Pope calls on U.S. to fight climate change

He bestowed a papal kiss and blessing and then she was handed off back into the arms of her father Raul Cruz, who said the holy experience made him “so happy, so excited”.

“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,” Pope Francis said.

A red-coated band is parading, playing their way around the White House’s South Lawn.

People hoping to catch a glimpse of Pope Francis during a late morning parade are lining up for a coveted spot along the route.

The pope and president were also aligned in their call for addressing global poverty and inequality, with Obama praising Francis’ call to put “the least of these at the centre of our concern”.

In his remarks, Obama welcomed the pontiff’s work to lift up the poor and his commitment to fight climate change.

“I am in God’s hands”, Pope Francis told reporters before his trip to the Philippines earlier this year.

After speeches from the President and the Pope, the two men will hold private talks, with only a translator present, in the Oval Office.

The Obamas and a crowd of thousands are welcoming the pope to the White House. “That freedom remains one of America’s most precious possessions”. Under sunny skies, the crowd of invited guests, military personnel and officials gathered for remarks by President Barack Obama and the pope. The theme of the World Meeting of Families – Philadelphia 2015 is Love Is Our Mission: “The Family Fully Alive, emphasizing the impact of the love and life of families on our society”.

The pope arrived in the United States after a visit to Cuba, during which he urged Cubans to undertake a “revolution of tenderness” at a time of change as the nation reestablishes relations with the United States after decades of Cold War-spawned hostility.

“It’s not just that he’s the pope. He’s a cool pope”, Johnson said.

And overtly political messages to the pope, his flock, and their elected representatives were all over town. He once complained that the church had been unfairly singled out for criticism and defended the measures it had taken to address it, leading victims groups to question whether he really “got it” about abuse.

Despite that rebuke, Mahony remains a part of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops with the title Archbishop Emeritus of Los Angeles.

However, the scandal persists, and victims say the bishops still haven’t fully accounted for sheltering abusers. Almost all were appointed by Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI.

They prioritised drawing clearer boundaries for Catholic behaviours and beliefs in the face of legalised abortion, advances in gay rights, and the exodus of many Westerners from organised religion.

Pope Francis is head of the Catholic Church with over 1.2 billion members worldwide; 40 percent of them are in Latin America with Africa seeing the biggest growth in catholic congregations in recent years.

The pope encouraged them to build relationships with anyone, no matter that person’s views on church teaching, and to do so with compassion.

Pope Francis might be the most popular pontiff in a generation, but that doesn’t mean he’s easy to protect.

Francis was to celebrate the Mass of canonization for Junipero Serra in Spanish.