POPE FRANCIS MEETS WITH PRESIDENT OBAMA | Imagine a Sister's Life

Joshua J. McElwee, National Catholic Reporter| September 23, 2015

Pope Francis met with U.S. President Barack Obama in an extraordinarily crowded public encounter outside the White House Wednesday morning, and praised the president for his work fighting climate change but also asked that he protect religious liberty in the country.In the presence of a record-breaking crowd of some 15,000 invited guests, many of whom had arrived before dawn to glimpse the pope, Francis first thanked Obama for welcoming him — a “son of an immigrant family” — to the U.S.

The pope then expressed hope that the president would be “vigilant” in respecting religious liberty, but also said he and U.S. Catholics do not seek to practice any sort of discrimination.

“Together with their fellow citizens, American Catholics are committed to building a society which is truly tolerant and inclusive, to safeguarding the rights of individuals and communities, and to rejecting every form of unjust discrimination,” the pontiff told the president.