The pope said the family, which is “the fruitful covenant between a man and a woman”, is the answer to the great challenges of our world. This reporter was intrigued by the fact that he turned down the invitation by USA lawmakers for lunch and opted instead to pray with people who rely on Catholic social services, shook hands with the homeless and blessed their food.
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Pope Francis in Camden would have realized that he is not “off-grid” at all.
A number of the locals were only about 15 to 20 feet away from Pope Francis, while he was traveling in his “pope mobile” on Saturday when he was heading to the World of Families event. The population of Catholics in the country has seen a noticeable decline in the past years from a quarter of the population to just a fifth now. “Isn’t it supposed to be the other way around – the pope praying for Catholics?”
“You may have noticed that the liberal media has embraced this Pope unlike none other in our time… reinforcing an nearly rock-star status never before seen for the leader of the Catholic Church“, said Gosar, a Roman Catholic.
The pontiff set aside a prepared – and politically contentious – text on the American family to preach, riff and joke to an audience of more than 100,000 people.
During Sunday’s Papal Mass on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Kathia proclaimed the first reading in Spanish, on the altar with Pope Francis.
Denise Trickey of Immaculte Parish in Pierron celebrated the Mass with her 14-year-old son, Dennis. “(The pope) wants to take care, not only of the survivors of the clergy, but in general. He offers benevolence in his words and in his calls to action.
“I don’t think Catholicism is a bad religion by any stretch”, he said.
This time she was not going to miss him. This Jesuit told me that his Uncle Jorge was a member of the Society of Jesus – a Jesuit – too, and was just asked to do the unusual job of serving as the auxiliary bishop of Buenos Aires, Argentina.
In Philadelphia, I joined the Campus Ministry pilgrims from St. Thomas and St. Kate’s.
The state-sanctioned Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association, which most of the country’s Catholics belong to, does not recognize the Vatican as its head.
The pope also focused on the importance of dialogue, Edmiston said, adding he hoped Congress got the message “to quit with the back and forth and start working for the people as it should be”.
The Senate and House welcomed the pope in a joint session last Thursday. He made a strong but nonspecific case for lawmakers to address climate change. And he was speaking to a tough audience, powerful people who (with a few exceptions) come to hear the pope not as little children but as the scribes and Pharisees. I am convinced that we can make a difference – I’m sure. He watched Pope Francis address Congress from the West Terrace of the U.S. Capitol building and attended his speech on religious freedom and immigration at Independence Hall in Philadelphia.
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“Lo and behold, come to find out this pope is a bit of a curve ball specific to previous popes and long-standing traditions”, he said.
