Written by Cecil Takim
On his ongoing tour in the United States, Pope Francis arrived with a resounding welcome meeting the First family in person and toured around Washington D.C. in a Fiat Car which has already gone viral and shows his acts speak louder than words. Ever since he was elected in 2013, Pope Francis has given the Catholic Church a needed makeover in order to restore faith in practising Catholics and non-Catholics alike- with his humility and his progressive stance on capitalism and climate change which deters hard-line conservatives and with the U.S. Presidential Election over a year away, some Republican candidates disagree with his views including Sen. Marco Rubio and Rick Santorum who are both Catholics. However, Pope Francis remains influential in having played a role in rebuilding U.S- Cuba relations culminating in the removal of the embargo the United States posed on Cuba for over five decades.
One of the things that make Pope Francis stand out over his predecessors is his humility. He does not flaunt the Church’s wealth nor wear expensive jewellery and wants the Church to be more open. However, it may not change the Catholic Church as he is still against abortion, contraceptives and same-sex marriage even after his remarks of not judging a gay person who seeks for God which remains a hot topic in the United States with Presidential Candidate Mike Huckabee supporting the Paraguayan government denying abortion to an 11 year old who was raped by her step-father over a month ago and the Kentucky Clerk Kim Davis who denied marriage licenses to gay couples.
Upon his arrival in the U.S., he spoke in front of Congress becoming the first Pope to speak in front Congress. At the moment, the U.S. Congress is limited with the inability to compromise even though the Republicans dominate both the Senate and the House. The message from the Pope was powerful and moving bringing Marco Rubio and House Speaker John Boehner to tears. He praises the United States and challenges the Congress to defend and preserve the dignity of Americans for the common good using Moses as an example to use just legislation. In the speech, he also referenced the likes of Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr. who advocated for freedom in America in their different ways from MLK’s March in Selma and the 150th anniversary of Lincoln’s assassination and freedom for the common good.
Other issues he talked about in his speech include religious fundamentalism, climate change, abortion, immigration and the death penalty. He also mentioned the current refugee crisis that has heavily affected Europe with majority coming from Syria and Iraq fleeing from the current conflict in Syria and the presence of ISIS calling on the U.S. to respond in a more humane way. Also on the issue of immigration which has stirred controversy in the U.S. Presidential Election with candidate Donald Trump viewing migrants that come from Mexico as rapists, bringing drugs and crime, Pope Francis in his speech noted that ‘most of us were once foreigners’ and to teach the next generation not to turn back on their neighbours.
After the speech, he was given a standing ovation in Congress and later went outside the U.S. Capitol greeting thousands of people asking them to bless him. The Pope fever still continues as he goes to New York but can his speech inspire those in Washington and the Presidential Candidates? It depends but he is restoring the faith to many in America.