Yesterday, the Bishop of Rome, Pope Francis, toured our nation’s capital on the first day of his six-day visit to the United States. It is the pope’s first visit to our country, and it has the full attention of the American media Catholics–and even many non-Catholics like myself. Any time a major religious leader visits the country, it’s notable, and it’s especially notable when that person is the leader of the world’s largest Christian church.
Pope Francis leads over 1.25 billion Catholics in the world, including over 69 million American Catholics. Over 90 percent of American Catholics and 70 percent of all Americans have a favorable view of His Holiness, making him far more popular than the president, Congress or pretty much any other domestic figure. However, these facts aren’t what make this visit particularly interesting. This pope seems different than the popes in recent memory, and his trailblazing and sometimes polarizing actions have the world’s most powerful country transfixed and in some cases, annoyed.
Pope Francis has brought the issues of income inequality, climate change, immigration and tolerance to the forefront of the conversation in the Catholic Church. As a result, both devout Catholics and nonbelievers alike are paying attention to the words and actions of this unique pope. Perhaps his most consequential action to us Americans has been the pressure he has put on the U.S. and Cuba to normalize relations after decades of a strained relationship. His efforts likely provided a key push to the rapid change we have recently seen between the two countries.
This Pope has done the unthinkable: repeatedly criticizing the role of capitalism in making the masses poor, criticizing those who ostracize divorced people, and frequently calling for change in practices of industry in response to climate change. He chose his name, Francis, because of Saint Francis of Assisi’s veneration of the poor. Francis has even softened the Church’s tone on homosexuality, saying, “If someone is gay and searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?” This statement doesn’t change any actual Church policy, but it does establish that this pope (and thus the Church) values humanity more than he judges its perceived “sins.”
The pope’s positions have caused a stir within our political landscape. A quick perusal of the pope’s positions on various issues will show that many of the things he advocates fall on the political left, especially within the context of the Church’s history on these issues. This has proven problematic for those who publicly use the teachings of Jesus as the basis for their own policy positions, because these people’s positions are usually on the political right. It has become hard to accept that Jesus, the champion of the poor and disadvantaged, would be against minimum wage, healthcare and accepting refugees.
The reaction of many in the GOP has been telling of their true policy motives. Chris Christie said, “The fact is that his infallibility is on religious matters, not on political ones.” Ted Cruz has joked that the Church should fire the pope over his views on capitalism. The GOP as a party generally portrays Christian faith as a guideline for much of their platform. However, it is hard to argue that Jesus would be a Republican when you read his teachings in the Bible, especially when Pope Francis continually decries the very policies that Republicans champion.
Kyle Simpson is a junior majoring in biology. His column runs biweekly.
