Pope challenges Congress to be better; Congress continues as usual

It’s not often a senator is rendered speechless.

But Thursday morning, on an extraordinary day at the Capitol, Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska found herself standing in a narrow hallway before the first-ever address to Congress by a pope, her hands, full of rosaries, cupped by His Holiness.

The rules for the 20 or so congressional escorts who would walk Pope Francis into the House chamber were clear: No one was to move from his or her place, reach out or touch the pope.

But in a move true to the reputation he’s built as a benevolent and accessible church leader, Pope Francis spotted the colored beads in Murkowski’s hands and reached out to her.

“I had them in my hands, and as he came to where I was in the lineup, I just put my hands out and opened up the cup of my hands with the two rosaries in them, you know, this pocket of colored beads,” Murkowski said, a few hours after the exchange. “And he looked at me and he came over and he put his hand on top of the beads and then he took my other hand and he cupped it over the pile of beads and just kind of held it. And I couldn’t speak. So [Sen.] Susan Collins [R-Maine] did the speaking for me. And she welcomed him, which was really good because I couldn’t speak.”

The 58-year-old Murkowski was holding the jade rosary she received on her 25th birthday and another strand she received a few years ago for Christmas from her sister-in-law, who lives in Brazil.

Standing just outside the Senate chamber when asked about the moment by Yahoo News, Murkowski wanted to know if this reporter wanted to touch her hand for good luck. I did.

“It’s kind of cool,” she said, still giddy from a brief moment that clearly affected her.

On a sunny and crisp Washington fall day, Congress took a long break from acrimony and gridlock, passing the time with small and emotion-laden encounters with a world religious leader instead of empty quorum calls.

Pope Francis praised Speaker John Boehner’s green tie as a symbol of hope and blessed a weeks-old baby being held by her mother, Boehner’s director of scheduling, as he passed through National Statuary Hall en route to his speech.

C-SPAN footage of the House chamber, where Francis became the first pope to address a joint meeting of Congress, showed multiple weeping members, Democrat and Republican (besides the prone-to-tears Boehner).

Pope Francis pointed to symbols housed within the House chamber itself, focusing on a frieze of Moses, to explain to lawmakers — 30 percent of whom are Catholic — that his likeness provides a “good synthesis” of their work. “You are asked to protect, by means of the law, the image and likeness fashioned by God on every human face,” the pope said.

But outside, the Capitol dome, covered in scaffolding, was also symbolic. The iconic-but-under-repair building was first image Pope Francis saw as he pulled up to America’s legislative seat of power in his trademark black Fiat.

For as much as the pope tried to focus on a hopeful message, of Congress striving for a common good, his visit took place six days before a possible government shutdown. The American political experience, which he praised but also gently prodded in his nearly hour-long speech, is currently mired in partisanship and dysfunction, exactly what he denounced.

“The challenges facing us today call for a renewal of that spirit of cooperation, which has accomplished so much good throughout the history of the United States,” the pope said in his speech. “The complexity, the gravity and the urgency of these challenges demand that we pool our resources and talents, and resolve to support one another, with respect for our differences and our convictions of conscience.”

Members awkwardly applauded, even though they were asked not to, in bipartisan concert: Democrats for impassioned calls on climate change, immigration reform and a global end to the death penalty; Republicans for lines on traditional marriage and against abortion.

Three hours after he left the Capitol, the Senate blocked legislation that would have kept the government open while defunding Planned Parenthood, a bill Republicans brought up just so it would fail.

The depressing reality and mundane nature of the rest of the congressional day stood in stark contrast to the lofty expectations Pope Francis outlined to politicians by reviewing great figures in American history and asking lawmakers to stand for those who are caught in the “cycle of poverty” or otherwise forgotten by government.

After his speech, Pope Francis emerged onto the Speakers Balcony, flanked by Vice President Joe Biden, who like Boehner is Catholic, and the congressional leadership team.

He met a crowd of thousands — dignitaries, celebrities, guests of Congress, reporters and the public — who had congregated on the sprawling terraces and lawns of the Capitol’s West Front to watch his remarks on giant television screens and in the hope of getting a quick glimpse of His Holiness.

Chants of “Papa! Papa!” rolled through the Mall, which, in addition to numerous Argentinian and Colombian flags, hinted at the large number of Hispanics who had come to D.C. to hear his words.

“Buenos dias,” Francis said, as everyone below waved in what was likely the heartiest “good morning” exchange Washington has seen in quite some time.

After brief remarks, he disappeared back into the building, crossed to the East Front, and departed the Capitol complex in his motorcade. House members lined up on the Capitol steps hoping to get one last picture of Francis as his Fiat passed by.

With that, he was gone. But his challenge to Congress might reverberate in the marble halls of the Capitol for quite some time: “Each son or daughter of a given country has a mission, a personal and social responsibility. Your own responsibility as members of Congress is to enable this country, by your legislative activity, to grow as a nation. 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.”