African Integrity Magazine – Pope Francis I Calls For The Protection Of The Vulnerables In The World

Pope Francis I Calls For The Protection Of The Vulnerables In The World

Jan 15, 2016 Samuel Foreign News 0

At the U.S. Congress recently, Pope Francis urged the United States not to turn its back on undocumented immigrants, to reject the victimization of religious and ethnic minorities, to overcome income inequality and to save the planet from climate change, citing Scripture and the nation’s founding ideals. Francis by his first-ever visit to the United States was emphatic that the challenges like climate change, income inequality and the plight of immigrants are moral – not political – issues, stressing that the richest most developed countries have an obligation to act. “I would like all men and women of goodwill in this great nation to support the efforts of the international community to protect the vulnerable in our world and to stimulate integral and inclusive models of development.”

He said it was right that society was “tolerant and inclusive” but warned that American Catholics were “concerned that efforts to build a just and wisely ordered society respect their deepest concerns and their right to religious liberty. That freedom remains one of America’s most precious possessions.” Obama gently – but pointedly – argued that “here in the United States, we cherish religious liberty.” Obama and Fist Lady Michelle Obama earlier greeted the Pope at the White House as he stepped out of his small black Fait, which he is using to make a statement of humility in Washington, a city full of limos and hulking government SUVs. In another nod to Francis’ pared down style, the White House dispensed with the 21-gun salute to which he is entitled as the titular head of the Vatican state. Obama paid warm tribute to the Pope as an individual as well as the leader of 70 million U.S. Catholics, saying he displayed “unique qualities” of a leader “whose moral authority comes not just through words but also through deeds. President Obama presented his guest with a sculpture of a ascending dove made from metal taken from the statue of Liberty.

Francis also took time to minister to the hurting U.S. Catholic Church, meeting bishops at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle, in Washington, offering counsel at a time of great upheaval among his American flocks.

The Pope’s visit brought Washington to a halt, as Massive crowed greeted the pontiff as he emerged from the White House complex.