Religious liberty, environment in focus as President Obama welcomes Pope Francis

September 23, 2015

Pope Francis praised the American traditions of religious liberty and welcoming immigrants as he was formally welcomed to the US in a White House ceremony on September 23.

In a brief prepared statement, the Pontiff touched on religious liberty and care for the environment, and referred indirectly to the US embargo on Cuba. He issued a challenge to the American people:

I would like all men and women of good will 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.

Speaking slowly, in heavily accented English, the Pope read directly from a prepared statement which had been distributed to reporters in advance (see link to the full text below). In many public appearances, Pope Francis has chosen to discard a prepared text and speak extemporaneously. He did not do so in the White House ceremony—possibly because he wanted to be careful with his first public remarks on American soil, and possibly because of his admitted unfamiliarity with the English language.

In his own remarks at the ceremony on the South Lawn, President Obama praised the Pope’s moral leadership. “You shake our conscience from slumber,” he said.

President Obama—whose own remarks were longer than those of the Pontiff—also spoke about the importance of religious liberty, saying that the Pope reminds the world “that people are only truly free when they can practice their faith.” Speaking proudly of the American tradition of religious liberty, the President noted that in many parts of the world, Christians are not free to practice their faith.

The question of religious liberty—and sharp differences on what that freedom entails—is likely to remain a theme of the papal visit, as it has been a source of tension between the Obama administration and the US bishops’ conference.

Pope Francis did not speak directly about political issues during the White House welcome ceremony, except to compliment President Obama for introducing “an initiative for reducing air pollution.” The Pope spoke at some length about the urgent need for “serious and responsible recognition not only of the kind of world we may be leaving to our children, but also to the millions of people living under a system which has overlooked them.”

Similarly, the Pope did not speak about American immigration policies. But early in his prepared remarks, he spoke about the American tradition of welcoming newcomers, saying: "As the son of an immigrant family, I am happy to be a guest in this country, which was largely built by such families."

While he made no direct mention of international affairs, the Pope appeared to be speaking about the resumption of US relations with Cuba (the country that he had visited just before coming to the US), when he spoke with pleasure about “efforts which were recently made to mend broken relationships.”

After the remarks by President Obama and Pope Francis, a gospel choir performed, and then the Pope and the President together left the South Lawn. The 79-year-old Pope appeared to be moving without difficulty, despite a reported flare-up of the sciatica that occasionally troubles him.

A controversy had arisen over the guest list for the welcoming ceremony, because White House officials had issued public invitations to a number of homosexual activists, abortion proponents, and dissident Catholics. In fact those guests—along with hundreds of others who attended the ceremony— only observed the ceremony from a distance, without an opportunity to approach the Pontiff.

 

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Further information:

• Pope Francis’s Prepared Remarks at the White House
• White House Says Vatican's Angst Over Guest List Won't Sour Pope's Visit (ABC)