Pope Francis in America

I have been watching the journey of Pope Francis, but have not had the chance to hear any of his remarks live.

One quote from a Native American caught my attention (more on this later):

Jay Winter NightWolf, founder of the National Congress of Black American Indians, sat in the corner of a tent on the National Mall, listening as the pope spoke in front of Congress.

“It’s an extremely humane message,” he said of Pope Francis’s speech. “It’s a message that shows he’s the pope of the poor and of grandmother Earth.”

NightWolf said he disagreed with Francis’s canonization of Junipero Serra, an 18th century Spanish theologian who established Catholic missions along the coast of California. The Native Americans who joined the missions that Serra built were forced to shed their own culture, including their religion, dress and food. Thousands of them died prematurely from diseases common in Europe.

“That man was directly responsible for the murder of the 175,000 native people and the enslavement of more than 200,000. For him to make him a saint is a slap in the face to all Native American people,” said NightWolf.

Still, NightWolf said that he agreed with the pope’s stance on climate change and poverty: “Native American people live in abject poverty.” (from Washington Post)

Here are the transcripts of his remarks given thus far:

Pope Francis to his Bishops:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/social-issues/transcript-pope-franciss-comments-to-bishops-in-washington/2015/09/23/7afd90fc-621a-11e5-9757-e49273f05f65_story.html







Pope Francis @ the White House:

http://abcnews.go.com/US/read-pope-francis-speech-gave-white-house/story?id=33972629


Pope Francis before Congress:
 
http://time.com/4048176/pope-francis-us-visit-congress-transcript/