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Walking with Francis, five years later

A girl hugs Pope Francis as he visits with people at Catholic Charities' St. Maria's Meals program on the final stop of his Sept. 22-24, 2015 visit to Washington, D.C. This week marks the fifth anniversary of the pontiff's visit to the nation's capital. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

To welcome Pope Francis on his September 2015 visit to Washington, more than 100,000 people took a “Walk with Francis” pledge to pray, serve or act to improve their community.

Now five years after the pope’s Sept. 22-24, 2015 visit to the nation’s capital, it’s worth looking back at his words and actions then and reflecting on how we individually and as a country have “Walked with Francis,” and how we can continue that walk amid the challenges of the COVID-19 crisis.

Making his first stop in Washington, D.C., on his first visit to the United States, Pope Francis on successive days made history – by presiding at the first canonization ever held on U.S. soil at the Sept. 23 Canonization Mass for St. Junipero Serra, the famous 18th century Franciscan missionary to California; and then by becoming the first pope to address a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress on Sept. 24. 

In compiling excerpts of Pope Francis’s speeches during his visit to Washington five years ago for the Catholic Standard’s website, I was struck by how timely his words remain, and also saddened by how much of his message has not been acted upon.

Members of Congress sat in respectful attention as the pope said, “…The challenges facing us today call for a renewal of that spirit of cooperation, which has accomplished so much good throughout the history of the United States. The complexity, the gravity and the urgency of these challenges demand that we pool our resources and talents, and resolve to support one another, with respect for our differences and our convictions of conscience.”

In retrospect, the pontiff’s advice to Congress sadly has not come to pass, as that legislative body and the executive branch, like our country, have become even more divided, seeming more interested in conquering the other party and dismantling its policies instead of working together for the common good.

In Pope Francis’s address the previous day as he was welcomed at the White House, he made a passionate plea for action to be taken to address the climate crisis, and the next day he urged Congress to deal compassionately with immigrants and to work to abolish the death penalty. Since then, our government leaders have taken no substantive action toward passing immigration reform, ending the death penalty or addressing climate change. In fact, environmental regulations have been loosened, federal executions have resumed, and refugees and immigrants seeking to enter the United States have faced restrictive and even punitive measures.

Pope Francis in his speech to Congress noted four great Americans whom he said demonstrated how to build a better future for this country. He praised the legacies of President Abraham Lincoln; civil rights leader Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.; and two 20th century Catholics, Dorothy Day, who devoted her life to serving the poor and opposing war; and Thomas Merton, a Trappist monk who promoted world peace and dialogue with other religions.

The pope told Congress, “…A nation can be considered great when it defends liberty as Lincoln did, when it fosters a culture which enables people to ‘dream’ of full rights for all their brothers and sisters, as Martin Luther King sought to do; when it strives for justice and the cause of the oppressed, as Dorothy Day did by her tireless work, the fruit of a faith which becomes dialogue and sows peace in the contemplative style of Thomas Merton.”

Then the pontiff showed how a “Walk with Francis” must be directed toward bringing Christ’s hope and love to the poor and forgotten. Analysts marveled at how Pope Francis left the halls of power in Congress and went straight to St. Patrick’s Church to address clients, staff and volunteers of Catholic Charities and then meet with them at a lunch served outside that agency’s headquarters.

At St. Patrick’s, Pope Francis said, “Jesus not only wanted to show solidarity with every person. He not only wanted everyone to experience his companionship, his help, his love. He identified with all those who suffer, who weep, who suffer any kind of injustice. He says this clearly: ‘I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink; I was a stranger and you welcomed me’” (Matthew 25:35).

The pope added, “Faith makes us know that God is at our side, that God is in our midst and his presence spurs us to charity. Charity is born of the call of a God who continues to knock on our door, the door of all people, to invite us to love, to compassion, to service of one another.”

As our country faces the health and economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, Pope Francis’s words then are words to take to heart now. As Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington and local parish food pantries continue serving long lines of people, we can “Walk with Francis” in 2020 by generously supporting those efforts, and also by selflessly reaching out to family members, neighbors and members of the community who need help in this challenging time.

The words Pope Francis said in concluding his homily at the Canonization Mass for St. Junipero Serra show another way we can “Walk with Francis” amid the fears and struggles of the COVID-19 crisis:

“Father Serra had a motto which inspired his life and work, not just a saying, but above all a reality which shaped the way he lived: siempre adelante! Keep moving forward! For him, this was the way to continue experiencing the joy of the Gospel, to keep his heart from growing numb, from being anesthetized. He kept moving forward, because the Lord was waiting. He kept going, because his brothers and sisters were waiting. He kept going forward to the end of his life. Today, like him, may we be able to say: Forward! Let’s keep moving forward!”

(Mark Zimmermann is the editor of the Catholic Standard website and newspaper of the Archdiocese of Washington.)

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