Pope Urges US Congress To End Hostility To Immigrants

Aversion to illegal immigrants has featured heavily in the race for the Republican presidential nomination.

The Pope continued, “Sadly, the rights of those who lived [in North and South America] were not respected”.

“We must not be taken aback by the numbers but we must view them as persons”, the Pope said, seeing their faces and listening to their stories and respond “in a way that is human”.

He did, however, cut one section of his prepared speech, in which he referred to the Declaration of Independence and said that politics should not be a “slave to the economy and finance”. Francis challenged the deeply partisan Congress to end polarization and use its power to heal the “open wounds” of a planet torn by hatred, greed, poverty and pollution.

He implored Congress to accept immigrants.

Pope Francis greets Catholic Charities workers and the homeless people they serve at a lunch in Washington, Thursday, September 24, 2015.

But it is unclear if his speech will change hearts and minds on immigration.

A group of college students from George Washington University described the pope as an invigorating and exciting presence who lends credence to progressive policies, but without the burden of partisanship.

“It wasn’t political, it wasn’t religious, it was about humanity”, said Donovan (R-Staten Island/Brooklyn), a Catholic.

Outside, a crowd built on the Capitol lawn watching the Pope’s message on a large monitor.

In an interview with CNN’s Dana Bash, Sanders, a Democratic presidential candidate, said Day “spent her life fighting for the poor and fighting for justice”, and added that the Pontiff’s decision to mention her along with Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr. and Thomas Merton is telling.

Certainly, the Pope’s speech was one that progressives will cheer.

In his 50-minute address, Francis asserted that the “Golden Rule reminds us of our responsibility to protect and defend human life at every stage of its development”. Thursday morning was an opportunity for him to explain what the Pope’s speech meant, how Congress felt about the issues of the past, and how they still affect today.

Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz, a 2016 White House hopeful, took a dig at Democratic rivals in Congress.

In deliberate and accented English, Francis noted that many lawmakers were themselves descended from immigrants to the US and that the country was founded by foreigners “who came to this land to pursue their dream of building a future in freedom”.

Lawmakers, he said, need to work together on the issues and Congress has an important role to play.