Pope Francis and his visit to the United States highlighted a number of social and political issues the nation faces today.
In the wake of a similar visit to Cuba, Francis traveled to the United States for meetings with highly ranked political officials and several public appearances.
Sarah Moses, assistant professor of philosophy and religion, said the pope’s visits to the United States and Cuba were especially significant because of the re-opening of relations between the two nations.
In July, President Barack Obama announced a formal renewal of diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba, and Secretary of State John Kerry opened the U.S. Embassy in Havana for the first time in 54 years.
“His visit to Cuba represents a call for Cuba to make more progress on political and religious freedom,” Moses said. “As regards the United States, many people were interested in his visit because of his strong statements against the excesses of capitalism, particularly as he has argued those have negatively impacted the environment.”
Francis’ visit to the United States included speeches to the U.S. Congress on Thursday in Washington D.C. and the United Nations General Assembly in New York City on Friday. Francis is the first pope to address a joint session of the U.S. Congress.
In front of a crowd of thousands at his congressional appearance, Francis called upon the United States to resolve long-struggled-with immigration issues and find a new openness to existing and aspiring U.S. immigrants.
“We, the people of this continent, are not fearful of foreigners, because most of us were once foreigners,” Francis said, drawing upon his own history as a child of Italian immigrants to Argentina and the theme of continental American unity which has long been a subject of Vatican talks with the United States.
The pontiff advocated for more open border policies and implored the American people to acknowledge the humanity of immigrants attempting to cross the U.S. border.
United States legislators and their guests crowded into chambers for the pope’s appearance Thursday, and thousands of U.S. citizens watched from screens on the Capitol lawn. Courtney Taylor, who graduated from the University in 2013, received tickets to the event from Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker.
“I just called his office, gave my information, requested two tickets, and was notified shortly afterward that I had been pulled from the lottery to receive them,” Taylor said.
Taylor said she wanted to attend the address not only because she is Catholic and wanted to see the Pope, but also because it was the first time that a Pope had addressed Congress.
“He is a reformer,” she said, “he has reached people across all faiths in a way we haven’t seen in a pope in my lifetime. He discussed the death penalty, traditional marriage and climate change, but mostly he focused on the fringes of society, on poverty and immigration and starting a constructive dialogue about those issues.”
