UNITED STATES
Reuters
By Philip Pullella September 28, 2015
Pope Francis dove into some of the United States’ thorniest political debates during his historic visit by urging the world’s wealthiest nation to welcome immigrants, to end homelessness and do more to address climate change.
Sometimes his political messages were blunt, like when he pleaded before the U.S. Congress for Americans to end “hostility” toward immigrants. Other times, they were more subtle, like the climate-conscious pope’s decision to ride around in a tiny Fiat rather than a gas-guzzling SUV.
While Vatican officials said the pope was only re-stating Church social teachings and not making political statements in his first U.S. visit ever, many in the public and across the political landscape saw it differently.
Among them, 42-year-old Gabriela Muñoz of Brooklyn, an undocumented immigrant from Mexico, who said the pope’s comments on immigration had given her “a lot of hope and faith.
“Even if it’s a small thing, it has to have touched the heart of congressmen,” she said.
But in an acutely polarized Congress, it was unclear if lawmakers’ minds were changed by Francis’ words in Washington or at the United Nations, where he condemned the “boundless thirst” for wealth and power.
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