The pope is scheduled to address a joint meeting of the House and the Senate on Thursday, which will mark the first-ever speech by a pople before Congress. The address is a key focus of attention because he could touch on politically sensitive issues like climate change and immigration.
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“If you are different than me, why don’t we talk?” The Catholic Church’s opposition to same-sex marriage and abortion meanwhile puts him at odds with many Democrats and the Obama administration. But Bush, a convert to Catholicism, also angled for a ticket to the papal Mass in Washington on Wednesday afternoon and will be in the crowd of some 25,000 (and an object of many photographers’ lenses). Catholic GOP presidential candidates have rejected his arguments as flawed, and one Republican climate doubter, Arizona Rep. Paul Gosar, announced plans to boycott Francis’ speech. He promptly rolled down the windows, enabling the cheering, whooping crowds to see him as his motorcade took him to the Vatican diplomatic mission in Washington, where he will stay while in the nation’s capital. The pope offered a final wave before departing. Other chants later erupted: “Ho, ho, hey, hey; welcome to the United States of America !” and “Fran-cis-co!”
After he stepped off his plane at Andrews Air Force Base in neighboring Maryland, Francis was driven away in the back of a tiny, charcoal gray Fiat 500L.
He smiled broadly and said hello to individual well-wishers before walking along the red carpet alongside Obama.
The Pope is spending three days in Washington before heading to New York and Philadelphia. “My desire is that they end up with a good result, that they reach an accord that satisfies both sides, an accord, certainly”. The pope is expected to raise the “normalization” process while in Washington, where Congress alone can lift the embargo long opposed by the Vatican.
The Pope said he “may have given the impression of being a little more to the left, but it would not be a correct interpretation”. He says such explanations are wrong.
He is forceful, outspoken and insistent on those topics, in ways that have gained him unexpected allies among progressives while alienating – at least in the US – some of the church’s longtime friends among political and cultural conservatives.
In that speech, the pope said Catholic doctrine requires the “just distribution of the fruits of the earth and human labor”.
Francis, 78, has never visited the United States before. It is his first visit to the United States.
Even though Pope Francis is not coming to the South, the Papal Visit has energized Catholics here – and around the country.
Before he departed Cuba today, he called on its people to live a “revolution of tenderness”. Vice President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, and two of their granddaughters also attended.
White House staffers say Pope Francis is in a class all by himself and that his visit stands out.
The pope has shunned the grand trappings of the office, pledging to make the Catholic church “a poor church for the poor”.
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In addition to President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama, the welcoming party includes first daughters Malia and Sasha Obama and their grandmother, Marian Robinson.
