Pontiff leaves nunciature for two-day tour of New York City, following Congress speech on immigration, death penalty, climate change and abortion
Speech: Francis urges Congress to treat immigrants in ‘humane and just’ way
Top scientist: Pope’s climate push is ‘raving nonsense’
Video: Francis to meet family that faced deportation to Mexico
Pope tracker: How to follow the pontiff from DC to New York today
8.29pm BST
Rep Luis V Gutiérrez (D-IL) has put out a statement on the pope. There were some strong lines in there, especially on immigration and Donald Trump:
I try to push back on Donald Trump and others who attack Latinos and immigrants or women or Muslims or the poor – sometimes on the floor of the House. But I cannot speak as simply and as powerfully as the Pope can.
Today, someone stood up for the people in my community and the message will definitely sink in. I think every Member of Congress will have to think twice before calling all immigrants drug mules or denying climate change or cutting help for working families or labeling children seeking asylum as criminals.
8.13pm BST
From Jessica Glenzer at JFK airport in New York:
A mother and daughter from the Bronx attempted to see Pope Francis without tickets to today’s events, and made it as far as the Port Authority administration building before they were turned away by diocesan security. The pair took the Air Train to John F Kennedy airport in an attempt to do so.
Monsignor Kieren Herrington said he would attempt to have the pair attend another papal event.
8.12pm BST
The conservative Catholic reaction to Pope Francis’s speech to Congress has been mixed and quite critical. They have a few main problems:
American pro-lifers, nourished by John Paul II and Benedict XVI, have been COMPLETELY and OFFICIALLY abandoned by the Holy See.
Just as in the days of Sts Augustine & Athanasius we rely on the African bishops to help us steer an orthodox course in these times #WMF2015
It is, in the eyes of Cardinal Sarah, destructive for the Church when she exposes herself to the political and social media struggle for power ... When man in his bodily, spiritual, and intellectual being is merely the product of an ideological construct ... any morality will thereby be deprived of a foundation.
7.41pm BST
The only endorsement the pope needs.
The pope is dope
7.40pm BST
Donald Trump spoke to CNN about the pope’s speech just now. While he respects the pope, he’s not on board with the pope’s stances on climate change or migration, as you might imagine.
He reiterated that he would build a wall along the US border with a “big open gate” for migrants to enter legally. His policy on deportations: whole family groups, and “the bad ones go and never come back”.
7.25pm BST
More politicians crying during the pope’s speech to Congress, via Vanity Fair:
marco rubio crying pic.twitter.com/eDN3xpi0PP
7.20pm BST
Here’s a short clip of Pope Francis blessing the crowd at the National Mall in Washington DC. When he cuts into English at the end to say “God Bless America” the smile on his face is very infectious.
7.19pm BST
Another endorsement, this time from Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton:
Thank you, @Pontifex. We have much to do to care for our planet, strengthen economic opportunity, and defend the rights & dignity of all. -H
7.16pm BST
Amanda Holpuch is waiting with anxious Pope Francis Fans on New York’s Fifth Avenue:
Hundreds of people have already lined-up on New York’s Fifth Avenue, outside St Patrick’s Cathedral. After passing through an intensive screening process, ticket holders are let inside an area with a fence around 8-feet-tall.
Dexis Almomte arrived at 8am to ensure she got a good view of the procession. Security told her she was early so she came back at noon and managed to get a prime position directly across from the Cathedral.
Family on 5th ave: "I'm expecting a glimpse - I'd love that - I'm getting goosebumps just telling you" #PopeinNYC pic.twitter.com/tuXVoHI2BP
7.12pm BST
My colleague Lauren Gambino reported yesterday on Sophie Cruz, the 5-year-old girl who hand delivered Pope Francis a letter urging immigration reform.
Today she met Democrat Representative Tony Cárdenas after the pope’s address to Congress:
Its been a long day for #SophieCruz but I am so honored she stopped by my office after watching #PopeInDC pic.twitter.com/S9SQCq20hQ
We got #SophieCruz a brownie and she seems happier. Plus... pic.twitter.com/B8Ey34bppS
#SophieCruz autographed a copy of the letter she delivered to #PopeInDC. Thank you so much Sophie! pic.twitter.com/JZg6zKIiUO
7.06pm BST
Kerry Washington, who plays Olivia Pope on Scandal, has spoken of her admiration for the pope:
7.00pm BST
Speaker John Boehner gets emotional.
Wonderful. https://t.co/i4hJAK0oN2
6.44pm BST
White House spokesman Josh Earnest has told reporters President Obama managed to see “at least part of Pope Francis’s remarks to Congress” but was unaware of his “specific reaction” to the speech.
6.35pm BST
Top Vaticanista John L Allen Jr has posted on Crux about the pope’s “Fantastic Four” – Abraham Lincoln, Dorothy Day, Thomas Merton and Martin Luther King Jr.
He’s always worth reading. Here’s the highlights:
The emphasis on Day and Merton confirms that in the galaxy of issues of concern to this pope ... poverty and war have a pride of place.
For Day, it was the dignity of the poor, expressed most famously in founding the Catholic Worker Movement along with Peter Maurin. For Merton, it was peace, with his letters and diaries chronicling his deep concern with violence, including the Vietnam War and the proliferation of nuclear arms.
In the run-up to his visit to the United States, there has been a lot of talk about whether or not Francis is in some sense “anti-American,” or whether his vision is irreconcilable with American values.
This morning, Francis indirectly answered the question of whether he’s anti-American by saying, in essence, “Well, if I am, so are these four American heroes.”
This morning’s speech was probably good news for the canonization cause of Dorothy Day ... While there’s no indication that Francis plans to fast-track the cause, it certainly can’t hurt that he used the first-ever address by a pope to the US Congress to give her a plug.
Francis could have directed the gaze of Congress to great figures from his own cultural experience, such as Simòn Bolivar or, or any number of popes. Instead he chose Americans, which was a way of saying that he realizes he doesn’t just have something to teach the United States – he, and the rest of the world, can learn from it as well.
6.20pm BST
Pope Francis is still hours away from New York, but Jessica Glenza is on site at JFK airport with those waiting for the pontiff to arrive:
A group of five students from Brooklyn and Queens Catholic schools will hand Pope Francis a “spiritual bouquet” upon his arrival at John F Kennedy airport in New York City in a chartered American Airlines Boeing 777, at “about” 5pm.
The others expected to greet the pope make his arrival a relatively small affair – just 200 members of Catholic churches and other services from around the city are invited, along with a band from Xaverian high school in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn and a mass of a few dozen reporters.
Driving across Tarmac to where #PopeInNY will arrive later pic.twitter.com/WBZ8DlKCoh
6.11pm BST
Pope Francis’s message of compassion and humanity resonated with Miami’s sizeable immigrant community, which has become frustrated with stalled efforts in Congress for comprehensive immigration reform, reports Richard Luscombe in Miami.
Viewing immigrants as people, “seeing their faces and listening to their stories”, as the pope urged Washington legislators, struck a particular chord with Marcia Olivo, who came to the US from the Dominican Republic two decades ago, as she watched the address.
“The pope has been very vocal and shown a lot of compassion, he’s speaking about lowering the borders for immigrants, without tagging people with this label,” she said.
5.51pm BST
Guardian US political reporter Ben Jacobs has been roving the galleries in Congress, catching current representatives and would-be future presidents of the United States for their thoughts on the pope’s speech.
It sounded good. It sounded like he was talking about things that are generally uplifting: life, environment – things that anyone should be able to agree with.
I didn’t understand what he was saying about climate change. I certainly agree that any intelligent person will try to take care of the environment – not just for themselves, for others.
There is no nation on Earth that is more welcoming than the United States of America. That is entirely consistent with believing in the rule of law – that we should secure the border and we should know who is coming into the country, particularly at the time with rise of radical Islam and growing national security threats.
We can remain a nation that welcomes legal immigrants while at the same time as securing our border and protecting safety of legal Americans.
5.50pm BST
From Angela Bruno:
In his address to Congress this morning, the pope mentioned four “great Americans”. Two are household names: Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr. The other two are lesser-known: Dorothy Day and Thomas Merton. Google trends noted a spike in searches for the latter two.
Everyone's Googling Thomas Merton and Dorothy Day from @PerryStein http://t.co/ZXNC537MKW pic.twitter.com/u2O3k489my
5.45pm BST
Some commentators have noted that the pope left out some lines from his prepared text. The enigmatic Fr Federico Lombardi corrects the record:
Fr Lombardi, papal spox, says #PopeFrancis lost his place for min, accidentally skipping 4 lines in speech to Congress. Full text = valid.
5.41pm BST
Speaking to CNN after the pope’s address to Congress, Senator Bernie Sanders said his honoring of former socialist and Catholic convert Dorothy Day showed his priorities.
“She was a very, very progressive socialist who organised working people and the poor to stand up to the wealthy and powerful, for social justice,” Sanders said.
5.23pm BST
Our intrepid reporter Jessica Glenza has spent the morning traversing the security to welcome Pope Francis at New York’s JFK airport. Security is tight; it was only yesterday that a Guardian reporter had his banana confiscated before the Junipero Serra canonization.
#PopeInNY sign by where Francis will arrive pic.twitter.com/j79nCWb1Y1
Because the pope’s visit coincides with the 70th United Nations General Assembly, which brings in about 170 world leaders, New York faces a large security challenge.
NYPD commissioner William Bratton said last week that the pope’s hands-on style presents its own security challenges – Pope Francis plans to visit an East Harlem school and lead a procession through Central Park.
5.17pm BST
How’s that for a contrast: the papal Fiat v the armored personnel carriers driven by his security forces.
The pope has departed his meal with the homeless. Next stop: New York City.
5.12pm BST
From Angela Bruno:
La gente aplaude cuando sale el Papa al Capitolio @UniNoticias pic.twitter.com/ijfIZ5rpt4
From blocks away, Univision correspondent Fernando Pizarro captures the roar of the crowd as the Pope exited the Capitol Building after his joint address to Congress. Once outside, the Pope issued an impromptu greeting to the crowd and addressed the masses in Spanish, thanking them for their presence, and asking for their prayers. He extended his message to everyone, going on to say, “If there are among you any who do not believe or cannot pray, I ask you please to send good wishes my way.”
5.11pm BST
The “homeless problem”, according to president of the Catholic league Bill Donohue, is not just “a function of a lack of housing”, he told Catholic TV network EWTN. It was also because of mental illness that they weren’t in shelter, which, Donohue said, was partly the blame of civil libertarians.
Donohue is a long-time critic of civil libertarians, and the author of a critical book on the ACLU.
5.10pm BST
G’day, Adam Brereton back with you on the blog now after a marathon morning from my colleague Nicky Woolf. The pope is currently meeting homeless Americans in Washington DC.
5.05pm BST
From Angela Bruno in NYC:
Rocco Palma, chief chronicler of the Roman Catholic Church, has this to say about the pope’s address to the people on the steps of the Capitol building.
For the record, Pope didn't just speak in Spanish on Capitol balcony due to his English skills... that was a sign of solidarity with Latinos
Pope Francis is the first Latin American pontiff, and the first whose native language is Spanish. Immigration reform, a cause close to the hearts of many in the Latino community, has been at the center of the pope’s messages this week.
4.54pm BST
My colleague Sibylla Brodzinksy in Bogotá has an update on another aspect of papal diplomacy: the Vatican’s involvement in Colombia’s peace process.
Before arriving in the US the pope stopped off in Cuba, which last night was the setting for another historic event: the announcement that Colombia’s five-decade war may finally be coming to an end.
Representatives of the country’s government and the Farc rebels said that after nearly three years of talks, they had reached a groundbreaking deal on justice, paving the way for a final peace deal within six months.
4.54pm BST
Before heading to the West Front of the Capitol, THE POPE blessed the newly born daughter of @SpeakerBoehner’s director of scheduling.
4.52pm BST
You can tell the US Secret Service from the undercover Swiss guards & Vatican police cuz the US guys are chewing gum pic.twitter.com/Jq4nSxv0OL
4.52pm BST
Pope Francis concludes his remarks at St. Patrick’s:
Prayer unites us; it makes us brothers and sisters. It opens our hearts and reminds us of a beautiful truth which we sometimes forget. In prayer, we all learn to say “Father”, “Dad”. We learn to see one another as brothers and sisters. In prayer, there are no rich and poor people, there are sons and daughters, sisters and brothers. In prayer, there is no first or second class, there is brotherhood.
It is in prayer that our hearts find the strength not to be cold and insensitive in the face of injustice. In prayer, God keeps calling us, opening our hearts to charity.
How good it is for us to pray together. How good it is to encounter one another in this place where we see one another as brothers and sisters, where we realize that we need one another. Today I want to be one with you.
The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.
4.48pm BST
300 homeless waiting for Pope. On menu: boneless teriyaki chicken, Asian pasta salad, green beans, carrots, brownie. pic.twitter.com/PPG48VZt5a
4.45pm BST
We know that Jesus wanted to show solidarity with every person. He 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.
In this speech, Pope Francis is laying out the theological case for his own positions on social injustice.
4.44pm BST
In the face of unjust and painful situations, faith brings us the light which scatters the darkness. As it did for Joseph, faith makes us open to the quiet presence of God at every moment of our lives, in every person and in every situation. God is present in every one of you, in each one of us.
I want to be very clear. We can find no social or moral justification, no justification whatsoever, for lack of housing. There are many unjust situations, but we know that God is suffering with us, experiencing them at our side. He does not abandon us.
#PopeFrancis: We can find no social or moral justification no justification whatsoever, for lack of housing pic.twitter.com/v9W2h8ymXY
4.42pm BST
Like Saint Joseph, you may ask: Why are we homeless, without a place to live? These are questions which all of us might well ask. Why do these, our brothers and sisters, have no place to live? Why are these brothers and sisters of ours homeless?
Joseph’s questions are timely even today; they accompany all those who throughout history have been, and are, homeless.
#PopeFrancis to homeless at Caritas Center in DC: "The Son of God came into this world a homeless person," pic.twitter.com/G4q514b4jn
4.40pm BST
Pope Francis is speaking at St. Patrick in the City church.
He talks about helping the homeless:
I can imagine Joseph, with his wife about to have a child, with no shelter, no home, no place to stay. The Son of God came into this world as a homeless person. The Son of God knew what it was to start life without a roof over his head. We can imagine what Joseph must have been thinking.
How is it that the Son of God has no home? Why are we homeless, why don’t we have housing? These are questions which many of you may ask daily.
4.38pm BST
Lauren Gambino is talking to people in the crowd at the Capitol.
Almost everyone I'm grabbing to ask about the address said it was very empowering #PopeInDC
"I hope Mr Trump was listening." - Rosie who came with her son to see the papal address
4.34pm BST
Pope Francis in St. Patrick's church, at the heart of dowtown Washington, to meet with homeless #PopeInUSA pic.twitter.com/oudRvtJDHc
4.33pm BST
There was a notable omission in the pope’s speech before Congress, reports Stephanie Kirchgaessner.
According to the prepared text, Pope Francis was to issue a powerful commentary on how politicians can be led astray, saying that “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.”
Here I think of the political history of the United States, where democracy is deeply rooted in the mind of the American people. All political activity must serve and promote the good of the human person and be based on respect for his or her dignity. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” (Declaration of Independence, 4 July 1776). 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.
4.22pm BST
Pope Francis has returned to his Fiat to leave the Capitol Building, on his way to visit the church of St. Patrick in the City.
Pope waves through a rolled down window from the backseat of his Fiat on leaving the Capitol grounds. pic.twitter.com/e95HL305ti
4.18pm BST
Looks like Senator Tim Scott broke the no-photos in the chamber rule, posting this picture of Pope Francis speaking:
4.16pm BST
The dominant theme of the pope’s address to Congress was certainly immigration. He spoke of “thousands of persons [who] are led to travel north in search of a better life” – here in North America, but also with a reference to the European migration crisis.
We expected Pope Francis to deliver strong words on immigration, but if I were Donald Trump I’d be quaking in my boots. The frontrunner Republican presidential candidate wasn’t mentioned by name, of course, but he was certainly present in the passage the pontiff reserved on the subject.
It was devastating.
And he referred again – as he did at the White House on Wednesday – to his own family background: “I say this to you as the son of immigrants.” Those were practically his first public words on US soil, so his message couldn’t be more clear.
But I don’t think it’s just about the US track record on immigration. He’s also talking about a global crisis: “Our world is facing a refugee crisis of a magnitude not seen since the Second World War.” That’s referring to the hundreds of thousands of people trudging across Europe in search of a better life. So David Cameron and the rest of the UK government should listen up, too.
Absolutely. And this is a message that will resonate in the US as well, where leaders of both main parties have so far been hesitant to make firm commitments about taking more Syrian refugees. We asked the presidential candidates recently what they would do to help solve the Syrian refugee crisis and were met with an almost universal evasion.
Yes, both the US and the UK have been put to shame by the response of the German government which has opened its doors to refugees. But, in a characteristic move, Pope Francis has also called for every Catholic parish to take in a refugee family, and indeed is hosting one in the Vatican. That was a very practical action, and consistent with his papacy. It’s interesting to wonder if history might have taken a different course if every Catholic parish had taken in a Jewish family in 1938.
I’m struck by how effortlessly Francis moved in his speech from the very practical, as you say, to evoking the finer spirit in humanity. He evoked Moses, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Martin Luther King. In that tradition, he called on Congress to “avoid a common temptation nowadays: to discard whatever proves troublesome”. I couldn’t help thinking at that point of the wall Trump wants to build along the US border with Mexico and his talk of mass deportation of all 11 million undocumented immigrants.
Indeed. And it’s really significant that he is clear that we should open our doors not just to those fleeing war and persecution, but what are often termed ‘economic migrants’. These are people in search of greater opportunities, Francis said. “Is this not what we want for our own children?” And: “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.”
These are strong words and clear guidance from the Holy Father, and our political leaders should be shifting uncomfortably in their seats.
4.16pm BST
The view of the crowd from behind Pope Francis as he reached out to atheists to “send good wishes my way.”
Pope asks crowd to "pray for me." And if don't believe or won't pray, he asks "please to send good wishes my way." pic.twitter.com/0rX0AdLLXF
4.12pm BST
4.11pm BST
He concludes in English:
Thank you very much, and God bless America.
4.10pm BST
“The most important ones here are children.” He prays; blessing “each of them” and their families. “Bless them all.”
And I ask you all please to pray for me. And if there are among you any who do not believe or who cannot pray, I ask you please to send good wishes my way.
#PopeInDC "Good day everybody. I'm so thankful for your presence here. the most important ones here, children." pic.twitter.com/6nXBlsfAiv
4.09pm BST
“I’m so grateful for your presence here,” he says, speaking in Spanish with translation into English.
4.07pm BST
As the pope walks through the Statuary Hall, he cannot fail to see the statue of controversial priest Junípero Serra.
Tragically, the rights of those who were here long before us were not always respected. For those peoples and their nations, from the heart of American democracy, I wish to reaffirm my highest esteem and appreciation.
Those first contacts were often turbulent and violent, but it is difficult to judge the past by the criteria of the present.
We must resolve now to live as nobly and as justly as possible, as we educate new generations not to turn their back on our “neighbors” and everything around us. Building a nation calls us to recognize that we must constantly relate to others, rejecting a mindset of hostility in order to adopt one of reciprocal subsidiarity, in a constant effort to do our best.
4.04pm BST
A hushed crowd watches the pope’s address:
Amazing how quiet it is here. #PopeInDC pic.twitter.com/GJEsiGGkv6
4.02pm BST
The Pope’s speech lasted 50 minutes (it was scheduled to last 30). There was a total of one minute’s applause during the address.
4.00pm BST
One of the most interesting moments of the speech was when Francis spoke about ideological extremism. Spencer Ackerman had this to say:
At a moment when a band of millenarian fanatics declare themselves to be the “Islamic State”, and when a boy who brings a clock into school gets arrested on suspicion he has a bomb because of his religion, Pope Francis tells Congress that “no religion is immune from forms of individual delusion or ideological extremism.” Francis’s message, to guard against “the simplistic reductionism which sees only good or evil”, is not one of equivocation or equivalence, as he speaks specifically about “combat[ting] violence perpetrated in the name of a religion, an ideology or an economic system”. Instead, it’s a call for more maturity: “We know that in the attempt to be freed of the enemy without, we can be tempted to feed the enemy within.”
The value of a spiritual leader on the world stage is to prompt the powerful into introspection. Here is Francis telling a Congress, and a country, that is acting like Muslim lives are cheaper than Christian and Jewish ones, that “to imitate the hatred and violence of tyrants and murderers is the best way to take their place. That is something which you, as a people, reject.”
3.58pm BST
Pope Francis will now walk through Statuary Hall in the Capitol Building.
3.56pm BST
US opinion editor Megan Carpentier weighs in on abortion – specifically, that difficult-to-decipher moment at the end there about “a culture which pressures young people not to start a family”.
Though the pope earlier this year ordered priests to offer absolution to women who had abortions but repented their actions, he was unequivocal in his opposition to abortion during his speech to Congress, telling the assembled members, to near-rapturous applause, “The Golden Rule also reminds us of our responsibility to protect and defend human life at every stage of its development.” (His reminder that the responsibility to protect and defend human life also extends to opposing the death penalty was, unsurprisingly, less well-received.)
But it was nearer to the end of the speech that he reminded his listeners, however obtusely, that the Church’s opposition to reproductive rights, including birth control, has its roots in the faith’s understanding of “family” and women’s role in it.
‘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 problem 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.’
Though the pope is also addressing the Church’s concern with same sex marriage, he’s also alluding to the fact that the Church conceives of motherhood as women’s most important role in the world, though he supports equal pay for those who have to work. But it’s interesting that he focuses on the intersection of economic insecurity and fertility rates as much as economic possibility (and ‘choice’) as a factor in people’s choices on whether to start families.
But the focus on ‘family’ here was really a focus on women, and women’s rights, as much as it was a reference to marriage equality, and a call for women to reconsider what the Church believes to be their fundamental role as mother’s and protectors of the family.
3.56pm BST
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.
He ends: “God bless America!”
3.53pm BST
“In particular, I would like to call attention to those family members who are the most vulnerable, the young,” he continues. “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.
3.51pm BST
Francis says that he will end his visit to the US in Philadelphia, where he will take part in the World Meeting of Families. “It is my wish that throughout my visit the family should be a recurrent theme,” he says.
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.
3.49pm BST
More from Dan Roberts, in the Capitol Building:
The speech is having a remarkable effect on lawmakers as Democrats repeatedly lead Republicans in standing ovations when the Pope enlists moral arguments to support liberal positions.
On at least four occasions, the floor of the House of Representatives resembled a Mexican wave as Republicans at first resisted the encouragement to applause but decided to stand once it was clear that Democrats were doing so.
3.49pm BST
From his tacit praise of Obama’s diplomatic efforts - which will likely not make him friends among conservative hawks - Francis turns to the arms trade.
“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,” he says.
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.
3.48pm BST
The speech is not getting much love from Rorate Caeli, a conservative Catholic blog, which tweeted out its dissatisfaction that abortion had been “glossed over”.
How sad that the greatest atrocity of the last half century, abortion, gets glossed over at every level, even by the Supreme Pontiff.
3.47pm BST
Turning obliquely to diplomacy, Francis uses his fourth human example: Thomas Merton.
A Cistertian monk, mystic and poet, Merton belonged to an order of Trappists in Kentucky. Originally born in France, he was a keen proponent of social justice, spirituality, and pacifism, and a prolific writer and essayist who pushed dialogue with Buddhist and Taoist figures and advanced the cause of interfaith understanding. His most famous work is the Seven-Storey Mountain.
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
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. [Applause.]
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.
3.43pm BST
Guardian US chief reporter Ed Pilkington, who has covered America’s confrontation with capital punishment for years, weighs in on the pope’s call to help abolish it – finally – in this country:
Pope Francis has just thrown down the gauntlet to the handful of largely southern states who are still actively pursuing the death penalty. He put his challenge in global terms – calling for the worldwide abolition of capital punishment. But his call comes at a particularly sensitive moment in the national debate on the ultimate penalty.
After the US supreme court gave the go-ahead in June to a controversial new execution drug, several states are now preparing to restart executions; Arkansas, Georgia, Missouri, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas and Virginia all have executions scheduled before the end of October.
3.42pm BST
Francis now calls again 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.’
3.41pm BST
Environment correspondent Suzanne Goldenberg, who is among climate activists outside the US Capitol, weighs in on this crucial environmental passage from Francis, which is getting tons of applause from Democrats:
The pope appears in Congress one day after his big shout-out for Barack Obama’s clean power plant plan – arguably one of the biggest targets of Republicans in both houses as well as on the presidential campaign trail.
More than half of Republicans in Congress deny the existence of climate change, or oppose government regulations to cut carbon pollution.
3.38pm BST
Pope Francis now turns to Dorothy Day.
Day was an American convert to Catholicism, who advocated for “distributism”, a Catholic economic ideology based on spreading – rather than centralising – the means of production, and holding property rights sacred which has often been seen as a theoretical alternative to both socialism and capitalism.
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.
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.
Pope Francis highlights social activist Dorothy Day in speech to Congress http://t.co/VRxMTVsRvn pic.twitter.com/eZcifcUB9z
3.37pm BST
Big applause for the line about life and the golden rule.
Something for everyone here except economic conservatives, eh?
So apologists say Francis can't get specific on abortion, only a vague passing mention. But policy on the death penalty is fine?
3.35pm BST
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.
3.34pm BST
The pontiff’s speech continues to address many of what in ordinary circumstances would be considered “third rails” in American politics. Now, he sets his sights on the death penalty.
“The Golden Rule” - “do unto others as you would have them do unto you”, from Matthew chapter 7, verse 12 - “also reminds us of our responsibility to protect and defend human life at every stage of its development,” he says.
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.
3.33pm BST
Stephanie Kirchgaessner in Rome weighs in on this bold, almost anti-Trump immigration language from Francis:
Pope Francis is not mentioning any politicians by name, but certainly his comments could be seen as an antidote to the anti-immigrant rhetoric that has consumed the Republican presidential campaign, particularly in remarks by current frontrunner Donald Trump.
The pope spoke of two crises: the refugee crisis in Europe, where tens of thousands of migrants and refugees who have escaped war and other hardships are seeking asylum, and the efforts of ‘thousands of persons’ in the US who have travelled north ‘in search of a better life for themselves and for their loved ones’.
3.31pm BST
Now the pontiff returns to one of American politics’ third rails - immigration. His language that could not be stronger.
Our world is facing a refugee crisis of a magnitude not seen since the Second World War.
On 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.’
3.28pm BST
Pope's "We the people of this continent are not fearful of foreigners" elicits applause at first only from Democrats. GOP rises eventually.
3.26pm BST
Pope Francis now turns to talk about Martin Luther King, whose “dream” – applause there – he says “continues to inspire us all”.
I am happy that America continues to be, for many, a land of ‘dreams’.
Dreams which lead to action, to participation, to commitment. Dreams which awaken what is deepest and truest in the life of a people.
In recent centuries, millions of people came to this land to pursue their dream of building a future in freedom. We, the people of this continent, are not fearful of foreigners, because most of us were once foreigners.
I say this to you as the son of immigrants, knowing that so many of you are also descended from immigrants.
3.23pm BST
From crises abroad, Pope Francis now turns his attention to crises at home – especially social and economic injustices.
“Even in the developed world, the effects of unjust structures and actions are all too apparent,” he says. “Our efforts must aim at restoring hope, righting wrongs, maintaining commitments, and thus promoting the well-being of individuals and of peoples.”
3.21pm BST
Speaker Boehner tears up as Pope Francis begins his address http://t.co/Zrrr6SmW8R pic.twitter.com/b9z8F4uWQo
3.19pm BST
Now Pope Francis begins to get politically charged, turning from Lincoln to religious extremism and fundamentalism.
He says: “All of us are quite aware of, and deeply worried by, the disturbing social and political situation of the world today.”
Our world is increasingly a place of violent conflict, hatred and brutal atrocities, committed even in the name of God and of religion. We know that no religion is immune from forms of individual delusion or ideological extremism. This means that we must be especially attentive to every type of fundamentalism, whether religious or of any other kind.
A delicate balance is required to combat violence perpetrated in the name of a religion, an ideology or an economic system, while also safeguarding religious freedom, intellectual freedom and individual freedoms. [Applause.]
But there is another temptation which we must especially guard against: the simplistic reductionism which sees only good or evil; or, if you will, the righteous and sinners. The contemporary world, with its open wounds which affect so many of our brothers and sisters, demands that we confront every form of polarization which would divide it into these two camps.
3.16pm BST
Slightly awkward pause in the chamber as they don't immediately recognise a papal applause line. The Pope's accent is very hard to follow.
3.15pm BST
Some early colour from Dan Roberts, at the Capitol:
The sight of Pope Francis before an audience more typically seen for the president’s State of the Union address contrasted starkly with the more divisive speech given to Congress by Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier this year.
That was boycotted by a number of Democrats who accused him of improper intervention in domestic politics by urging them to block the White House Iran deal, but Francis was warmly received on both sides of the aisle.
3.14pm BST
The Pope talks about four “great Americans” who “shaped fundamental values which will endure forever in the spirit of the American people.”
Those four, he says, are: Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Dorothy Day and Thomas Merton.
3.12pm BST
I would like to take this opportunity to dialogue with the many thousands of men and women who strive each day to do an honest day’s work, to bring home their daily bread, to save money and –one step at a time – to build a better life for their families.
These are men and women who are not concerned simply with paying their taxes, but in their own quiet way sustain the life of society. They generate solidarity by their actions, and they create organizations which offer a helping hand to those most in need.
Listen up! #PopeFrancis tells Congress his speech is part of dialogue with all people of US. pic.twitter.com/GLeQTqqSPr
3.10pm BST
3.10pm BST
Now, Francis widens his scope.
Today I would like not only to address you, but through you the entire people of the United States. Here, together with their representatives, I would like to take this opportunity to dialogue with the many thousands of men and women who strive each day to do an honest day’s work, to bring home their daily bread, to save money and –one step at a time – to build a better life for their families.
WATCH LIVE: Pope Francis heads to Capitol Hill to address Congress http://t.co/y9kAUDmwIq #PopeInDC pic.twitter.com/7TYmtbqWDZ
3.08pm BST
He addresses the legislators directly and talks about their weighty responsibility.
You are the face of its people, their representatives. You are called to defend and preserve the dignity of your fellow citizens in the tireless and demanding pursuit of the common good, for this is the chief aim of all politics.
A political society endures when it seeks, as a vocation, to satisfy common needs by stimulating the growth of all its members, especially those in situations of greater vulnerability or risk. Legislative activity is always based on care for the people. To this you have been invited, called and convened by those who elected you.
#PopeInDC thx #USCongress for invitation to address "land of the free, home of the brave." HUGE applause pic.twitter.com/sHr5zmS1rK
3.07pm BST
#BREAKING #PopeFrancis addressing Congress right now WATCH LIVE http://t.co/7lewXmODNi pic.twitter.com/T71bgm0hI6
3.06pm BST
I would like to think that the reason for this is that I too am a son of this great continent, from which we have all received so much and toward which we share a common responsibility.
3.05pm BST
Here’s Francis:
“I am most grateful for your invitation to address this Joint Session of Congress in ‘the land of the free and the home of the brave’,” he begins.
3.04pm BST
Pope Francis has arrived to give his speech before Congress. #PopeInUS pic.twitter.com/BveVVZShd1
3.04pm BST
Pope Francis has arrived to address the joint meeting of Congress #PopeInDC http://t.co/mLUguEmxon pic.twitter.com/nNEcTeXzLq
3.04pm BST
Pope Francis has entered the chamber to rapturous applause.
"Mr. Speaker, the pope of the Holy See." #PopeInUSA pic.twitter.com/KJOEX8KZ5O
Pope Francis enters the House Chamber, shakes hands with Secretary of State John Kerry. Watch: … pic.twitter.com/1xhMqmg0gU
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