United We Stand
History was made on September 24, 2015 as Pope Francis, head of the Catholic Church, made the first ever address to a joint Congress, which was televised live on the Capitol’s West Front. This was one of four English speeches the Pope made during his trip to America.
Taylor Crawford (10) was given an opportunity by her uncle to witness history. Though she did not know much about the Pope prior to her trip, Crawford traveled to Washington DC to stand among the crowd of people from every race, age and gender who all wanted to hear him speak.
Pope Francis is the first Pope from Latin America and the first to choose the name Francis, after St. Francis of Assisi, who was a man of poverty and peace.
Pope Francis spoke about America’s problems indirectly by suggesting how we, the people, should act. He called for Americans to be unified, to stand up against the evils of the world and to support one another with respect for our differences.
“Our views are changing and morphing into one great one,” Crawford said.
After listening to the Pope’s speech, Crawford is more grounded in her Christian beliefs, especially her views concerning gay marriage.
“It’s not [anti-gay people’s] choice. It has nothing to do with me. I wouldn’t want anyone to do that to me, to stereotype me, or treat me different because of what I am. [The Pope’s speech] helped me keep my perception of that grounded,” Crawford said.
Her favorite part of Pope Francis’s speech was when he addressed the immigrant issue in the United States. He encouraged citizens not to repeat the sins of the past and to teach new generations not turn their backs on their “neighbors.”
“We, the people of this continent, are not fearful of foreigners, because most of us were once foreigners,” Francis said.
Crawford encourages her fellow students to listen to the Pope.
“If [students] really want to sit down and think about some deep things, they should listen to him, and it will change the way you think about a lot of things,” Crawford said. “It may upset you, because you may not agree with it, but to me, it’s great.”
The Pope surpassed Crawford’s expectations.
“I’m glad [I went]; I almost didn’t,” Crawford said. “I really enjoyed what he was saying because it was the truth.”
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