Into their comfort zones
Pope Francis offered what Washington and the rest of an angry, divided nation needs to hear with a dignified, moral challenge to do better. His starstruck audience both on Capitol Hill and outside listened raptly to his words that were topical and traditional.
His soft-spoken speech in halting English was unmistakably liberal, focusing on immigration reform, income inequality and climate change. He’s touched on each before, but his words this time took aim at the partisan gulf before him at a joint meeting of Congress.
On one hot-button issue, Francis implored lawmakers to accept immigrants, the “thousands of persons ... led to travel north in search of a better life for themselves and their loved ones.” It’s a timely message as Republicans harden positions against any shift in border policy.
As for global pollution, he nudged Congress toward action to “redirect’’ itself and “avert the most serious effects of the environmental deterioration caused by human activity,” a clear swipe at climate change deniers.
Francis, often a ferocious social critic, dialed down the rhetoric in addressing the representatives of the planet’s biggest economy. He eased his harsh criticism of capitalism, saying “business is a noble vocation.”
While Democrats found much in the speech that matched their policies, the pope also brought up issues that will please Republicans, wary of his call for social action.
He lamented threats to the family, a catch-all word that draws in samesex marriage now guaranteed across the country and continual fights over abortion, especially timely as Congress weighs a government shut down linked to funding for Planned Parenthood, an abortion provider.
Francis worked in other “Made in USA” issues. He denounced arms sales, which Washington uses to shore up allies, as “drenched in blood.” He also rejected the death penalty in one of the few nations that uses it. The day before, he conferred sainthood on Junipero Serra, despite objections that the Spanish missionary mistreated native people in early-days California.
As the first pope to ever address Congress, Francis made sure his words were tailored to his audience. He praised icons such as Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr. for their efforts at healing a divided nation. Then he mentioned poverty worker Dorothy Day and Trappist monk and philosopher Thomas Merton, who led simple but inspirational lives.
Gazing down on Francis as he spoke were Vice President Joe Biden and House Speaker John Boehner, both devout Catholics who agree on little politically. It made for a remarkable picture: Francis, the first pope to ever address Congress, tapping into deep religious feelings in ways certain to evoke inspiration and introspection across the partisan divide.