Pope Makes History In Speech To US Congress

Pope Francis has tackled divisive issues such as immigration and the death penalty as he became the first pontiff to address a joint meeting of Congress. 

Hundreds of lawmakers packed the House of Representatives for the historic speech, while thousands of spectators gathered outside the Capitol.
House Speaker John Boehner, a former altar boy, who invited Francis to speak after trying in vain to entice previous pontiffs to Congress, wiped away a tear.

American-Cuban Republican presidential hopeful Marco Rubio also seemed to get emotional as the Argentine Pope appealed for tolerance towards immigrants.
"We, the people of this continent, are not fearful of foreigners, because most of us were once foreigners," he said. 
"I say this to you as the son of immigrants, knowing that so many of you are also descended from immigrants."
His visit comes at a time when Congress is a week away from another possible government shutdown in a row over abortion.
But Francis' only possible allusion to that issue was a passing mention of the need to "protect and defend human life at every stage of its development".
Getty Pope Francis Addresses Joint Meeting Of U.S. Congress He focused instead on a call for the abolition of capital punishment.
"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," he said.
Francis was loudly applauded as he confronted climate change, in a chamber filled with avowed Republican sceptics on the issue.
He urged Congress to help "avert the most serious effects of the environmental deterioration caused by human activity".
Francis delighted Democrats at the White House a day earlier as he praised President Obama's efforts to tackle climate change.
In Thursday's speech, the pontiff also railed against the arms trade and those who sell "deadly weapons" for "money that is drenched in blood".
But he closed on an upbeat tone, praising the US as a land of dreamers and ending: "God bless America!"
Catholics have come a long way in US politics since President John F Kennedy had to assure voters he wouldn't take orders from Rome.
The top House Democrat and Republican, Nancy Pelosi and Mr Boehner, and Vice President Joe Biden are all Catholic, as are six of the nine Supreme Court Justices.
Later the leader of the world's 1.2 billion Roman Catholics heads to New York where he will address the United Nations on Friday.
The Pope ends his six-day visit to the US with two days in Philadelphia.