During a historic address to the U.S. Congress on Thursday, Pope Francis, the son of immigrants, issued a clarion call for America’s elected officials to embrace newcomers to this country as their own children and cast aside political differences, according to a transcript of the speech at The Washington Post. Some Republicans, including Graham, stood when the pope cited his opposition to abortion. He even snagged a picture of Francis in his vehicle.
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In an apparent reference to Congress’s inability to fix a broken immigration system, the pope asked lawmakers to “avoid a common temptation nowadays: to discard whatever proves troublesome”.
His remarks were especially relevant in light of the global refugee crisis, which has caused European Union countries to squabble over how to handle the influx of migrants and recently led the U.S.to increase the number of refugees it will accept by 2017.
Father Jean-Claude Atusameso, a Catholic Priest of the Diocese of Kikwit in the Democratic Republic of Congo, told VOA Studio 7 the pope has validated the belief of many that he is a man of the people, through his actions, starting with his stop to Cuba, before arriving in the U.S.
And no, Perry didn’t get a selfie with the pontiff. (African-Americans also paid a high price for their unwilling immigration.) He said we should recognize the stranger in our midst, because hes not really a stranger at all.
Republican Senator Ted Cruz, who also is seeking his party’s presidential nomination in 2016, had this say to VOA about the pope’s call for compassion for migrants: “When we speak of welcoming immigrants, I believe that should refer to legal immigrants”.
In an effort to help make the speech a little more accessible for the school’s 200 sixth- seventh- and eighth graders, they played a “Pope Bingo” game while watching the YouTube recording of the speech in classrooms during the day’s first period, from 8 a.m. until about 8:55 a.m. With some observers long wondering whether he has forsaken the middle class in his focus on the poor, he made a point of reaching out to working Americans who are “paying their taxes” and sustaining a society.
Carson said he liked the pope’s discussion of taking care of life, the family and the environment.
For the most part, Perry said, Francis’s speech was effective because it acted as a conversation starter, saying the pope comes from a position of trying to find unity and peace while promoting welfare.
The pope called for support in fighting climate change, a more equitable economy, and an end to the death penalty.
“It was just a fabulous honor to be in the room”, Perry said. “You are the face of its people, their representatives”.
He described it as a “once in a lifetime historical experience”.
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It’s evidence of Pope Francis’ extraordinary presence that commentators, Catholic and otherwise, are parsing every word he spoke to the packed chamber in slow but clear English.
