A draft of Pope Francis's widely anticipated encyclical on climate change and on the state of the world's environment was leaked. Italian news publication L'Espresso obtained and published the draft on Monday, four days prior to the supposed date of the encyclical's publication.

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

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The allegedly leaked encyclical contains 192 pages. However, the Vatican issued a statement insisting that the leaked document was not the final draft, which will officially be released Thursday, according to The Telegraph.

The Vatican also furiously condemned the leaking, describing it as a "heinous act" and even an "act of sabotage."

"An Italian text of a draft of the Pope's encyclical 'Laudato Si' has been published. Please note that it is not the final text, and that the rules of the embargo remain in place," the Vatican said in a statement. "We ask journalists to respect professional standards, which call for waiting for the official publication of the final text."

According to Vatican advisers, "Laudato Si" will not delve into policy prescriptions. However, Pope Francis will also not ignore the scientists' opinions on how human activities lead to climate change and the destruction of the planet.

The alleged draft of the encyclical released by L'Espresso was published in Italian. It reportedly has similar points that the pope has made together with his advisers during its long rollout.

The L'Espresso draft lays out not only moral reasons for protecting the earth but scientific reasons as well. The poor is mentioned as suffering most from air pollution and toxic wastes as well as bearing the impact of sea-level rise and treacherous weather conditions.

The draft also blamed the consumerist mind-set and wasteful behavior of the rich rather than ecological problems and population growth for the destruction of God's creation.

The comments of the pope were backed by scientific data showing the effect of the loss of Amazonian rainforests on the planet, melting of glaciers, overfishing, and water pollution.

Pope Francis also said that he wants the encyclical to reach a wider audience.

According to CNN, the upcoming encyclical will the first of its kind to have full focus on creation. It is also the first to be written entirely by the pope.

Meanwhile, several environmental groups and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops have not made any comment on the content of the encyclical, but they noted its official release on Thursday, reported The New York Times.

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