Pope Francis today took on a host of controversial issues including the death penalty, climate change, marriage and immigration in the first speech by any pope to the U.S. Congress – against a backdrop of a deeply divided Capitol.
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Pope Francis addressing the U.S. Congress on Thursday.
Yet the pope spoke to a Congress that has been in deadlock on immigration legislation, where some politicians have balked at Obama administration plans to accept more of the migrants from Syria and elsewhere who are now flooding Europe. Speaker of the House John Boehner, right, was tearful as he listened to the Pope give a blessing. A theology professor at University of Saint Francis explained this pope’s popularity and connection to people across different walks of life could be connected to his namesake: St. Francis of Assisi.
Dozens of homeless families enjoyed a blessing from the Holy Father during their lunch as he paid a visit to Catholic Charities in the Archdiocese of Washington.
The pontiff made his way down the famous artery in Manhattan in his popemobile to the recently renovated Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, where around 3,000 people crammed inside for an evening prayer service.
Thousands flocked to 5th Avenue to catch a glimpse of the pontiff as his motorcade passed en route.
Not all the comments from Fox News Facebook fans were negative. He had been waiting for seven hours.
“We can find no social or moral justification, no justification whatsoever, for lack of housing”, the pope told charity workers, donors and recipients in the capital of the world’s richest country. “He’s our hero. It’s something that moves you-something that you need to see”.
As the pope drove by, he waived at everyone, some of whom waited up to four hours to see him.
He will also spend the day visiting the 9/11 Memorial and Museum, a school in East Harlem and participate in a procession through New York’s Central Park. Despite his near universal popularity, the historic visit has deep political implications for members of both parties.
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In a presser outside a campaign stop in Virginia, Bush, who saw Pope Francis when he went through D.C., dismissed Francis’s call for action against climate change, saying that the Pope was “not a scientist, he’s a religious leader”.
