Confirmed: Pope Francis to Address Joint Session of Congress
The Vatican has confirmed Pope Francis will address a joint session of Congress in Washington D.C. during his apostolic visit to the United States in the Fall.
Confirmation of the address, which will take place Sept. 24, was also announced this morning by the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, John Boehner, R-Ohio.
Pope Francis will become the “first leader of the Holy See to address a joint meeting of Congress,” Boehner said in a statement, adding that he was “truly grateful that Pope Francis has accepted our invitation.”
"In a time of global upheaval, the Holy Father’s message of compassion and human dignity has moved people of all faiths and backgrounds," he said. "His teachings, prayers, and very example bring us back to the blessings of simple things and our obligations to one another.”
“We look forward to warmly welcoming Pope Francis to our Capitol and hearing his address on behalf of the American people,” he added.
On behalf of the House and Senate, Boehner, who is Catholic, formally invited Pope Francis last March to make the address when he visited the United States. All joint sessions of Congress take place in the House of Representatives because it is the larger of the two chambers.
In his formal invitation, Boehner praised Francis' leadership of the Church, saying his teachings "have prompted careful reflection and vigorous dialogue among people of all ideologies and religious views in the United States and throughout a rapidly changing world, particularly among those who champion human dignity, freedom, and social justice."
"These principles," he added, "are among the fundamentals of the American Idea." He criticized "crony capitalism" and the "ongoing centralization of political power in the institutions of our federal government," adding that Pope Francis reminds Americans that responsibility to the poor cannot be met "with a welfare mentality based on business calculations.
"We can meet it only with personal charity on the one hand and sound, inclusive policies on the other," he said.
A papal address to Congress "would honor our nation in keeping with the best traditions of our democratic institutions" he added. "It would also offer an excellent opportunity for the American people as well as the nations of the world to hear his message in full."
The Archdiocese of Washington described today's announcement as “a great honor and tremendous joy to welcome our Holy Father, Pope Francis, to the Archdiocese of Washington during his proposed pastoral visit to the United States in September.”
In a statement, the archdiocese said the visit “will be a time of grace for all of us" and that it looks forward “to the official announcement of more details of the visit.”
The Vatican says no more details of the Pope’s visit to the United States are available at this moment but will be shared as they are finalized and confirmed.
Speaker Boehner's statement: http://www.speaker.gov/press-release/pope-francis-address-joint-meeting-congress
Statement of the Archdiocese of Washington on the Announcement of Pope Francis’ Planned Address to a Joint Session of U.S. Congress: http://www.adw.org/2015/02/05/statement-archdiocese-washington-announcement-pope-francis-planned-address-joint-session-u-s-congress/
Edward Pentin Edward Pentin is the Register’s Senior Contributor and EWTN News Vatican Analyst. He began reporting on the Pope and the Vatican with Vatican Radio before moving on to become the Rome correspondent for EWTN's National Catholic Register. He has also reported on the Holy See and the Catholic Church for a number of other publications including Newsweek, Newsmax, Zenit, The Catholic Herald, and The Holy Land Review, a Franciscan publication specializing in the Church and the Middle East. Edward is the author of The Next Pope: The Leading Cardinal Candidates (Sophia Institute Press, 2020) and The Rigging of a Vatican Synod? An Investigation into Alleged Manipulation at the Extraordinary Synod on the Family (Ignatius Press, 2015). Follow him on Twitter at @edwardpentin.
