[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 10]
[House]
[Page 13945]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              POPE FRANCIS

  (Mr. TONKO asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. TONKO. Mr. Speaker, Pope Francis will address this body in a 
joint session this month, and I join my colleagues on both sides of the 
aisle when I say I am eager to receive the Holy Father's message of 
peace as a reminder of where our priorities should be in our work here 
in the House.
  As the Pope explained earlier this year in an encyclical, becoming a 
better steward of our environment should be a priority for all of us.
  The leader of the Catholic Church accurately points out that it is a 
moral imperative to care for others and the gifts we have been given by 
addressing climate change, and addressing it now. It is time to work 
together to better protect our environment and build a culture of 
stewardship.
  I thank Pope Francis for his focus on this issue, and I hope the 
words he will share in 2 weeks ring true with all of us, including 
those who continue to deny climate change, both in this body and around 
the world. For having the wisdom to change one's mind and evolve in 
thought is a blessing.
  I hope the Pope's encyclical will encourage deniers to work with us 
to find creative ways to clean up our environment, help create jobs, 
and make our world just a little bit better and more peaceful for our 
kids and our grandkids.

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