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
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Today's political cartoons - May 10, 2025Cartoons Saturday's cartoons - artificial intelligence, cryptocurrency, and more
-
5 streetwise cartoons about defunding PBSCartoons Artists take on immigrant puppets, defense spending, and more
-
Dark chocolate macadamia cookies recipeThe Week Recommends These one-bowl cookies will melt in your mouth
-
Prevost elected first US pope, becomes Leo XIVspeed read Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost is a Chicago native who spent decades living in Peru
-
Pope Francis dies at 88Speed Read 'How much contempt is stirred up at times toward the vulnerable, the marginalized and migrants,' Pope Francis wrote in his final living message
-
Pope returns to Vatican after long hospital staySpeed Read Pope Francis entered the hospital on Feb. 14 and battled double pneumonia
-
Texas megachurch founder charged with sex crimesSpeed Read Robert Morris, former spiritual adviser to President Donald Trump, is accused of sexually abusing a child
-
Pope Francis suffers setback with respiratory episodesSpeed Read The 88-year-old pope continues to battle pneumonia
-
US Christianity's long decline has halted, Pew findsSpeed Read 62% of Americans call themselves Christian, a population that has been 'relatively stable' for the past five years
-
Pope Francis hospitalized with 'complex' illnessSpeed Read The Vatican says their leader has a respiratory infection, raising new concerns about his health
-
The Aga Khan, billionaire spiritual leader, dies at 88Speed Read Prince Karim Al-Hussaini's philanthropy funded hospitals, housing and schools in some of the world's poorest places
