The Pope Before Congress, the American Dream

How does one identify the greatness of a nation? By the ability of “each of its sons and daughters” to work for the common good. Pope Francis’ speech to U.S. lawmakers, and beyond that, to the residents of this country, is a superb policy plea. From four figures of American history, presented as four pillars of political action, he skillfully reminded this great nation of its best: Abraham Lincoln for freedom, Martin Luther King for equal rights, Dorothy Day for social justice, and Thomas Merton for dialogue and transcendence.

To the first world power, yesterday the Argentine pope posited that freedom — so important to Americans — must be built on a spirit of dialogue and pluralism, this same political and religious pluralism that are the founding principles of the United States. A policy in the service of the human person cannot be dependent on the great interests of the economy. Nor must it create exclusion and rejection within and outside of its borders. Freedom is nothing if it is not accompanied by respect for the famous “golden rule,” this principle of reciprocity that is found, notably, in the New Testament: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Matthew 7:12.

With these great figures, Pope Francis invites America to dream of its future. Speaking of dreams is not only a way of affecting the fundamentally positive character of Americans. It is also a way of bypassing the left-right rifts that would inevitably have arisen if the pope had launched into a critique of this or that action. This “dream” allows him to argue for the abolition of the death penalty and the arms trade, and for social justice and protection of the family, without rolling out a political program. Speaking of dreams in a society where complexity leads to a loss of a sense of action is to give a horizon, a hope, as Barack Obama rightly pointed out Wednesday, when he thanked Pope Francis for this “great gift of hope” that he brought to the world.