After bonding with US President Barack Obama on progressive themes like climate change, Pope Francis on Thursday addresses Congress, where conservatives embrace his moral authority but are less comfortable with the pontiff’s more political preachings.
On Wednesday, his first full day in the United States, Francis was greeted with pomp and ceremony at the White House, and then crisscrossed Washington to huddle with bishops, greet ecstatic well-wishers, conduct mass and elevate a Franciscan friar to sainthood.
Now, he takes America’s grandest political platform, becoming the first leader of the Roman Catholic Church to address a joint meeting of Congress, including more than 500 lawmakers, Supreme Court justices and top administration officials including Vice President Joe Biden.
Following his 40-minute speech, Francis will emerge on a balcony overlooking the Capitol’s west front lawn, where several thousand people were already gathered at daybreak as part of an expected crowd of some 50,000.
— AFP
Pope Francis waves to people near the White House as he is driven around in his Popemobile on Constitution Avenue, September 23, 2015, on the second day of his 3-day trip to Washington, DC. (AFP PHOTO / PAUL J. RICHARDS)
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