Some 61 percent of USA adults polled this month said they supported the pontiff’s call to climate, which was the subject of a July encyclical which was the first major writing of any pope focused on the environment.
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In one of the few references to worldwide affairs during his speech, the Pope appeared to be following his predecessors, Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI, in a critique of United States military involvement in the Middle East. After decrying the rise of religious fanaticism, the Pontiff said: “We know that in the attempt to be freed of the enemy without, we can be tempted to feed the enemy within”.
Pope Francis gave a powerful speech in front of a joint session of Congress on Thursday, drawing many moments of rousing applause during remarks about uniting the USA and confronting social and economic injustice.
Francis’ presence and his message, she added, only emphasizes what the site represents.
Pope Francis also spoke at length about the need to address climate change and the migration crisis in Europe. It will be interesting to watch if his address to global heads of state on Friday at the United Nations General Assembly in New York carries the same tone.
“We must not be taken aback by their numbers, but rather view them as persons, seeing their faces and listening to their stories, trying to respond as best we can to their situation”, he said.
“We just love him“, said Mrs. Peter, a health care worker and an Episcopalian.
“He reminded us of our sacred and inescapable responsibility to those struggling to escape poverty, persecution and war”.
“Put aside Pope Francis on the subject of any political conversation”, he said, before turning the subject back on his true nemesis, Barack Obama.
They are the kind of people Pope Francis urged all Americans to reach out and touch in some way.
DelCampo, who is a part of the Catholic Association of Latino Leaders alongside her husband, said she hopes his willingness to speak on the sensitive topic will bring change to communities such as hers. We have an opportunity to be a better America.
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Francis asked the crowd to pray for him, as he always does.
