Source: SAUL LOEB / Getty
Pope Francis and President Barack Obama are set to meet in the Oval Office to discuss the advancement of causes dear to them both. On Wednesday morning the pope is expected to deliver his opening remarks to the United States on the White House lawn and speak to America’s bishops later.
That speech was highly anticipated, especially given a certain disconnect between Francis’ focus on social justice, a merciful church and the culture wars that America’s bishops have waged in recent years over abortion and gay rights.
Washington was the first stop on the pope’s six-day and three-city visit to the United States. People of all faiths made up the hundreds who waited on hand for his arrival at Andrews Air Force Base and there were 15,000 people expected at Wednesday’s White House arrival ceremony.
Even with the enthusiasm surrounding the pope’s visit the pope and the president had serious matters to attend to. Before he arrived for his first U.S. visit, Francis was fending off conservative criticism of his economic views, when told reporters on his flight from Cuba that some people may have an inaccurate impression that he is “a little bit more left-leaning.”
Obama was anxious to add more steam to his own efforts to combat climate change, fight income inequality and promote social justice, among other things, by finding common cause with the pope. However the two differ sharply on other issues, such as abortion and same-sex marriage.
Pope Francis’s next stop after the White House was to attend America’s 450-strong bishops’ conference at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle. Many U.S. bishops have struggled to come to terms with Francis’ new social justice-minded direction of the church and nearly all were appointed by Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI.
They prioritized drawing clearer boundaries for Catholic behavior and belief in the face of legalized abortion, advances in gay rights and the exodus of so many Westerners from organized religion. On Thursday, Francis planned to deliver the first papal address ever to Congress, speaking to Republican-majority legislators who are deeply at odds with Obama on issues such as gay rights, immigration, abortion and climate change.
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