by Justin Soutar
The Prayer
of the Church
After leaving the White House,
Pope Francis headed to St. Matthew’s Cathedral in downtown Washington, a
beautiful and historic church whose unusual Romanesque architecture evokes an
earlier era of Christianity. This was the parish of America’s only Catholic
president to date, John F. Kennedy, during his administration (1961—1963); his
remains are buried beneath a circular marble slab in front of the cathedral’s
main altar. Here the Holy Father joined Cardinal Donald Wuerl, Archbishop of
Washington, and several hundred bishops from around the United States for
midday prayer. Francis then delivered an hour-long address in Italian in which
he shared with the bishops his own experiences as a pastor, focused on the
basic qualities needed in a shepherd, and praised their defense of the unborn
and their assistance to immigrants and refugees. After greeting a few of the
bishops personally, the pope had Cardinal Wuerl tell them in English that he
was sorry he couldn’t greet each of them individually. He tapped his watch and
looked at them with an expression of wide-eyed regret. They understood and
applauded.
Later that sunny Wednesday afternoon,
Pope Francis proceeded to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate
Conception and officiated at the canonization Mass of Father Junipero Serra,
the famous eighteenth-century Franciscan priest who founded many of the
California missions and who was beatified by Pope John Paul II. The Mass took
place outside the basilica to accommodate the large and remarkably diverse
crowd of bishops, priests and thousands of lay faithful from across the nation
who took part in this historic ceremony--the first canonization ever performed on
US soil. In his homily, Francis urged his listeners to guard against the apathy
that often creeps into their hearts through the monotony of daily routines by
going outside of themselves to proclaim the joy of the Gospel to others,
following the missionary example of Father Serra. Early that evening,
before retiring to his quarters for the night, the Holy Father paid a surprise
visit to the Little Sisters of the Poor at their home in northeastern
Washington; the religious congregation's ongoing legal fight against the HHS
mandate has been making national headlines for several years.
Francis Makes History
On Thursday morning, September 24, Pope Francis
headed to the US Capitol for another historic event: the first-ever papal
address to a joint session of Congress. Respectfully welcomed and escorted into
the packed semicircular House chamber, the 78-year-old Argentinian pontiff took
the podium and slowly delivered his lengthy, masterfully written prepared text
in his heavily accented English. As I joined millions of viewers across our
country and around the world watching the unprecedented event live on EWTN, I
was pleasantly surprised at how remarkably well Francis’ address was received
by these members of Congress. He was interrupted over and over again by vigorous
applause, receiving at least a dozen standing ovations from the entire assembly.
I think this impressive reception was due not only to the respect which most of
these senators and representatives already had for Pope Francis, but also to the
power of the religious and moral truths which he was proclaiming authentically
and with conviction. As human beings fashioned in God’s image, we are made for
truth, so when we hear it faithfully proclaimed, it resonates deep within us;
this holds true even for corrupt politicians who routinely ignore and betray
such truths in the daily business of government. The thread of Francis’ speech
was brilliantly woven around four great Americans whose anniversaries are being
celebrated this year: Abraham Lincoln, “the guardian of liberty, who labored
tirelessly that ‘this nation, under God, [might] have a new birth of freedom’”;
Martin Luther King, Jr., who marched as part of a campaign “to fulfill his
‘dream’ of full civil and political rights for African Americans”; Dorothy Day,
“who founded the Catholic
Worker Movement” and whose “passion for justice and for the cause
of the oppressed, were inspired by the Gospel”; and Thomas Merton, “a thinker
who challenged the certitudes of his time and opened new horizons for souls and
for the Church.”
Francis began his address by reminding the
assembled lawmakers of the fundamental truth—-often obscured these days by corruption
and partisan rhetoric—-that the real business of politics is the pursuit of the
common good. Next, turning to the grim situation of a contemporary world marked
by hatred and violent conflict, the Holy Father urged vigilance in combating
the dangers of religious and ideological fundamentalism. He also warned against
the temptation of “the simplistic reductionism which sees only good or evil;
or, if you will, the righteous and sinners,” a temptation to which certain
Americans often succumb in the realm of foreign policy. Francis added some
welcome words of wisdom: “The contemporary world, with its open wounds which
affect so many of our brothers and sisters, demands that we confront every form
of polarization which would divide it into these two camps. We know that in the
attempt to be freed of the enemy without, we can be tempted to feed the enemy
within. To imitate the hatred and violence of tyrants and murderers is the best
way to take their place.” The pope encouraged a different response to evil, “one of hope and healing, of peace and justice…We must move
forward together, as one, in a renewed spirit of fraternity and solidarity,
cooperating generously for the common good.”
Turning to the refugee crisis in the Middle East
and the ongoing phenomenon of mass migration across our nation’s southern
borders, Pope Francis began to quote the Golden Rule from Matthew 7:12 but was
interrupted by a full standing ovation from the overwhelmingly Christian
assembly. “Let us treat others with the same passion and compassion with which
we want to be treated,” said the Holy Father. “If we want security, let us give
security; if we want life, let us give life; if we want opportunities, let us
provide opportunities.” Indeed, the pope was right: this core teaching of
Christ should be the main reference point guiding our nation’s approach to
these complicated and controversial issues. Of course, allowing this teaching to
guide our immigration policy doesn’t mean we should leave our borders entirely unsecured
or grant unconditional amnesty to millions of undocumented immigrants who are
desperate to feed their families, but it does mean we should treat these people
with basic respect for their humanity and concern for their welfare while working
to reform our bureaucratic immigration system and address the root causes of mass
migration to the US. While on the topic of the Golden Rule, Francis did not
fail to remind the legislators of their responsibility “to protect and defend
human life at every stage of its development,” a clear reference to the rights
of the unborn that drew vigorous applause from this largely pro-life Congress.
Seizing the Moment
After briefly discussing the need to address
poverty, hunger, and “environmental deterioration caused by human activity,” Pope
Francis tacitly lauded the recently restored diplomatic relations between the
US and Cuba—a rapprochement in which he himself played a critical role behind
the scenes. "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,” he said. The Holy Father pointed out that such
a reconciliation between formerly estranged peoples “requires courage and
daring,” which he distinguished from “irresponsibility.” In this context, Francis
defined a good political leader as “one who, with the interests of all in mind,
seizes the moment in a spirit of openness and pragmatism.” I find it telling
that the pope used the word “pragmatism” in this sentence instead of the word
“idealism” that one might have expected him to use. Clearly, he was warning us
against the dangerous tendency to view reconciliation between enemy nations
simply as an idealistic dream that is not practical or attainable in the real
world. The pope realizes that such a defeatist mentality would discourage us
from sowing and patiently nurturing the seeds of dialogue that can, with time,
ultimately yield the abundant harvest of reconciliation. Francis was pointing
out that tearing down a wall of division between two peoples should rather be
viewed as something of practical urgency, something that should be done as soon
as circumstances permit, a concrete response to a profound human need for
social communion, something with positive real-life consequences for millions
of people on both sides. The pontiff then urged Congress to stop the global
arms trade and work to end the many armed conflicts around the world—again, not
as idealistic dreams, but as practical goals to be accomplished as soon as
possible for the good of the entire human family.
Francis concluded his historic address to the
Senate and House of Representatives by turning to the subject of the family. He
reminded his audience how essential the family has been to the building of this
country and expressed his concern about contemporary threats to marriage and
family life. "Fundamental
relationships are being called into question, as is the very basis of marriage
and the family,” said the Holy Father, apparently referring to attempts to
redefine marriage based on gender ideology and to equate deviant homosexual
relationships with traditional marriage. Focusing mainly on the challenges
young Americans currently face, the pope lamented that many “seem disoriented
and aimless, trapped in a hopeless maze of violence, abuse and despair.” “At
the risk of oversimplifying,” he continued, “we might say that we live in a
culture which pressures young people not to start a family, because they lack
possibilities for the future. Yet this same culture presents others with so
many options that they too are dissuaded from starting a family.” The pontiff’s
diagnosis is accurate: we live in a highly secularized materialistic culture
that glorifies individualism and eschews long-term commitment, while an
unfavorable economic climate makes it difficult for many young Americans to
start a family and prosper. Francis declared that we need to face these
problems “together, to talk about them and to seek effective solutions rather
than getting bogged down in discussions.”
After leaving the House
chamber and briefly greeting an enthusiastic crowd of some 50,000 people
gathered on the Mall in front of the Capitol, Pope Francis paid a midday visit
to the homeless and poor of Washington in Saint Patrick’s Church. Before
leaving the city later that afternoon, His Holiness made another unscheduled visit that eloquently underscored his heartfelt concern
for religious liberty. He stopped by the Vatican embassy to meet with Kim Davis, the Christian county clerk from Kentucky whose refusal
to issue marriage licenses for homosexual couples based on her religious
convictions led to her arrest and imprisonment earlier in the month. “Thank you
for your courage,” the pope told her in English. “Stay strong.” President Obama
had made his point at the White House the day before; now Pope Francis had made
his.
New York and Philadelphia
Partly cloudy and windy
conditions greeted the Holy Father as he arrived at JFK Airport in New York
City around 5 PM. Under heavy security, he was transferred from the American
Airlines jet to a police helicopter, from helicopter to the Fiat, and then from
Fiat to popemobile. Surrounded by dozens of police vehicles, Francis made his
way up an empty stretch of Fifth Avenue to pray Vespers in the historic and
magnificently renovated Saint Patrick’s Cathedral. On Friday morning, September
25, he became the fourth pope to visit the United Nations headquarters and
address the General Assembly. In his long and well-written speech, Francis
commended the organization for its important work for world peace during the
last seventy years, condemned the gender ideology that blurs the differences
between men and women, and urged respect for the human rights and dignity of
all peoples and families. Afterward, the Holy Father participated in an
inter-religious memorial service at the former World Trade Center site, where
he reiterated his predecessors’ forceful condemnation of violence against
innocent human beings and prayed fervently for peace.
That evening, Francis presided
over a spectacular Mass at the iconic Madison Square Garden arena, which was
filled to capacity. Near the end of the liturgy, when Cardinal Dolan thanked
him for coming to visit, the throng of at least 20,000 worshipers gave the pope
a standing ovation that lasted several minutes. It was a moving and
unforgettable moment to witness live on television. America’s Catholics had
truly embraced Pope Francis. He was their loving Shepherd who had gone beyond
his comfort zone to reach out to them, and they, his loyal flock, were now
responding with love and gratitude. “Thank you, and please, don’t forget to
pray for me,” the Holy Father added with a smile as the liturgy concluded.
(To be continued)
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