Eastern Missouri Congressman Blaine Luetkemeyer, who had earlier told Missourinet he wanted to see the pope keep his comments on religious guidance, did not offer objection to what the Catholic Church’s leader had to say about climate change in the address.
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But reaction also came quickly to the content of the pope’s speech, which was full of politics (we highlighted 10 political moments here).
During his visit to Washington D.C., Bambrick said that Pope Francis praised the courage of Catholic Bishops in dealing with sexual abuse.
On climate change, the Pope alluded to his recent encyclical in which he denounced global warming as a woe caused by mankind.
This week, Pope Francis has thrilled pro-life activists with countless pro-life statements before Congress and at different venues in the United States.
The pope addressed a sharply divided Congress roughly one week before it is increasingly likely to shut down the government because of a fight over federal dollars for Planned Parenthood. In a bold move, Francis called on the embrace of immigrants, saying, “We, the people of this continent, are not fearful of foreigners”. Now is the time for courageous actions and strategies, ‘ he said. They cried, you saw members of Congress openly weeping to having tears in their eyes and the excitement and the applause that he was met with, especially when he said the golden rule. “We must not be taken aback by their numbers”, he said.
When discussing the “golden rule” of “do unto others as you would have them do unto you”, Francis said that life should be protected at all stages; a direct call to pro-life supporters.
“I can not hide my concern for the family, which is threatened, perhaps as never before, from within and without”, Francis said.
“Fundamental relationships are being called into question, as is the very basis of marriage and the family”, he said. “But rather view them as persons, seeing their faces and listening to their stories”.
Pope Francis addresses a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress with with Vice President Joe Biden (L) and Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH) in the House Chamber of the US.
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Pope Francis on Thursday used his first public remarks since arriving in New York to express solidarity with Muslims after a devastating stampede in Saudi Arabia. Yet barely an hour after the pontiff left the Capitol, the White House issued a forceful veto threat on legislation before the Senate that would redirect funding from Planned Parenthood because of the videos that show its officials bluntly discussing abortion procedures.
