this continent, too, thousands of persons are led to travel north in search of   
   a   
   better life for themselves and for their loved ones, in search of greater   
   opportunities. Is this not what we want for our own children? We must not be   
   taken aback by their numbers, but rather view them as persons, seeing their   
   faces and listening to their stories, trying to respond as best we can to their   
   situation. To respond in a way which is always humane, just and fraternal. We   
   need to avoid a common temptation nowadays: to discard whatever proves   
   troublesome. Let us remember the Golden Rule: 'Do unto others as you would have   
   them do unto you'.   
    "This Rule points us in a clear direction. Let us treat others with the same   
   passion and compassion with which we want to be treated. Let us seek for others   
   the same possibilities which we seek for ourselves. Let us help others to grow,   
   as we would like to be helped ourselves. In a word, if we want security, let us   
   give security; if we want life, let us give life; if we want opportunities, let   
   us provide opportunities. The yardstick we use for others will be the yardstick   
   which time will use for us. The Golden Rule also reminds us of our   
   responsibility to protect and defend human life at every stage of its   
   development.   
    "This conviction has led me, from the beginning of my ministry, to advocate at   
   different levels for the global abolition of the death penalty. I am convinced   
   that this way is the best, since every life is sacred, every human person is   
   endowed with an inalienable dignity, and society can only benefit from the   
   rehabilitation of those convicted of crimes. Recently my brother bishops here   
   in   
   the United States renewed their call for the abolition of the death penalty.   
   Not   
   only do I support them, but I also offer encouragement to all those who are   
   convinced that a just and necessary punishment must never exclude the dimension   
   of hope and the goal of rehabilitation.   
    "In these times when social concerns are so important, I cannot fail to   
   mention   
   the Servant of God Dorothy Day, who founded the Catholic Worker Movement. Her   
   social activism, her passion for justice and for the cause of the oppressed,   
   were inspired by the Gospel, her faith, and the example of the saints.   
    "How much progress has been made in this area in so many parts of the world!   
   How much has been done in these first years of the third millennium to raise   
   people out of extreme poverty! I know that you share my conviction that much   
   more still needs to be done, and that in times of crisis and economic hardship   
   a   
   spirit of global solidarity must not be lost. At the same time I would   
   encourage   
   you to keep in mind all those people around us who are trapped in a cycle of   
   poverty. They too need to be given hope. The fight against poverty and hunger   
   must be fought constantly and on many fronts, especially in its causes. I know   
   that many Americans today, as in the past, are working to deal with this   
   problem.   
    "It goes without saying that part of this great effort is the creation and   
   distribution of wealth. The right use of natural resources, the proper   
   application of technology and the harnessing of the spirit of enterprise are   
   essential elements of an economy which seeks to be modern, inclusive and   
   sustainable. 'Business is a noble vocation, directed to producing wealth and   
   improving the world. It can be a fruitful source of prosperity for the area in   
   which it operates, especially if it sees the creation of jobs as an essential   
   part of its service to the common good'. This common good also includes the   
   earth, a central theme of the encyclical which I recently wrote in order to   
   'enter into dialogue with all people about our common home'. 'We need a   
   conversation which includes everyone, since the environmental challenge we are   
   undergoing, and its human roots, concern and affect us all'.   
    "In 'Laudato Si'', I call for a courageous and responsible effort to 'redirect   
   our steps', and to avert the most serious effects of the environmental   
   deterioration caused by human activity. I am convinced that we can make a   
   difference and I have no doubt that the United States - and this Congress -   
   have   
   an important role to play. Now is the time for courageous actions and   
   strategies, aimed at implementing a 'culture of care' and 'an integrated   
   approach to combating poverty, restoring dignity to the excluded, and at the   
   same time protecting nature'. 'We have the freedom needed to limit and direct   
   technology'; 'to devise intelligent ways of... developing and limiting our   
   power';   
   and to put technology 'at the service of another type of progress, one which is   
   healthier, more human, more social, more integral'. In this regard, I am   
   confident that America's outstanding academic and research institutions can   
   make   
   a vital contribution in the years ahead.   
    "A century ago, at the beginning of the Great War, which Pope Benedict XV   
   termed a 'pointless slaughter', another notable American was born: the   
   Cistercian monk Thomas Merton. He remains a source of spiritual inspiration and   
   a guide for many people. In his autobiography he wrote: 'I came into the world.   
   Free by nature, in the image of God, I was nevertheless the prisoner of my own   
   violence and my own selfishness, in the image of the world into which I was   
   born. That world was the picture of Hell, full of men like myself, loving God,   
   and yet hating Him; born to love Him, living instead in fear of hopeless   
   self-contradictory hungers'. Merton was above all a man of prayer, a thinker   
   who   
   challenged the certitudes of his time and opened new horizons for souls and for   
   the Church. He was also a man of dialogue, a promoter of peace between peoples   
   and religions.   
    "From this perspective of dialogue, I would like to recognise the efforts made   
   in recent months to help overcome historic differences linked to painful   
   episodes of the past. It is my duty to build bridges and to help all men and   
   women, in any way possible, to do the same. When countries which have been at   
   odds resume the path of dialogue - a dialogue which may have been interrupted   
   for the most legitimate of reasons - new opportunities open up for all. This   
   has   
   required, and requires, courage and daring, which is not the same as   
   irresponsibility. A good political leader is one who, with the interests of all   
   in mind, seizes the moment in a spirit of openness and pragmatism. A good   
   political leader always opts to initiate processes rather than possessing   
   spaces.   
    "Being at the service of dialogue and peace also means being truly determined   
   to minimize and, in the long term, to end the many armed conflicts throughout   
   our world. Here we have to ask ourselves: Why are deadly weapons being sold to   
   those who plan to inflict untold suffering on individuals and society? Sadly,   
   the answer, as we all know, is simply for money: money that is drenched in   
   blood, often innocent blood. In the face of this shameful and culpable silence,   
   it is our duty to confront the problem and to stop the arms trade.   
    "Three sons and a daughter of this land, four individuals and four dreams:   
   Lincoln, liberty; Martin Luther King, liberty in plurality and non-exclusion;   
   Dorothy Day, social justice and the rights of persons; and Thomas Merton, the   
   capacity for dialogue and openness to God.   
    Four representatives of the American people.   
    "I will end my visit to your country in Philadelphia, where I will take part   
   in   
   the World Meeting of Families. It is my wish that throughout my visit the   
   family   
   should be a recurrent theme. How essential the family has been to the building   
   of this country! And how worthy it remains of our support and encouragement!   
   Yet   
   I cannot hide my concern for the family, which is threatened, perhaps as never   
   before, from within and without. Fundamental relationships are being called   
   into   
   question, as is the very basis of marriage and the family. I can only reiterate   
   the importance and, above all, the richness and the beauty of family life.   
    "In particular, I would like to call attention to those family members who are   
   the most vulnerable, the young. For many of them, a future filled with   
   countless   
   possibilities beckons, yet so many others seem disoriented and aimless, trapped   
   in a hopeless maze of violence, abuse and despair. Their problems are our   
   problems. We cannot avoid them. We need to face them together, to talk about   
   them and to seek effective solutions rather than getting bogged down in   
   discussions. At the risk of oversimplifying, we might say that we live in a   
   culture which pressures young people not to start a family, because they lack   
   possibilities for the future. Yet this same culture presents others with so   
   many   
   options that they too are dissuaded from starting a family.   
    "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.   
    "In these remarks I have sought to present some of the richness of your   
   cultural heritage, of the spirit of the American people. It is my desire that   
   this spirit continue to develop and grow, so that as many young people as   
   possible can inherit and dwell in a land which has inspired so many people to   
   dream. God bless America!"   
    After his address, the Pope was accompanied by House Speaker Boehmer to the   
   Hall of Statuary where he viewed the statue of Fr. Junipero Serra, before   
   proceeding to the Great Hall of the Library of Congress, where he presented the   
   gift of a precious edition of the Bible. Then, accompanied by the leaders of   
   Congress and members of the papal entourage, they both appeared on the balcony   
   from where the Pope greeted and blessed the crowd gathered in the National   
   Mall.   
    "Good day to you all!" he said, in Spanish. "I thank you for your welcome and   
   your presence. I thank the most important people here: the children. I wish to   
   ask God to bless them. Lord, Father of all, bless this people, bless each one   
   of   
   them, bless their families, give them what they need most. And I ask you,   
   please   
   to pray for me. And those of you who do not believe, or are unable to pray,   
   please wish me well. God bless America!"   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    The Holy Father: there is no social or moral justification for homelessness   
    Vatican City, 25 September 2015 (VIS) - After his address to the United States   
   Congress, Pope Francis transferred to the church of St. Patrick, the first   
   parish in Washington, founded in 1794 to offer pastoral service to the Irish   
   workers who were building the White House and Capitol, to where the United   
   States government transferred in 1880 (Philadelphia was the temporary capital   
   of   
   the United States in the meantime). The church has a centre for health and   
   education for the homeless, dedicated to Cardinal James Hickey, archbishop of   
   Washington between 1980 and 2000, who had promoted diocesan health care   
   services   
   for the needy and migrants. The cardinal chose to spend the final years of his   
   life in a home for the elderly without recourse to the Sisters of the Poor.   
    Francis arrived at the church shortly after 11 a.m. (5 p.m. in Rome), where he   
   was awaited by two hundred homeless people whom he greeted and thanked for   
   welcoming him and for their efforts to make the meeting possible. He spoke to   
   them about the importance of St. Joseph, "the one I go to whenever I am 'in a   
   fix'". "You make me think of St. Joseph. Your faces remind me of his".   
    "Joseph had to face some difficult situations in his life", he continued. "One   
      
   --- MPost/386 v1.21   
    * Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS=Huntsville AL=bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)