Obama refers to Pope in state of the union address
January 13, 2016
In his final state of the union address, President Barack Obama referred to Pope Francis’s speech to Congress in September.
“Let me just say this,” President Obama said on January 12. “This isn’t a matter of political correctness. This is a matter of understanding just what it is that makes us strong. The world respects us not just for our arsenal, it respects us for our diversity and our openness and the way we respect every faith.”
He continued:
His Holiness, Pope Francis, told this body from the very spot I’m standing on tonight that “to imitate the hatred and violence of tyrants and murderers is the best way to take their place.” When politicians insult Muslims, whether abroad, or fellow citizens, when a mosque is vandalized, or a kid is called names, that doesn’t make us safer. That’s not telling it what-- telling it like it is, it’s just wrong. It diminishes us in the eyes of the world.
House Speaker Rep. Paul Ryan invited nine guests to attend the president’s address, including two members of the Little Sisters of the Poor who are challenging the HHS mandate in court.
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Further information:
- Transcript of Obama’s 2016 State of the Union Address (The New York Times)
- Ryan invites 'poverty fighters' to State of the Union (The Hill)
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