[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 11]
[House]
[Pages 14995-14996]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1215
                     THE POPE'S ADDRESS TO CONGRESS

  (Ms. HAHN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Ms. HAHN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to first thank Speaker Boehner 
for inviting Pope Francis to be the first Pope to ever address a joint 
session of Congress in his visit to the United States last week.
  I know that I was not the only Member of Congress who was deeply 
moved

[[Page 14996]]

by Pope Francis' address. His message was simple and honest. It crossed 
religious and political divides. He challenged us to do better and even 
invoked Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He reminded us that this Nation 
continues to be a land of dreams.
  Pope Francis has returned to the Vatican, and we must get back to 
work. But I hope that his message will stay with us a little longer. 
And we should follow the Golden Rule. Paraphrased, we should treat 
others like we would like to be treated. Not only should that apply to 
how we treat each other in the Halls of Congress, but also to how we 
address the bigger problems that this Nation is facing.
  From immigration reform to voting rights, each of us should place 
ourselves in the shoes of struggling families and work on the solution 
that is right for them and right for this country.

                          ____________________