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Well, you can let other people tell you what he said or you can read for yourself what he said when he spoke to the Congress. I choose the latter and I prefer to think for myself.

If you ever get a chance to read what he actually said, you might try to write a list of quotes wherein he suggested that the Congress take any specific action. I read only a lot of gassy statements like:

"You are the face of its people, their representatives. You are called to defend and preserve the dignity of your fellow citizens in the tireless and demanding pursuit of the common good, for this is the chief aim of all politics. A political society endures when it seeks, as a vocation, to satisfy common needs by stimulating the growth of all its members, especially those in situations of greater vulnerability or risk. Legislative activity is always based on care for the people. To this you have been invited, called and convened by those who elected you."

"In Laudato Si’, I call for a courageous and responsible effort to “redirect our steps” (ibid., 61), and to avert the most serious effects of the environmental deterioration caused by human activity. I am convinced that we can make a difference and I have no doubt that the United States – and this Congress – have an important role to play. Now is the time for courageous actions and strategies, aimed at implementing a “culture of care” (ibid., 231) and “an integrated approach to combating poverty, restoring dignity to the excluded, and at the same time protecting nature” (ibid., 139). "

"In particular, I would like to call attention to those family members who are the most vulnerable, the young. For many of them, a future filled with countless possibilities beckons, yet so many others seem disoriented and aimless, trapped in a hopeless maze of violence, abuse and despair. Their problems are our problems. We cannot avoid them. We need to face them together, to talk about them and to seek effective solutions rather than getting bogged down in discussions."

"God bless America."

I smell gas. I don't think he called upon Congress to do anything specific. Do you see any specific recommendations in that speech? What's the scary part - the part about pursing a "common good," or the part about stimulating growth, or the part about averting "the most serious effects of environmental deterioration," or the part about protecting life and particularly the most vulnerable, "the young"?

If you want to terrify yourself, knock yourself out. To me, it all sounded like the speeches that I've heard from popes as long as I have been alive. It was just a lot of gassy encouragement to care about and to help the people that they pass laws to govern. I don't see anything specific enough to argue about. It reminds me of the kind of stuff that you might find in an old copy of Reader's Digest.

I don't wish to offend any of the Pope's fans, but he's not really saying anything very specific. I don't see anything about carbon taxes or amnesty for illegals or anything. He did say that he's always opposed the death penalty, but that's about it. Whoopee!