On Tuesday, Pope Francis wraps up his extended weekend trip to Cuba with a mass at the shrine of the Virgin of Charity of El Cobre then boards a plane for the United States, where his first stop will be Washington, D.C. President Obama is meeting the pope at the airport, ahead of a White House reception and private Oval Office meeting on Wednesday and an address to both houses of Congress on Thursday. Pope Francis wasn't overtly political in Cuba, but American politicians in both parties are a bit nervous about what the outspoken pope will say in the U.S.
The White House, especially, is striving to avoid politicizing the visit. "Pope Francis and the president share many values," Christopher Hale, executive director of Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good, tells The Wall Street Journal, but the pope "has a profound aversion to being used as a political football to push people's agendas." You can see more about Washington's preparations in the Reuters video below. Peter Weber
The Week
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