Congresswoman Beatty's Statement on His Holiness Pope Francis of the Holy See's Address Before a Joint Session of the U.S. Congress

Statement

Today, His Holiness Pope Francis of the Holy See, leader of the Catholic Church, addressed a Joint Session of the 114th U.S. Congress. U.S. Congresswoman Joyce Beatty (OH-03) released the following statement after the address:

"In his historic address, Pope Francis was profound and provocative in his call for us to end poverty, address economic inequality, and achieve "full civil and political rights for African Americans.' These are central challenges of the 21st century, but as a nation of innovators, we can and will meet our challenges in a way that simultaneously advances our economy and ensures that access to the American Dream is available to all.

"The Pope's dialogue with our nation, expressed through Congress, presented dreams, hopes, opportunities, and a culture of care expressed through four great Americans: Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Dorothy Day and Thomas Merton. In these Americans we see the dreams of our nation, "liberty,' "plurality and non-exclusion,' "social justice and the rights of persons,' and the "capacity for dialogue and openness to God.'

"As Members of Congress, we must have the courage to find solutions to poverty, human suffering, and protecting nature. When solving these challenges, we must always embrace our fellow humans with kindness and live in a culture of care. The Holy See advised us to follow the Golden Rule, that the yard stick with which we measure others, will also be used to measure us. And finally, he described a political leader as one who operates with the interests of all in mind, seizing on the moment, and initiates process rather than possessing spaces."

Thursday's address by the Pontifex was unprecedented, as no Pope has ever addressed Congress, according to the U.S. House Historian's Office. The event was widely attended with tens of thousands of individuals gathering on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol to experience the Pontiff's visit. Congresswoman Beatty held a drawing for fifty constituents to experience history in the making by attending a ticketed live broadcast of the speech on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol.

Beatty's invited guests included Father Joshua Wagner and Reverend Joel King, Jr. Father Wagner was Beatty's guest in the House Gallery, he is a Priest of the Diocese of Columbus, Ohio and is currently the Pastor of two Catholic Churches in Columbus (Holy Rosary St John and St Dominic). Reverend Joel King, Jr. is the first cousin of Dr. Martin Luther King and is an associate minister at Union Grove Baptist Church in Columbus.

On Wednesday, Congresswoman Beatty was joined by Karen Morrison, President of the OhioHealth Foundation, for Pope Francis' visit to the White House.

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