Mr. President,
I am deeply grateful for your welcome in the name of all Americans. As the son of an immigrant family, I am happy to be a guest in this country, which was largely built by such families. I look forward to these days of encounter and dialogue, in which I hope to listen to, and share, many of the hopes and dreams of the American people.
During my visit I will have the honor of addressing Congress, where I hope, as a brother of this country, to offer words of encouragement to those called to guide the nation’s political future in fidelity to its founding principles. I will also travel to Philadelphia for the Eighth World Meeting of Families, to celebrate and support the institutions of marriage and the family at this, a critical moment in the history of our civilization.
Mr. President, together with their fellow citizens, American Catholics are committed to building a society which is truly tolerant and inclusive, to safeguarding the rights of individuals and communities, and to rejecting every form of unjust discrimination. With countless other people of good will, they are likewise concerned that efforts to build a just and wisely ordered society respect their deepest concerns and their right to religious liberty. That freedom remains one of America’s most precious possessions. And, as my brothers, the United States Bishops, have reminded us, all are called to be vigilant, precisely as good citizens, to preserve and defend that freedom from everything that would threaten or compromise it.
Mr. President, I find it encouraging that you are proposing an initiative for reducing air pollution. Accepting the urgency, it seems clear to me also that climate change is a problem which can no longer be left to a future generation. When it comes to the care of our “common home”, we are living at a critical moment of history. We still have time to make the changes needed to bring about “a sustainable and integral development, for we know that things can change” (Laudato Si’, 13). Such change demands on our part a serious and responsible recognition not only of the kind of world we may be leaving to our children, but also to the millions of people living under a system which has overlooked them. Our common home has been part of this group of the excluded which cries out to heaven and which today powerfully strikes our homes, our cities and our societies. To use a telling phrase of the Reverend Martin Luther King, we can say that we have defaulted on a promissory note and now is the time to honor it.
We know by faith that “the Creator does not abandon us; he never forsakes his loving plan or repents of having created us. Humanity still has the ability to work together in building our common home” (Laudato Si’, 13). As Christians inspired by this certainty, we wish to commit ourselves to the conscious and responsible care of our common home. The efforts which were recently made to mend broken relationships and to open new doors to cooperation within our human family represent positive steps along the path of reconciliation, justice and freedom. I would like all men and women of good will in this great nation to support the efforts of the international community to protect the vulnerable in our world and to stimulate integral and inclusive models of development, so that our brothers and sisters everywhere may know the blessings of peace and prosperity which God wills for all his children.
Mr. President, once again I thank you for your welcome, and I look forward to these days in your country. God bless America
What is interesting is what he left out of his remarks. I wonder if he will do the same thing when he speaks to Congress.
What is interesting is what he left out of his remarks. I wonder if he will do the same thing when he speaks to Congress.
24 comments:
Well Francis, you Marxist, if you address congress on it's founding principals, which have been deemed racist by Bernie 'Lung Butter' Sanders, then you will either need to comply in the name of tolerance and denounce the US or somehow tie yourself to the Democrat Party on it's illegal immigration stance.
No mention of the unborn or Planned Parenthood. No mention of the persecution of Christians in the Middle East. No mention of the government forcing Catholic institutions to pay for abortions and birth control in their medical plans. No real mention of the abrogation of religious freedom by government that is the benchmark of the Obama administration and progressive judges.
Just climate change.
It seems that the Pope is very narrowly focused.
Will he do it differently when he speaks to the Congress?
I think Francis is more popular with the unchurched or lightly churched (ie, Methodists and Episcopals) than among practicing Catholics, if my limited survey is representative. Obama sees him as a useful tool to drive a wedge into conservatives who appose his Cuba initiative, alternative energy funding, gay marriage, etc. Others will see him as a useful idiot.
Did he re-gift Jesus on a hammer and sickle for Obama?
Why interchange pollution with climate change? that seems like misinformation.
The world is on fire and we have these universalists preaching the brotherhood of man. Suicide.
Being of a certain age, Maggie Thatcher, Lech Walesa, Václav Havel and Pope Paul II were heroes of mine. Dissidents living under Commie rule put their lives on the line. The Russians even tried to assassinate Pope Paul. In the midst of what was going on then, can anyone imagine Pope Paul II ignoring all that and instead start prattling on about f*****g climate change? Although the Cold War was different than the Middle East today, Christians are being slaughtered by tyrannical butchers and this idiot Pope doesn't talk about it or any of the other things that Troop mentioned. I really don't care for Jorge Mario Bergoglio the man.
At least he doesn't wear red Prada slip-ons like the last pope.
Actions speak louder...
http://www.cruxnow.com/life/2015/09/23/pope-francis-visited-with-the-little-sisters-of-the-poor/
That's wonderful Father. I am very heartened that the Pontif took the time to show that supports these Nuns that are being persecuted by the government.
Maybe he can bring up their plight when he is dining at the White House.
Since pollution and climate change impact the possibility of life on this planet, it will be no small comfort to the Mid-East Christians and fetuses to have that part straightened out. He is finding common ground and making progress where he can, as all serious politicians must do.
I know right.
When you cut off someone's head you let out a lot of carbon dioxide.
Thanks for that link Fr Fox. That is great news, and obviously not well known.
Little Sisters took in my great grandfather, fed and housed him, gave him his last rites, and sent him on to the hereafter, 74 years ago. 60 years later his greatgrandkids found his name in the paupers cemetery in St. Paul and traced him back to the LS, who shared their detailed records of him.
They've been on my donation list ever since. Can't think of a more deserving charity.
Here is a report on Francis' visit to the Little Sisters of the Poor.
Do you think that Obama (and Congressional Democrats) don't know Pope Francis's beliefs on abortion? Of course they know, and they know very well his (and Catholicism's) belief in the sanctity of life, from the instant of conception through the last breath taken.
It sounds like you expected that the Pope would confront Obama upon being welcomed to the White House. That is a naive expectation.
The Pope is in America primarily to attend the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia. On his way to Philadelphia he paid a courtesy call on President Obama, to Congress, and will visit the United Nations. His visit is a pastoral visit; not a political visit. His very presence speaks to the sanctity of life; every moment of it.
Pope Francis said this to the bishops:
"I encourage you, then, to confront the challenging issues of our time. Ever present within each of them is life as gift and responsibility. The future freedom and dignity of our societies depends on how we will face these challenges. The innocent victim of abortion, the children who die of hunger or from bombings, the immigrants who drown in search for a better tomorrow, the elderly or the sick who are considered a burden...."
The way to change abortion in America is through the people, not through liberal politicians. Change the hearts and minds of the flock, and the flock will change politicians. The very visible presence of the Pope, his homilies, his speeches, his words, his actions while in America are intended to strengthen and enlarge the flock. That's how the number of those who are pro-life will increase.
Pope Francis speaks of income inequality, of the wealthy aiding the impoverished. Is that wrong? Should we not help the poor? Note that Francis does not call for government action to do this; faith requires we do this as a personal action. His call is a pastoral call; not a request for socialist government. Those who have much need to do more. A hard reminder, maybe, but true. We all need to do more for the least of God's children.
Some of us political conservatives need to take a breath an relax. We expect Pope Francis to behave like a political candidate. He isn't that; he is the Vicar of Christ, and calls each of us personally to act and believe, not through government, but through our hearts and our churches and our charities.
The abortion lectures are a bit inconvenient for the left who are loving this guy's Marxist views. I'm sure MSM will eave out of their nightly "news" report.
I'm not catholic, so forgive me.
I appreciate all the comments and opinions.
eave = leave
If he's not political, why is the Pope speaking to our congress?
Boehner invited the Pope to speak to Congress.
figures.
pope-francis-just-echoed-obamas-offensive-prayer-breakfast-remarks
There's only one religion burning people alive in cages and chopping off the heads.
Can the pope name that religion?
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