Though Pope Francis has inveighed against the materialism that the United States seems to embody like no other country, he is also a potential political ally for Obama, sharing many of his progressive goals and bringing along many of America’s 70 million Catholics.
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The day Pope Francis addressed Congress in Washington, D.C., Republican presidential candidate and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, a Catholic, told reporters in Virginia that the pope’s opinion should not be taken too seriously. He reiterated his call to abolish the death penalty and repeated his plea on behalf of immigrants. And with that, Pope Francis began greeting people who had been waiting hours to see him.
Introducing himself at the Capitol as “a son of this great continent”, the Argentine pope, reading his remarks slowly in English, spoke from the same dais where presidents deliver their State of the Union speeches.
The pope ended the night at St Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City where there was an evening prayer service.
And while most of us fall short of such heights – including, sometimes, our churches – Pope Francis reminded lawmakers that America has a history of sacrificing particular interests in order to share common good. He advocated global abolition of the death penalty, echoing the teaching of John Paul II in Evangelium Vitae.
Rock star Pope Francis’ USA tour culminates in his speech at the United Nations on Friday.
The pope said that he wished to present “the richness of your cultural heritage, of the spirit of the American people” so that “this spirit may continue to grow”.
“We must not be taken back by the numbers but view them rather as persons, seeing their faces and listening to their stories”, Francis said.
The Holy Father hit high notes and loud applause among liberals and at times lesser enthusiasm from conservatives.
“The contemporary world with its open wounds”, he said, “demands that we confront every form of polarization which would divide it”.
He also addressed concerns over the environment, talking about climate change he said, “we need a conversation which includes everyone, since the environmental change we are undergoing, and its human roots, concerns and affects us all“.
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For those who say he’s out of touch with the economy, Father Russo says that the Pope isn’t telling individuals who wish to succeed not to.
