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3 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Herb Rothschild Jr: Sanders is the real thing ... Inner Peace: Spiritual strength carries friend through illness ... Haggen market puts Ashland on closure list ... Herb Rothschild Jr: Sanders is the real thing ... Inner Peace: Spiritual strength carries friend through illness ... Haggen market puts Ashland on closure list ... COMMENTARY Jeffrey Gillespie: Francis, the people's pontiff Comment DailyTidings.com Writer Posted Sep. 25, 2015 at 12:01 AM Posted Sep. 25, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Social News This week marked the first visit ever by Pope Francis, or indeed by any pope, to the podium at the Capitol to address a joint session of Congress. It was a major event, even by U.S. diplomatic standards. In anticipation of the pontiff's arrival, security was tight and expectations were high, and all of the trappings of a state visit were on display. But Francis himself is a man uninterested in such pomp and circumstance. A Jesuit priest who rose to prominence and became Archbishop of Buenos Aires in the late 1990s, he was credited with increasing the visibility and presence of the church in the slums there. He is the first pope to serve from the southern hemisphere since 741 A.D. Since he first came to the priesthood, his focus has been on the poor. But he also has changed the posture of the church through a flurry of statements including a new and more permissive stance on gay marriage, abortion and divorce. Among his first acts upon ascension was to wash and kiss the feet of 12 juvenile offenders from a regional detention center. His humble approach is a refreshing change from that of Pope Benedict XVI — he of the bejeweled Prada slippers. He has been a staunch and vocal opponent of capitalism's excesses, even going so far as to refer to its machinations as the “dung of the devil," and has taken steps to educate the more affluent faithful on their responsibility not just to help the poor, but to think about their own capital gains as more than just a means to an end. He chose the name Francis after St. Francis of Assisi, and was clear upon his arrival at the Vatican that he would focus not only on a respect for “all creation," but for the protection of the environment as well — a stance that stands in stark contrast to the idea of man’s “dominion” over the Earth. On the House floor this morning, he touched on a wide range of subjects, including the problems of ideological extremism in all religions, his belief that the death penalty should be abolished, a call for more open acceptance when it came to receiving victims of the Syrian refugee crisis, and the need for urgent and sustained action on climate change. He urged political leaders to engage in deeper and more fluid dialogue with their adversaries. he called for the arms trade to be re-evaluated, asking his audience to stop profiting from the blood of innocents. He invoked the names of four luminary Americans; Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr., Dorothy Day (the Catholic activist and Christian socialist), and Thomas Merton (the Trappist monk and mystic). The Vicar of Christ was treated by Congress with the deferential respect befitting his title.Whether his speech will make any real impact on the ingrained pomposity of our flawed national leadership remains to be seen. If he can spur any one leader to serious action, on any of his key issues, he will have done a great service to the people of the world. One can only hope that Thursday's visit by the Holy Father will amount to more than a photo opportunity for those elected representatives who, with so many pressing events at their door, are starting to feel some nagging of conscience when it comes to “business as usual.” Jeffrey Gillespie's writing has appeared in the Santa Fean and Art Collector magazines, the Portland Mercury and Willamette Week. He lives in Ashland. DailyTidings.com Writer Posted Sep. 25, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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