Boehner Braced for Pope's Message

Politico

By Nahal Toosi

September 24, 2015

Boehner braced for pope's message

For John Boehner, who attended Mass nearly every morning while growing up with 11 siblings in southwest Ohio, the chance to meet privately with Pope Francis before the Roman Catholic leader addresses Congress on Thursday fulfills a long-cherished dream.

“It will be pretty awesome,” the House speaker said in an interview with POLITICO. “I hope I’ve got more to say to him than he has to say to me. He might have a message for me.”

It may not be a message that Boehner the Republican politician wants to hear. As Congress prepares for the pope’s historic address — the mere planning of which has been a “huge undertaking,” Boehner said — lawmakers are feeling both anticipation and trepidation.

Francis’ views don’t fit neatly into either party, but on Wednesday, as he spoke alongside President Barack Obama at the White House, his liberal side was clearly on display.

The 78-year-old pontiff praised the Democratic president for pursuing an initiative to tackle climate change. And within seconds of noting America is a nation built by immigrants, Francis said that in his speech to Congress he hoped “to offer words of encouragement to those called to guide the nation’s political future in fidelity to its founding principles.”

The comments underscore Francis’ willingness to wade into sensitive political territory, even in front of a legislative body whose majority party is resistant to many of his priorities, especially dealing with climate change and reforming the immigration system.

Still, Francis will likely please the GOP on other fronts. He’s expected to touch on the need to end abortion, defend traditional marriage and protect religious liberty, even if he uses opaque terms.

As the threat of a government shutdown looms, Francis also may discuss the need for bipartisanship, though he’ll likely use a term such as “political unity.”

Boehner, for one, insists he’s just happy the pope is showing up.

The speaker, who has wept at moments far less grand than a papal visit, has been inviting popes to speak to Congress for more than 20 years. Francis, who took over the papacy in 2013, is the only one who has accepted, and he’ll be first pope ever to address a joint meeting of the House and Senate.

Francis’ Thursday morning speech is due to last about 20 minutes. It will be in English, a tongue the native Spanish speaker is not comfortable with, but that, based on his English-language speech at the White House, he has clearly been practicing. While Vatican observers expect the pope will stick to broad, faith-infused themes and avoid commenting on specific bills before Congress, his reference to Obama’s anti-air pollution initiatives was surprisingly specific.

Lawmakers have been told to be on their best behavior, so the scene will be similar to that of a State of the Union address but far more restrained. In letters to their colleagues, House and Senate leaders have requested lawmakers refrain “from handshakes and conversations along and down the center aisle during the announced arrivals” of Francis and others. (In other words, “Don’t touch the pope.”)

Thousands of ticket-holders will be watching the address on screens mounted on the West Lawn of the Capitol. Far fewer people will be in the chamber itself when the pope takes the podium. A few of the lucky ones are Boehner’s guests: former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and his wife, Callista; Teo Nowakowski, the mother of Boehner’s late longtime chief of staff, Paula Nowakowski; and Jerry Vanden Eynden, a childhood friend of the speaker.

While Francis himself insists it’s not correct to call him “left-leaning” and he doesn’t neatly fit into the traditional boxes of American politics, Democratic lawmakers appear more enthused about his arrival in Washington than Republicans. Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) is trying to get colleagues to sign a letter nominating Pope Francis for the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize.

Most Republicans have stuck to genial comments about the pontiff, but some have lashed out. Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona plans to boycott the speech because of the pope’s environmental advocacy. Others have urged Francis to speak forcefully about abortion and traditional marriage and avoid topics such as immigration and climate change.

Some hope that Francis, who is very popular among Americans of all religious backgrounds, will offer temporary relief to a Washington riven with divisions (not to mention a 2016 campaign trail bristling with anti-immigration topics including border walls and mass deportations). But odds are low that the pope’s visit will translate into unified legislative action, except maybe a resolution thanking Francis for showing up.

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