Pope Francis has come to the United States with an agenda. With his visit, his priorities include U.S. relations with Cuba and climate change, among other issues. The pope’s progressive ideologies extend to his political beliefs. He even addressed Congress.
Is a religious leader like Pope Francis overstepping his political bounds in directly confronting these issues?
“Regardless of the pope being a religious figure, he is still a political figure. We can’t ignore that.”
-Lauren Baltras ’16, English major
“I think its kind of interesting because he is a more progressive pope. He’s very into helping the poor and involved with the church. A lot of people have left the church, and I think it’s maybe a good step in bringing people back.”
-Grace Goodwyn ’17, Studio Arts and IMS major
“Usually it’s, ‘oh, stick to religion, separation of church and state’ and what not. I think that with him being in the position of power that he is in and being a role model, it’s kind of a good thing that he’s into politics, kind of to spread awareness about the different sides of things. It’s a positive thing.”
-Erin Bellie ‘17, Elementary Education major
“(It’s) not just a religious perspective but his own personal perspective,” and “not overstepping his boundaries.”
Joshua Rhodes ‘17, Global Studies and International Business major
“(There’s) more of a chance in equality in religion. If he wants to be more accepting and whatnot and do the politics and give everyone an equal chance, then I see no problem with it.”
Tanda Clark ’18, Journalism and Philosophy major
