Marriage and family are being threatened, Pope tells US Congress

WASHINGTON
D.C., – In his lengthy speech to the U.S. Congress on Thursday,
Pope Francis said the family is being threatened today like never before, and
praised American figures, including Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King,
Jr., for their tireless efforts to defend freedom and values.
The Pope also boldly condemned the death
penalty and the arms trade, calling for their global abolition.

How essential the family has been to the building
of this country! And how worthy it remains of our support and encouragement!”
the Pope told Congress Sept. 24.

Yet I cannot hide my concern for the family, which
is threatened, perhaps as never before, from within and without.”
Fundamental relationships, he said, 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.”
He called specific attention to members of the
family who are the most vulnerable, particularly the youth. While many face
futures filled with endless possibilities, too many are trapped inside a
hopeless maze of violence, abuse and despair.”
Their problems are our problems. We cannot
avoid them,” he said, explaining that concrete solutions must be the result of
a joint effort, without getting bogged down in discussions.”
Francis also noted the troubling trend of youth
deciding not to get married, and said that at the risk of oversimplifying, we
might say that we live in a culture which pressures young people not to start a
family, because they lack possibilities for the future.”
Yet this same culture presents others with so
many options that they too are dissuaded from starting a family,” he said,
alluding to the growing fad of being ‘childless-by-choice’.
Pope Francis is the first Roman Pontiff ever to
address a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress. His visit to the nation’s capitol
took place on his third day in the U.S. Shortly before his address to Congress,
he met privately with Rep. John Boehner, Speaker of the House of
Representatives.
Each son or daughter of a given country has a
mission, a personal and social responsibility,” he reminded the legislators in
his public speech, as a visibly moved Boehner looked on.
Your own responsibility as members of Congress
is to enable this country, by your legislative activity, to grow as a nation …
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.
Legislative activity is always based on care for the people.”
You are asked to protect, by means of the law,
the image and likeness fashioned by God on every human face,” he said, giving
them Moses as an exemplar of this task.
He said that through them he is speaking to all
Americans, particularly the men and women who work hard daily to save and to build
a better life for their families.
Francis also gave a special mention to the
youth working to fulfill their dreams and aspirations, as well as the elderly
who continually seek to share their wisdom and insights, particularly through
volunteer work. I know that many of them are retired, but still active
they keep working to build up this land.”
The Pope pointed to four key figures in
American history who were able by hard work and self- sacrifice … to build a
better future,” as an illustration of the message he wants to conveyand Abraham
Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Jr., Dorothy Day, and Thomas Merton.
Four individuals and four dreamsand Lincoln,
liberty Martin Luther King, liberty in plurality and non-exclusion Dorothy
Day, social justice and the rights of persons and Thomas Merton, the capacity
for dialogue and openness to God. Four representatives of the American people.”
This year marks the 150th anniversary of the
assassination of Abraham Lincoln, the guardian of liberty,” he noted,
explaining that building a future of freedom requires love of the common good
and cooperation in a spirit of subsidiarity and solidarity.”
All of us are quite aware of, and deeply
worried by, the disturbing social and political situation of the world today,”
the Pope said, noting how the world is increasingly a place of conflict,
violence, hatred and atrocities, committed even in the name of God and of
religion.”
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,” he said.
A delicate balance is required to combat
violence perpetrated in the name of a religion, an ideology or an economic
system, while also safeguarding religious freedom, intellectual freedom and
individual freedoms.”
The Pope also warned against a simplistic
reductionism” that only sees good and evil, the righteous and the sinners. The
contemporary world … demands that we confront every form of polarization which
would divide it into these two camps.”
We know that in the attempt to be freed of the
enemy without, we can be tempted to feed the enemy within. To imitate the
hatred and violence of tyrants and murderers is the best way to take their
place,” he said, noting that this is something Americans as a
people, reject.”
Even in the developed world the effects of
unjust structures and actions are obvious, he said, calling for cooperation in
restoring hope and righting wrongs, with the well-being of peoples and
individuals in mindand We must move forward together, as one, in a renewed
spirit of fraternity and solidarity, cooperating generously for the common
good.”
The complexity, the gravity and the urgency of
these challenges demand that we pool our resources and talents, and resolve to
support one another, with respect for our differences and our convictions of
conscience,” he said.
Noting the role religious persons have played
in the strengthening of society, he urged that it is important that today, as
in the past, the voice of faith continue to be heard, for it is a voice of
fraternity and love.”
The Pope then noted how this year also marks
the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s historic march from Selma to
Montgomery in support of his dream of full civil and political rights for
African Americans.
That dream continues to inspire us all. I am
happy that America continues to be, for many, a land of dreams,” he said, and
noted that many migrants have come to America with the desire to build and
achieve their dream of a future in freedom.
We, the people of this continent, are not
fearful of foreigners, because most of us were once foreigners. I say this to
you as the son of immigrants, knowing that so many of you are also descended
from immigrants.”He lamented that the rights of those who were
here long before us were not always respected. For those peoples and their
nations, from the heart of American democracy, I wish to reaffirm my highest
esteem and appreciation.”
Although the first contacts with foreigners
were often unstable and violent, Francis stressed that the past must not be
repeated when the stranger in our midst appeals to us” and that building
a nation calls us to recognize that we must constantly relate to others,
rejecting a mindset of hostility in order to adopt one of reciprocal
subsidiarity.”
In regards to the widespread refugee crisis,
Pope Francis said that despite the tough decisions that come with
refugees, we must view them as persons, seeing their faces and listening
to their stories, trying to respond as best we can to their situation.” On this continent, too, thousands of persons are
led to travel north in search of a better life for themselves and for their
loved ones, in search of greater opportunities. Is this not what we want for
our own children?”
He underlined the Golden Rule in treating
others as they want to be treated, explaining that if we want opportunity and
security, we must give these to others. This Rule points us in a clear
direction. Let us treat others with the same passion and compassion with which
we want to be treated. Let us seek for others the same possibilities which we
seek for ourselves.”
The yardstick we use for others will be the
yardstick which time will use for us,” he said.

andgt The Golden Rule also reminds us of our
responsibility to protect and defend human life at every stage of its
development.”
Pope Francis then immediately condemned the
death penalty, and advocated its global abolition. He said he’s convinced it’s
what’s best, since every human person is endowed with an inalienable dignity,”
and societies can benefit from the rehabilitation of convicted criminals.
He then pointed to the potent example of the
Servant of God Dorothy Day, a Catholic social activist of the 20th century, who
founded the Catholic Worker Movement.
Day’s passion for justice and her commitment to
the oppressed were rooted in her faith and in the Gospel, he said, noting that
while much has already been done to eradicate poverty and hunger, there is
still more to be done.
It goes without saying that part of this great
effort is the creation and distribution of wealth,” he said, explaining that
this involves a just use of natural resources, the proper application of
technology, and the harnessing of the spirit of enterprise.”
This discussion also involves our care for
creation, the Pope said, referring to his recent encyclical Laudato Si’ ,
in which he spoke of the need to combat environmental deterioration brought
about by human activity.
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 … I am confident that America’s outstanding academic and
research institutions can make a vital contribution in the years ahead.”
Francis also noted that this year marks the
centenary of the birth of Thomas Merton. A Cistercian monk, Merton was also a
writer and a pacifist, and was actively involved in interreligious dialogue.
Merton, the Pope said, remains a source of
spiritual inspiration and a guide for many people … he was also a man of
dialogue, a promoter of peace between peoples and religions.”
On the topic of dialogue, Pope Francis praised
the recent restoration of diplomatic ties between the United States and Cuba.
When countries at odds resume dialogue, he said, new opportunities open up for
all.”
Dialogue must also have a determination to
minimize, and ultimately end, the armed conflicts throughout the world he maintained.

andgtHe then pointed to the global arms trade, a
phenomenon he has spoken out against continually since the beginning of his
pontificate. Why are deadly weapons being sold to those who
plan to inflict untold suffering on individuals and society?” he asked,
explaining that Sadly, the answer, as we all know, is simply for moneyand money
that is drenched in blood, often innocent blood.”

andgt In the face of this shameful and culpable
silence, it is our duty to confront the problem and to stop the arms trade.”
Pope Francis closed his speech saying that a
nation can only 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.”The Pope expressed his hope that spirit of the
American people continue to grow and develop, so that as many young people as
possible can inherit and dwell in a land which has inspired so many people to
dream. God bless America!” (CNA)