POPE FRANCIS’ ADDRESS TO THE US CONGRESS. 10 Most Powerful Quotes

POPE FRANCIS’ ADDRESS TO THE US CONGRESS
10 Most Powerful Quotes

Dear friends, below you have Pope Francis’ most powerful lines taken from romereports.com in his well-applauded speech before the US Congress yesterday, Sept. 24, 2015. For the entire text (it’s worth the read!), see the link below.

-Fr. Rolly Arjonillo, priest of Opus Dei. CATHOLICS STRIVING FOR HOLINESS. We are also in Facebook: www.facebook.com/CatholicsstrivingforHoliness

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Pope Francis’ historic address to Congress covered a wide range of issues, from arms trafficking to family life. Many of those in the audience were brought to tears, and applause interrupted the Pope several times. Here are the best lines from the speech.

1. Quoting the U.S. national anthem

“I am most grateful for your invitation to address this Joint Session of Congress in ‘the land of the free and the home of the brave.’” 

2. Explaining the purpose of politics

“You are called to defend and preserve the dignity of your fellow citizens in the tireless and demanding pursuit of the common good, for this is the chief aim of all politics. A political society endures when it seeks, as a vocation, to satisfy common needs by stimulating the growth of all its members, especially those in situations of greater vulnerability or risk.”

3. Warning about fundamentalism

“Our world is increasingly a place of violent conflict, hatred and brutal atrocities, committed even in the name of God and of religion. We know that no religion is immune from forms of individual delusion or ideological extremism. This means that we must be especially attentive to every type of fundamentalism, whether religious or of any other kind.”

4. Saying that refugees must be treated well

“We need to avoid a common temptation nowadays: to discard whatever proves troublesome. Let us remember the Golden Rule: ‘Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.’           

5. Advocating against the death penalty

“Every life is sacred, every human person is endowed with an inalienable dignity, and society can only benefit from the rehabilitation of those convicted of crimes. Recently my brother bishops here in the United States renewed their call for the abolition of the death penalty. Not only do I support them, but I also offer encouragement to all those who are convinced that a just and necessary punishment must never exclude the dimension of hope and the goal of rehabilitation.”

6. Condemning abortion

“If we want life, let us give life; if we want opportunities, let us provide opportunities. The yardstick we use for others will be the yardstick which time will use for us. The Golden Rule also reminds us of our responsibility to protect and defend human life at every stage of its development”.

7. Calling on government to help the environment

“I am convinced that we can make a difference and I have no doubt that the United States –and this Congress – have an important role to play. Now is the time for courageous actions and strategies, aimed at implementing a ‘culture of care’ and ‘an integrated approach to combating poverty, restoring dignity to the excluded, and at the same time protecting nature.’”

8. Condemning arms dealers

“We have to ask ourselves: Why are deadly weapons being sold to those who plan to inflict untold suffering on individuals and society? Sadly, the answer, as we all know, is simply for money: money that is drenched in blood, often innocent blood. In the face of this shameful and culpable silence, it is our duty to confront the problem and to stop the arms trade.”

9. Supporting the family

“How essential the family has been to the building of this country! And how worthy it remains of our support and encouragement! Yet I cannot hide my concern for the family, which is threatened, perhaps as never before, from within and without. Fundamental relationships are being called into question, as is the very basis of marriage and the family. I can only reiterate the importance and, above all, the richness and the beauty of family life.”

10. Invoking great Americans

“A nation can be considered great when it defends liberty as Lincoln did, when it fosters a culture which enables people to ‘dream’ of full rights for all their brothers and sisters, as Martin Luther King sought to do; when it strives for justice and the cause of the oppressed, as Dorothy Day did by her tireless work, the fruit of a faith which becomes dialogue and sows peace in the contemplative style of Thomas Merton.

SOURCE: http://www.romereports.com/2015/09/26/the-most-powerful-lines-from-pope-francis-address-to-congress

FOR THE ENTIRE ADDRESS, SEE: http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/pope-francis-address-to-the-us-congress

PHOTO SOURCE: http://www.paaia.org/CMS/Data/Sites/1/GalleryImages/article/congress-(1).jpg