Pope urges Congress to work hard to build a better future

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis today made  history by becoming the first Pope ever to address a joint session of the United States Congress.  

In his wide-ranging address to the law-makers, which was frequently interrupted by applause, the Pope touched on many different themes.  They included the need for politics to serve the common good, the importance of cooperation and solidarity, the dangers of fundamentalism, the refugee crisis, his opposition to the death penalty, the need for courageous acts to avert environmental deterioration, the evils of the arms trade and threats to the family from within and without.  

During his speech the Pope also mentioned four great Americans from the past, Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Dorothy Day and Thomas Merton, saying that each of them helped build a better future for the people of the U.S.

Vatican Radio’s Seán-Patrick Lovett is in the United States travelling with the Pope. He sent us this report:

I've just been watching the television footage of Pope Francis' address to the Joint Session of Congress in Washington DC. And I realize that you probably didn't see what I saw - mostly because the cameras were almost always (quite rightly) on the Pope.

I was up in the press gallery enjoying a bird's-eye view of the House and trying to resist the temptation of counting the number of Republicans wearing red ties on the right and Democrats wearing blue ties on the left. I'd love to say it was a tie (I'm sorry, it's been a long day) but, as you know, the Republicans have a majority in both the Senate and the House of Representatives. Below me the Supreme Court Judges took their seats and, opposite them, the President's Council. There was clearly a place for everyone and everyone knew their place.

Then the Pope came in. And the applause was sustained and sincere on both sides of the aisle. 

My vantage point from the gallery was directly above the Pope's head, so I couldn't see him. But I could see all those who were seeing him - and their body language spoke volumes.

From the start it was clear that everyone in the room (and it's a very big room) was eager to hear what Pope Francis would say. But it was also clear, from the evident concentration lines on their faces, that many were having trouble understanding his Spanglish accent. Some leaned forward in their seats, others furrowed their brows, and a few turned an ear in his direction so as not to miss a syllable. 

It looked like they were hearing an unfamiliar piece of music for the first time. Then they picked up the tune and started to sing along. Well, not literally of course. What I mean is that they started to engage with the message and to react accordingly - with smiles, nods and applause. 

It was a Jewish Democrat (I know who he is because...never mind) who initiated the applause when the Pope introduced the figure of Moses as the "lawgiver" - an applause that was quickly picked up by everyone else. The rest of the speech was punctuated by different gestures of approval, mostly according to the political agenda of those doing the approving - although often the applause was clearly bipartisan.

But what I think took everyone by surprise was Pope Francis' choice of four individuals (two non-Catholic and two Catholic) to illustrate the four dreams of liberty (Lincoln), non-exclusion (Martin Luther King), social justice (Dorothy Day), and openness to God (Thomas Merton). 

What makes the choice surprising (and exhilarating) is the fact they are all, well, so American. 

All four incarnated what is best about the United States in terms of commitment to an ideal, living lives of coherence, generosity, courage, initiating change. They also reflect Pope Francis' own concerns: the centrality of the human person, non discrimination, the poor and the needy, peace, and the religious dimension that acknowledges how, at the end of the day, we are all in God's hands.

Watching those TV images of the Pope addressing Congress, I thought how very appropriate it was when a cameraman did cut away from Pope Francis to focus on the motto of the United States inscribed above the Speaker's desk: In God We Trust. 
Applause!

Traveling with Pope Francis from Washington to New York City - I'm Seán-Patrick Lovett