House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) has invited Pope Francis to address a joint session of Congress during his expected visit to the United States next year.
Francis, who marked his first anniversary as leader of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics today, is reportedly planning to visit the U.S. next year in order to attend a global conference on families scheduled for late September in Philadelphia. The Holy See has not confirmed the trip.
Aides to Boehner said he sent the invitation Thursday to officials in Vatican City. If Francis accepts the invitation, he would be the first pontiff to ever address American lawmakers from the U.S. Capitol, according to Boehner aides.
In his formal invitation, Boehner noted that Francis's ascension to the papacy and his social teachings over the past year "have prompted careful reflection and vigorous dialogue among people of all ideologies and religious views in the United States and throughout a rapidly changing world, particularly among those who champion human dignity, freedom, and social justice."
Francis's principles "are among the fundamentals of the American Idea," Boehner wrote. "And though our nation sometimes fails to live up to these principles, at our best we give them new life as we seek the common good."
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2014/03/13/pope-francis-invited-to-address-a-joint-session-of-congress/
File: Pope Francis arrives for his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican on Jan. 15. (Vincento Pintovincenzo /AFP/Getty Images)
Aides to Boehner said he sent the invitation Thursday to officials in Vatican City. If Francis accepts the invitation, he would be the first pontiff to ever address American lawmakers from the U.S. Capitol, according to Boehner aides.
In his formal invitation, Boehner noted that Francis's ascension to the papacy and his social teachings over the past year "have prompted careful reflection and vigorous dialogue among people of all ideologies and religious views in the United States and throughout a rapidly changing world, particularly among those who champion human dignity, freedom, and social justice."
Francis's principles "are among the fundamentals of the American Idea," Boehner wrote. "And though our nation sometimes fails to live up to these principles, at our best we give them new life as we seek the common good."
For the rest, see:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2014/03/13/pope-francis-invited-to-address-a-joint-session-of-congress/
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