[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 135 (Friday, September 18, 2015)]
[House]
[Pages H6168-H6169]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          WELCOME POPE FRANCIS

  (Mr. ROTHFUS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. ROTHFUS. Mr. Speaker, in just a matter of days, we will welcome 
Pope Francis to the Nation's Capital.
  Pope Francis is the 266th Bishop of Rome, following a line of 
succession that goes all the way back to St. Peter 2,000 years ago. The 
sixteenth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew teaches that Jesus told 
Peter that he would be the rock on whom Jesus would build his church.
  Now, for the first time in history, Peter's successor will address 
Congress.
  Here is an interesting perspective: America remains a young Nation 
compared to the 2,000-year-old Catholic church. While we have had 44 
different Presidents--President Obama is the 45th President because 
count Grover Cleveland as the 22nd and 24th President--just 16 of the 
church's 266 popes have governed the church since 1776.

[[Page H6169]]

  The Pope's visit offers all Americans, Catholics and non-Catholics 
alike, a chance to reflect on the great issues of the day, including 
the sanctity of life, threats to the family, religious freedom, 
economic justice, care for the less fortunate, war and peace, and 
stewardship of the Earth.
  Pope Francis' visit is an invitation to dialogue, and I look forward 
to his address.

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