Pope Francis’ Address to Congress

09/24/2015

Some thoughts written down during the Pope’s speech in Congress today:

I am impressed by the degree to which this speech is a celebration of the “land of the free and the home of the brave.” Pope Francis takes the best of our country (personified in Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Dorothy Day and Thomas Merton) and connects it to the best attributes of mankind.

He addresses both America’s work ethic and the problem of income inequality by reminding us of the men and women who “strive each day to do an honest day’s work” and in doing so “sustain the life of society.” And later in the speech, talks about the political process necessary to ensure that everyone who works has opportunity, has cause for hope and shares in the success of this country. Politics, he tells us, should be directed towards the greatest common good. And to achieve this we must “sacrifice particular interests.” Very timely as we approach, in less than a week, the prospect of a government shutdown over an inability to compromise.

His warning to reject simply seeing “only good or evil” is powerful. He tells us that when we attempt to defeat enemies outside of us (I take it to mean both individually and as a nation) we can be tempted to feed the enemies within. “To imitate the hatred and violence of tyrants and murderers is the best way to take their place.” Later in the speech, he talks about the recent agreement between the major world powers and Iran to stop that country from developing nuclear weapons. “When countries which have been at odds resume the path of dialogue — a dialogue which may have been interrupted for the most legitimate of reasons — new opportunities open up for all. This has required, and requires, courage and daring, which is not the same as irresponsibility.”

He really hits his stride when it comes to immigration. My favorite line of the speech: “We, the people of this continent, are not fearful of foreigners, because most of us were once foreigners.” Our task, he argues, is to see migrants, refugees and asylum seekers not as numbers but as “persons, seeing their faces and listening to their stories, trying to respond as best we can to their situation.” He urges us to find a way to help, to reject hostility and to ensure that we do not turn our back on our neighbors. Very difficult to achieve, which he acknowledges, but encourages us finally by saying “I am confident that we can do this.”

He ends by reminding us of America’s greatness and the values on which our primacy rests: “A nation can be considered great when it defends liberty as Lincoln did, when it fosters a culture which enables people to “dream” of full rights for all their brothers and sisters, as Martin Luther King sought to do; when it strives for justice and the cause of the oppressed, as Dorothy Day did by her tireless work, the fruit of faith which becomes dialogue and sows peace in the contemplative style of Thomas Merton.”

I am grateful for his visit, for his words of wisdom, and for having the opportunity to listen to him in person today. I am left with a new perspective on, and appreciation for, the greatness of America; the difficulty of the challenges before us; and the courage, daring and conviction that will be required to overcome them.