Levin: Pope Francis and Obama ‘Speak Down To Us’

Throughout his tour, the pope has taken on some of the biggest global risks, highlighting his views on how to save the world from its gravest threats and its own worst impulses.

“In recent centuries, millions of people came to this land to pursue their dream of building a future in freedom”. Pope Francis has told the US Congress that the United States must see migrants as “persons” and not as “numbers”.

Reaffirming a “right to the environment”, the pontiff, 78, said that the universe was “the fruit of a loving decision by the Creator” and that humanity “is not authorised to abuse it, much less to destroy it”. It will detract from his otherwise sound message regarding same-sex marriage and the right to life.

Pope Francis met the families outside the memorial plaza near two commemorative waterfalls which he described as “a symbol of our tears”. “So we’re supping with the pope”.

Eric Dyer, 50, who said he has faced bouts of homelessness since 1988 and is now homeless, said he hoped the pope’s call would help put pressure on Congress to do more to help the destitute.

They were glued to it for 50 minutes, even those with aisle seats, and many College of the Holy Cross students who gathered for the viewing party at the Worcester campus thought Pope Francis homered.

The Pope broke the ice by complimenting Boehner’s green tie, which Francis called “the color of hope”. “I mean we are different, in terms of our mindset, our psychology, which is built around liberty”.

Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker and onetime Republican presidential candidate, said he is “more open” to eliminating the death penalty after hearing Pope Francis’ address to Congress.

Taking the United Nations rostrum, the leader of the world’s more than one billion Catholics called for reform to global bodies, including the UN Security Council and financial lenders, to “limit every kind of abuse and usury”.

The pontiff also praised US diplomacy for overcoming “historic differences linked to painful episodes of the past”, likely a reference to recently improved relations with Cuba, where the pope was visiting just prior to arriving in Washington.

“I think (the pope) is seeking a change in tone and how we talk about human beings”, Atkinson said.

Predicting what the pope would say, and how it would play politically, made for one of the hottest parlor games inside the Beltway in the weeks leading up to the speech. He urged Congress and the captains of industry to “redirect our steps” to address “environmental degradation caused by human activity”.

In particular, young people facing economic despair and other problems are discouraged from having kids, and others are so rich that starting a family is a distraction, he said.

After an impassioned early morning speech at the United Nations, and the grave solemnity of Ground Zero, Francis was welcomed in song and laughter on a heartwarming visit to a Catholic school in New York’s East Harlem neighborhood Friday afternoon.