Recently Pope Francis made a visit to Washington D.C. He was, by most accounts, welcomed to the United States capitol by enthusiastic crowds wherever he went. One place he went, however, didn't show as much enthusiasm and that was when he addressed Congress. The Pope made remarks regarding many things including the issue of Mexican immigration and Syrian refugees, both of which are hot button topics right now with the Obama administration and with Republican congresspeople and presidential candidates alike. The Pope also commented on climate change and U.S.-Cuban relations. These topics seem to be more politically charged right now than they have in the past with a Republican controlled House and a Democratic president in office making the Popes comments seem a bit more political in nature than humanitarian and in fact, President Obama has said that Pope Francis played a big role in helping to influence the recent change in U.S.-Cuban relations.
The Popes visit to Congress has coincided with the resignation of Speaker John Boehner who is believed to have asked the Pope to pray for him before he gave his resignation speech. The religious conservative right seemed to be surprised that the Pope has been supportive of the Obama administration and their immigration policies as well as supportive of discussing climate change. The Popes remarks have sparked more debate between the conservative right and the liberal left with members of the Republican party now accusing the Democrats of accepting God only now that the Pope has chosen to take a more political stance on certain issues. The fact that the Catholic church and the Pope are against abortion and many on the left believe in a womans right to choose seem to put the Pope and the left at odds, but that doesn't seem to be an issue right now with many Democrats, including 18 city mayors going so far as to pledge that they will open their cities to Syrian refugees.
I found it interesting to see the mixed reviews the Pope was given during his time on Capitol Hill. He spoke about very relevant issues that certainly warrant valid discussion time, especially as the new fiscal year for the government rolls around. I recently read an article about House Speaker Boehner's resignation and couldn't help but be slightly skeptical about all the reasons he gave for stepping down. As a huge fan of the show House of Cards, I sat there after reading the article wondering if he was Frank Underwood-ed. While his reasoning may be completely true and there may not have been any foul play behind the scenes that helped encourage/motivate his resignation, I certainly wouldn't be surprised if such circumstances were going on behind closed doors.
ReplyDeleteInteresting I had to write an article about the pope's visit for a client. Tying the topic back to mass media and politics in general The Pope has used the media to create the image of a progressive pope but he holds more of the traditional stances and it has in fact been his image in media that promotes the idea that he is progressive.
ReplyDeleteWhile its true that he has been less vocal about his more traditional views and openly voiced his more progressive ones his official stance has been recorded being identical to his predecessors.
His desire to be seen as progressive in fact may be how the catholic church plans to deal with its declining numbers.Its not a secret that thy have been declining in support with their growth being curved even in developing countries where they usually do the best in converting people.
I think both the church and the Pope have done a great job of using media to make the organization seem to be growing more friendly which to a degree i believe it has. Time will tell if this is true.