The Pope Defends Religious Freedom

If there ever was a doubt that the United States of America is a Christian nation, it was dispelled yesterday at 10 a.m. when Pope Francis entered the chamber of the US House of Representatives. As he walked down the aisle, the members of the House and Senate, Supreme Court, executive departments and military cheered him. During his address -- with the US motto "In God We Trust" behind him and the medallion of Moses the Lawgiver looking down at him from the facing wall -- Francis reminded his prestigious audience of America's Christian tradition. What did we learn on Thursday? ~~~~~ One concern was that Pope Francis would be used as a partisan tool. President Obama already had tried to place the papal seal on his homosexual and climate change agendas. But, in his Congress address, the Pope parried, urging America to pursue social justice, but noting aspects every American can support as he or she thinks best — strengthening the family, abolishing the death penalty, fighting against poverty and welcoming immigrants. Francis said : "It is important that now, as in the past, the voice of faith continue to be heard, for it is a voice of fraternity and love, which tries to bring out the best in each person and in each society. Such cooperation is a powerful resource in the battle to eliminate new global forms of slavery, born of grave injustices which can be overcome only through new policies and new forms of social consensus." Francis spoke about finding "common ground" - sorely lacking in Congress since Obama was elected President in 2008. While mainstream media may say the Pope spoke against conservative principles, it must be noted Francis has consistently spoken up conservatively for the family, protecting life at every moment and supporting religious liberty. ~~~~~ To emphasize his disagreements with Obama and Democrats, Francis altered his itinerary Wednesday to visit the Little Sisters of the Poor, an order of nuns that care for the elderly. A Vatican spokesman said Francis visited them in order to express support for their legal battle with the federal government over the contraception mandate in ObamaCare. In a statement to the Washington Post, Sister Constance Veit, communications director for the nuns, said : “The Holy Father spoke to each of us individually, from the youngest postulant to our centenarian, and then he spoke to all (of) us about the importance of our ministry to the elderly. We were deeply moved by his encouraging words.” In his public remarks on religious liberty Wednesday at the White House, Pope Francis spoke generally : "With countless other people of good will, (American Catholics) are likewise concerned that efforts to build a just and wisely ordered society respect their deepest concerns and the right to religious liberty. That freedom (remains) one of America’s most precious possessions." The nuns want to be completely exempt from the contraception mandate, as churches are. Pope Francis’ support may give them the boost they need to topple Obama’s legacy achievement, or at least carve a place for religious groups to operate in the public sphere without violating the tenets of their faith. ~~~~~ GOP Presidential candidate and minister Mike Huckabee echoed Pope Francis when he suggested that President Obama "pretends to be" a Christian. When asked on Newsmax TV about Ben Carson's comment that a Moslem should not be President, the former Governor said there is no religious test for public office, but then made a comment about Obama : "I'm less concerned about what faith the person has. I'm more concerned about the authenticity of their faith and how that plays out in their politics...I'm also concerned about a guy that believes he's a Christian and pretends to be and then says he is, but then does things that makes it very difficult for people to practice their Christian faith." ~~~~~ Dear readers, as the Pope told Congress : "This land has inspired so many people to dream. God bless America." We may add, "and keep America Christian."