Cardinal Rodriguez Explains Pope Francis’ Mission and Message, Previews Trip to Congress

Last week, Cardinal Óscar Rodríguez Maradiaga of Honduras, one of the pope’s closest advisers, spoke at Georgetown on the mission and message of Pope Francis, along with what we might expect when Francis addresses the US Congress. David Gibson has highlighted some of the cardinal’s most interesting quotes from his trip to DC:

“Even here, the desert cannot be a tomb or a cemetery,” he said, referring to the migrants who often die trying to cross into Arizona or Texas….

“The (free) market economy is not complete. We need a social market economy. This is the big contribution of the Catholic faith to the system — to try to have this social component that will bring more justice to the system,” he said. “It is not fair that a system that is producing so much richness could walk side by side with so much poverty.”…

“For many Catholics, first is the political party, then is the church,” Maradiaga said. “I see this in some attitudes of citizens who are first Republicans or Democrats. Then comes Catholicism. This is a big problem. Because we have to put everything in order. God is first, then all other human institutions.”

Millennial co-founder Christopher Hale also live-tweeted Cardinal Rodríguez’s appearance at Georgetown: