threat the leader of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics warned had brought the planet to the verge of a perilous "breaking point," CNN reported.

"Doomsday predictions can no longer be met with irony or disdain," the pope said in what the news channel dubbed a "sharply worded manifesto," customarily titled "Laudato Si'," or "Praise Be to You," after its initial phrase.

Francis cited scientific consensus that we are witnessing a "disturbing warming" of the Earth and supported the -- more politically challenging -- view that human activity is largely to blame for climate change. The pontiff also pointed to a wider range of environmental challenges, CNN noted.

"Climate change is a global problem with grave implications: environmental, social, economic, political and for the distribution of goods. It represents one of the principal challenges facing humanity in our day," he wrote.

Meanwhile, "the Earth, our home, is beginning to look more and more like an immense pile of filth. In many parts of the planet, the elderly lament that once beautiful landscapes are now covered with rubbish," Francis added.

Vatican officials, who released the encyclical at noon on Thursday following a heavily attended news conference, were infuriated that an Italian magazine on Monday had posted a leaked draft of the document online, the New York Times noted.

The media interest was mostly sparked by the fact that Francis' encyclical marks the first time that a pope has written such a message about environmental damage; he is proposing "an intriguing coalition ... between faith and science," the newspaper said.

Ghanaian Cardinal Peter Turkson, who heads the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, meanwhile, echoed the pope's warnings during the Vatican news conference.

"Humanity is faced with a crucial challenge that requires the development of adequate policies, which, moreover, are currently being discussed on the global agenda," Turkson said. "Certainly, 'Laudato Si' can and must have an impact on important and urgent decisions to be made in this area."