Pope urges U.S. action on refugee crisis

No handshakes, selfies or fist bumps when Pope Francis enters the House chamber for his historic speech to Congress on Thursday.

Joe Pitts is among the House’s most staunch and active social conservatives, having fought particularly hard to end abortion and prevent same-sex couples from marrying. “It reminds of me of Pope John Paul II’s visit to Chicago 35 years ago and the outpouring of love“, he said.

He touched on issues including the death penalty, climate change and gay marriage without sparking outright criticism.

“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”. And for those who want to interpret the pope’s message about the importance of family as a denunciation of non-traditional families, they are finding something not there.

Francis delivered his remarks in Spanish, with the live translation of Monsignor Mark Miles, an official of the Vatican’s Secretariat of State who interprets for the pontiff when he’s addressing English speakers.

He also pleaded for world abolition of the death penalty -still standing in the United States- and said a just and necessary punishment should never exclude the possibility for hope and the objective of rehabilitation. There are many unjust situations, but we know that God is suffering with us, experiencing them at our side.

He said the USA “must not repeat the sins and the errors of the past” when dealing with immigrants.

And if there were any question about the pope’s priorities, he passed up a lunch in his honor on Capitol Hill to come here and spend time with the less fortunate. He challenged us to rescue our planet from the climate crisis that threatens the future of our children and the health of God’s creation – and to do so sensitive to the needs of the poor.

Lipinski said he looks forward to following the rest of the pope’s visit to New York and Philadelphia. Besides his focus on climate change and immigration, he denounced arms sales and seemed to allude approvingly to the Iran nuclear deal and recent actions by U.S. President Barack Obama’s administration to open relations with Cuba, done with his urging.

And retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson said his big takeaway was that “we as a nation still value faith”.

The defining message of Francis’ pontificate is found in these words from Thursday: “The yardstick we use for others will be the yardstick which times will use for us”.