Pope Francis Visit 2015

Pope Francis was born in Buenos Aires in 1936, a child of Italian immigrants.  He studies chemistry but became a Jesuit, and was ordained a priest in 1992.  He was consecrated a cardinal in 1998.  In 2013, Pope Francis became the 266th pope.  He is the first Jesuit to become pope.  He chose the name of Francis in honor of St. Francis of Assisi reminding christians and catholics of the importance of not forgetting the poor.

He has written several documents including, Lumen Fidei (the Light of Faith) and an Apostolic Exhortation called Evangelic Gaudiem (the Joy of the Gospel) which is available on this blog.

Today, in a historic event, the pope addressed both houses of Congress.  It was telling to see three Roman Catholic Christians on the screen.  Seated behind Pope Francis was the Speaker of the House, John Boehner, a Roman Catholic, and the President of the United States Senate Joe Biden, also Roman Catholic.  Two Roman Catholics, one a Republican the other a Democrat, serving in a chamber that is divided and partisan and known for its toxic culture of division.  Yet, the reason that this pope is a leader for his time, is that in my opinion, he can't be labeled as either a conservative or a liberal politically.  He spoke about the value of life of every stage, covering both the abortion debate, and the death penalty, he spoke both of the value of business and our responsibility to create fairness in our economy.  To understand this Pope, one must understand that he is first and foremost interested in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and not serving any one political agenda.

There were many high points in the speech.  He reminded law makers of their vocation embodied in Moses the lawgiver of Israel.  He spoke on the importance of the "right application of technology, the spirit of enterprise, and a modern economy which is both modern, inclusive, and sustainable".  He spoke of business as a noble vocation.  He spoke of combating poverty, respecting immigrants, and taking care of nature, all in the light of the common good that we all share.  He emphasized the importance of children and our commitment to them.  There were four Americans he referred to that embodied these values: Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr, Dorothy Day (social justice) and Thomas Merton (capacity for dialogue).  He is scheduled to eat lunch today with the homeless.

I am currently on a series on the Beatitudes, its timely that this Sunday I will be speaking on "blessed are those that hunger and thirst for justice."  This speech as well as this pope are embodiments of someone who does just that.  May we also have the same heart for others, which is the heart of Christ and the heart of the Gospel.  Indeed, he needs our prayers...

Blog entry July 2014 (The Joy of the Gospel)

click here for text of pope's speech to congress (third party site)

click here for archive of pope speeches at Vatican Radio (third party site- you are leaving this blog)

NY Times Video of Pope Speech to Congress

download papal encyclical at this link (third party site) Laudato Si