Pope Francis challenged a divided U.S. Congress to do more to welcome immigrants and conquer poverty through a fairer distribution of wealth in a passionate, historic address that confronted America's thorniest political problems.
The leader of 1.2 billion Roman Catholics, the first pope to address Congress, saved his strongest language for the plight of immigrants and refugees, calling on lawmakers to reject "a mindset of hostility" and resist the temptation to look away. In the Americas, he said, thousands travel north to seek a better life.
"Is this not what we want for our own children?" Francis asked. "We must not be taken aback by their numbers, but rather view them as persons, seeing their faces and listening to their stories, trying to respond as best we can to their situation."