Pope Francis’ address to Congress Thursday was historic, but only in a political sense.
And while it is interesting and important that Pope Francis addressed a joint session of Congress, the themes of his talk were familiar to all who have kept up with him. Pope Francis talked about the need to help the poor, the dangers of greed, the value of protecting immigrants and he admonished politicians to remember the sanctity of life and the importance of the family unit.
He has been a well-known advocate for liberal causes, but he made it clear that he is also a conservative in certain areas. At the heart of his message was a plea of unity to Congress. The New York Times reported that Pope Francis said, at one point, “If politics must truly be at the service of the human person, it follows that it cannot be a slave to the economy and finance. … Politics is, instead, an expression of our compelling need to live as one, in order to build as one, the greatest common good.”
While Washington, D.C. politics may be divided by a party line, we are happy to report here in Pearl River County, we see plenty of outreach and support from people of all political stripes. The Pope is right to challenge those of us who have enough in our lives to give back to our communities and he is right to challenge one of the richest countries on Earth to make sure the most vulnerable of its citizens is cared for, but should he look in our small communities, we think he would be pleased to see how well we do work together, both as individuals and through our government, to provide services and care for our fellow citizens.
Just in the past month we have seen private organizations host blood drives, reported on a county board that raised the budget for public libraries and we reported on a Poplarville nonprofit, Back Pack Buddies, that sends some students home with enough food for the weekend.
The Pope is right that the folks in Washington do need to see beyond partisan labels to work toward the good of all. We are proud his message has already been received loud and clear in Pearl River County