Pope calls on US to abolish death penalty

It was the day of the selfie, as someone called it. But people said it was absolutely worth the wait just to see the Pope, even for 15 seconds. “Be accepting and open to everyone who needs our help so we can have the opportunity to touch them with God’s love”.

“I am happy to be in this country, which was built by such families”, he told a crowd of 15,000 well-wishers on the South Lawn of the White House. During a ceremony, the pope spoke to the president about his initiative on climate change. Made final in August, it seeks to cut the power sector’s output of carbon dioxide 32 percent by 2030.

“Mr President, I find it encouraging that you are proposing an initiative for reducing air pollution”, The Guardian quoted the Pontiff as saying.

“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”.

Speaking at the White House, he said the problem could “no longer be left to a future generation”.

The pair held about 40 minutes of private talks.

Pope Francis is due to address a joint session of US Congress at 3.05pm Irish time today. I think that’s the important thing. There are almost 70 million Catholics in the United States.

But he didn’t avoid the issue altogether.

The tears came as Fuentes, her husband, son and her friend, Daisy Avelar, watched the pope canonize Junipero Serra during a mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. “It was always about the corporal works of mercy”, she said, referring to a Catholic tenet that urges practitioners to practice charity.

BBC religious affairs correspondent Caroline Wyatt says the Pope’s appearance in Congress has also provoked debate among some lawmakers as to whether a religious leader should be asked to address a secular democratic body.

His next stop will be New York, and then he will go to Philadelphia to wrap up his six-day visit.