Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Help hurting planet, pope tells Congress
Chamber’s first papal words plead for aliens, condemned
WASHINGTON — Pope Francis, the spiritual leader of 1.2 billion Catholics, challenged Congress on Thursday to break out of its cycle of polarization and paralysis to use its power to heal the “open wounds” of a planet torn by hatred, greed, poverty and pollution.
Taking a rostrum never before occupied by the bishop of Rome, the pontiff issued a call to action on issues largely favored by liberals, including a defense of immigration, an endorsement of environmental legislation, a condemnation of the arms trade and a plea to abolish the death penalty.
“Politics is, instead, an expression of our compelling need to live as one, in order to build as one, the greatest common good,” he told a joint meeting of Congress in an address that cited American icons such as Abraham Lincoln and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
“The contemporary world, with its open wounds which affect so many of our brothers and sisters, demands that we confront every form of polarization, which would divide it into these two camps,” Francis said.
The pope’s speech to Congress, and a lunchtime visit with the homeless in Washington, capped two days in the nation’s capital. On Thursday afternoon, the pope’s plane landed at Kennedy International Airport in New York City.
Francis’ schedule there includes addressing world leaders at the United Nations today, participating in
an interfaith service at the Sept. 11 memorial museum at ground zero and taking a processional drive through Central Park. He also will celebrate Mass at the Madison Square Garden arena.
He’ll wrap up his visit this weekend at the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia, where he is to speak in front of Independence Hall and celebrates Mass on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.
Francis became the first pope ever to address a joint meeting of Congress. Supreme Court justices, Cabinet officials, lawmakers, aides and invited guests jammed the House’s chamber, while tens of thousands more people were invited to watch on jumbo screens on the West Lawn of the Capitol.
“Mr. Speaker, the pope of the Holy See,” bellowed the sergeant at arms.
Behind the pope sat Democratic Vice President Joe Biden and Republican House Speaker John Boehner, the first and second in line to the presidency, both Catholics.
In his speech Thursday, Francis defended religious liberty and the traditional family. He was less explicit in condemning abortion but called for a defense of life at “every stage of development.”
“I cannot hide my concern for the family, which is threatened perhaps as never before, from within and without,” he said at the end of his speech, delivered in slow, cautious English. “Fundamental relationships are being called into question, as is the very basis of marriage and the family. I can only reiterate the importance and, above all, the richness and the beauty of family life.”
The heart of the papal address was dedicated the overriding need to help the poor and destitute. He was at his most passionate in embracing immigration, alluding to his own family’s history of moving from Italy to Argentina, where he was born.
“We, the people of this continent, are not fearful of foreigners, because most of us were once foreigners,” Francis said. “I say this to you as the son of immigrants, knowing that so many of you are also descended from immigrants.
“We must resolve now to live as nobly and as justly as possible as we educate new generations not to turn their back on our neighbors and everything around us,” he continued. “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 cited the do-unto-others Golden Rule. “The yardstick we use for others will be the yardstick which time will use for us,” Francis said. “The Golden Rule also reminds us of our responsibility to protect and defend human life at every stage of its development.”
While that represents typical code for abortion, Francis segued immediately to calling for the abolition of the death penalty. “I am convinced that this way is the best, since every life is sacred, every human person is endowed with an inalienable dignity and society can only benefit from the rehabilitation of those convicted of crimes,” he said.
He also warned of the excesses of globalization. “I would encourage you to keep in mind all those people around us who are trapped in a cycle of poverty,” he said. “They too need to be given hope.”
He added that “it goes without saying that part of this great effort is the creation and distribution of wealth.” While “business is a noble vocation,” he said, it must be “an essential part of its service to the common good.”
He was less restrained about the arms trade. “Why are deadly weapons being sold to those who plan to inflict untold suffering on individuals and society?” he asked. “Sadly, the answer, as we all know, is simply for money — money that is drenched in blood, often innocent blood. In the face of this shameful and culpable silence, it is our duty to confront the problem and to stop the arms trade.”
Francis was invited by Boehner, R- Ohio, who is Catholic and has tried for 20 years to get a pope to come to Capitol Hill. His Democratic counterpart, Nancy Pelosi of California, is also a Catholic.
The Congress that Francis addressed Thursday includes 138 House members and 26 senators who are Catholic.
‘GOD BLESS AMERICA!’
After the address, Francis appeared high on a Capitol balcony and addressed a cheering crowd of thousands below on the lawn and the Mall beyond who had watched his speech on giant TV screens.
“Buenos dias,” he called out. The crowd thundered its response.
Francis asked the crowd to pray for him, as he always does. But speaking in Spanish, he added a line to acknowledge that not everyone there was a believer.
“If among you there are some who don’t believe or who cannot pray, I ask that you send good wishes my way,” he said, to tumultuous applause.
“God bless America!” he concluded, as he had in the House chamber.
The pope then traveled a short distance from the grandeur of the Capitol to address the plight of Washington’s homeless at St. Patrick’s Church, and to share a meal with those who are without a place to live.
“We can find no social or moral justification, no justification whatsoever, for lack of housing,” the pope said, speaking in Spanish with an interpreter at the church. He urged the homeless to turn toward prayer for strength, and he beseeched those with means to remember them.
“We know that Jesus wanted to show solidarity with every person,” he said.
“Buen apetito,” he told the eaters before a meal of teriyaki chicken, Asian pasta salad and green beans.
The pope waded into the sea of tables where a crowd of mostly homeless men and women — including felons, people with mental illnesses, victims of domestic violence and substance abusers — were seated. He stopped to lay his hand on the heads of children who had kept quiet for the hours of waiting with special pope coloring books and crayons.
“I told him stay blessed and not stressed,” said Mark Perrez, 54, who is staying in a men’s shelter run by Catholic Charities.
That evening, after arriving at John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens, the pope boarded a helicopter to Manhattan, where he was to preside over a vespers service at St. Patrick’s Cathedral.
Two sisters, 89-year-old Anna Ambrosino and 92-yearold Connie Angiolillo, waited in their wheelchairs for Francis to arrive. Angiolillo, citing her age, said this was her only chance to see him: “Next time I see the pope,” she said, “it will be in heaven.”