Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia and local priest Joe Palacios were invited to the White House to welcome Pope Francis on his historic U.S. visit. They both joined the show to recap what the experience was like, and to give perspective on the pope's remarks.
Interview highlights
Robert Garcia, on what the pope's presence in Washington D.C. does for issues that like immigration change, climate and poverty, that matter to him:
"First of all, his presence in DC has been electrifying. Everyone's been talking about it, you can feel it in the air. And I think that this pope is really calling on not just our country but the world to really refocus, and focus on especially on poverty and the poor, and helping people that need our help. And I think that is an important message for Congress to hear, but certainly for all of us to hear s well, especially with the recent rhetoric around immigration."
Father Joe Palacios, on where he stands on LGBT issues, and what he hopes the pope might say about them:
"I'm one of the Catholic priests and I'm an academic at USC teaching, and I am around LGBT colleagues and students all day. I have, myself, fought on behalf of the LGBT community. What I thought was significant in the speech was that he said, 'family life,' and that includes all types of families, and if we think about that extensively, he didn't say gay or lesbian, but he also didn't talk about a one man, one woman marriage. So I thought he was very careful and supportive of families of all types, and really also accentuating the struggles that many families have, particularly in making a living, and then he focused on the working family, and so I thought that he handled that really well in terms of the rhetoric of the American public right now, and again trying to unify the American Catholic people by not being divisive but trying to bring us back together with a focus on the positive values rather than focus on the negative, and that positive was enriching families so that they could children, particularly growing up without fear and without neglect, and without violence."
Robert Garcia, on whether the pope needs to address LGBT issues during his U.S. visit:
"You know to be honest, I think as a gay Catholic and also as a leader in the gay community, I think that this pope has done more to reaching out and really talking by not really damaging the relationship out in the community. We're not hearing him say negative things about the community, he's using inclusive words, and in fact he has said in the past, who is he to judge? And i think that for all of us, when we see his actions, which is focusing on the poor, on immigration, on climate change, and not overly emphasizing this kind of separation of heterosexual marriage and gay marriage, that to us is a signal. I think for me personally, it's the most inclusive pope on this issue that I have seen since I've been around, and I appreciate that. I feel more welcome in the church today than I have the entire life I've been Catholic..."
To listen to the full interview, click on the blue audio player above