Pope Francis' long-awaited encyclical "Laudato Si'," in which the leader of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics warned that climate change had brought the planet to a "breaking point" and called for an environmental "revolution," has received mixed reactions across the American political landscape, Fox News noted.

President Barack Obama said in a statement that he "welcomed" the pope's activism on the issue.

"(I) deeply admire the Pope's decision to make the case -- clearly, powerfully, and with the full moral authority of his position - for action on global climate change," the president noted. "As Pope Francis so eloquently stated this morning, we have a profound responsibility to protect our children, and our children's children, from the damaging impacts of climate change."

Secretary of State John Kerry, a practising Catholic, similarly praised the encyclical as "powerful."

"The faith community -- in the United States and abroad - has a long history of environmental stewardship and aiding the poor, and Pope Francis has thoughtfully applied those same values to the very real threat our planet is facing today," Kerry suggested.

But Republican presidential hopeful Jeb Bush was more reserved in his assessment of the papal message, in which Francis cited scientific consensus that we are witnessing a "disturbing warming" of the Earth and supported the view that human activity is largely to blame for climate change, according to CNN.

"I think religion ought to be about making us better as people and less about things that end up getting into the political realm," the former Florida governor argued, the Washington Post noted.

Other Republican leaders were more outspoken in their disagreement, according to Fox News.

"I don't want to be disrespectful, but I don't consider him an expert on environmental issues," said Texas Rep. Joe Barton, a senior Republican on the Energy and Commerce Committee.

Beyond the national political scene, Francis received support from leaders including former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan and World Bank President Jim Yong Kim, the Washington Post said.

The "release of Pope Francis' first encyclical should serve as a stark reminder to all of us of the intrinsic link between climate change and poverty," Jim argued.