Pope Francis on Wednesday urged the United States to help tackle climate change and touched on other divisive U.S. political issues such as immigration and economic inequality on his first visit to the world's richest nation.
In a speech on the White House South Lawn, the Argentine pontiff lauded President Barack Obama's efforts to reduce air pollution, months after Francis made the environment one of his top issues by issuing a landmark encyclical letter to the church.
"It seems clear to me also that climate change is a problem which can no longer be left to a future generation. When it comes to the care of our common home, we are living at a critical moment of history," the pope said at a welcoming ceremony.