By Edmond Y. Azadian
Morality and politics are usually mutually exclusive; although they both deal with social issues, the latter has a stronger grip on those issues while morality soars in the abstract and impacts the consciences of people in a more subjective way.
Pope Francis’ visit to the US brought together both approaches to social issues and came to demonstrate the power of the spoken word and the impact of morality on politics and political issues.
As a spiritual leader, it was not his place to politicize his mission, but since the social issues he touched upon also have a political component, he had to tailor his message accordingly. At the conclusion of his remarks at the joint session of the US Congress, he stated: “A good political leader is one who, with the interest of all minds, seizes the moment in a spirit of openness and pragmatism.”