Welcome Pope Francis !

[jojoju1998]

On Behalf of the Atlas Community here, and all Americans, I would like to welcome the Pope to the United States of America !

[Antonio the Sixth]

I'm sure that if the Pope reads this forum, he'll be very happy to know jojoju1998 welcomes him.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

You would have been better off doing one of our Atlas traditions -  A Letter to Pope Francis - 4 words at a time.  

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

My condolences are with his family. Change your avatar to the Vatican in solidarity.

(Did I do that right? Long time since my last press release)

[angus]

In Pennsylvania, you can now buy Pope Francis t-shirts, Pope Francis maracas, Pope Francis shot glasses, Pope Francis dog tags, and even toasters that produce crispy Pope Francis images on bread. 

Given that Pope Francis often speaks against globalization, the "idolatry" of money, and the "tyranny" of market capitalism, the sweatshop-produced trinkets sold in his name ought to have appreciate the irony printed on them.

[The Other Castro]

I have a strange feeling that something big is going to be announced, like a plan to host a Camp David summit to find an Israeli/Palestinian agreement West Wing style.

[Ban my account ffs!]

You would have been better off doing one of our Atlas traditions -  A Letter to Pope Francis - 4 words at a time. 

Dear Pope Francis,


PLEASE DON'T BURN US.

[angus]

Feeling eco-friendly?  Why not get a solar-powered waving hand pope for your office?

[riceowl]

The video stream on the nytimes right now is hilarious.  Boehner is pacing around like he's waiting for a prom date

[Bacon King]

This is a powerful speech- very poignant to see him flanked by two Roman Catholics. Boehner has let the tears flow several times now.

Also lol Congress is completely ignoring the request to not applause

[Oakvale]

This is a powerful speech- very poignant to see him flanked by two Roman Catholics. Boehner has let the tears flow several times now.

Also lol Congress is completely ignoring the request to not applause

I greatly enjoyed the "We must respect human life at all stages of development" -

*all Republicans stand and applaud*

- "something which has lead me to call for the abolition of the death penalty"

[The Free North]

Its extremely disrespectful to clap. This is the Pope, not a state of the union. 

[riceowl]

LOL at the Donald trying to outdo the Pope on twitter:

Donald J. Trump ‏@realDonaldTrump  50s50 seconds ago
So happy about my daughter @IvankaTrump’s announcement that she will be having a baby this spring. Congratulations!

[The Free North]

Ugh, did no one tell congress not to act like assholes?

[Green Line]

I dont see anything wrong with clapping? It shows approval!

[afleitch]

In short; 'Twirling towards freedom.' Delivered like a real politician

[angus]

Its extremely disrespectful to clap. This is the Pope, not a state of the union.  

He is a visiting head of state, and it is not uncommon for US politicians to applaud visiting foreign dignitaries when they make speeches.  The Roman Catholic church can be regarded as a religion, but above all it is a political entity, and although it does not wield as much political clout as it did 500 or 1000 years ago, it is still a powerful political organization whose leader is very influential.  

That said, I agree that they do clap far too much.  It's hard to sit through any state of the union speech anymore.  I wish they'd just applaud once, at the end.