Rhetorical Analysis Of Pope Francis
I will be analyzing the speech of Pope Francis to a Joint Session of Congress from September of
2015 in Washington, D.C. for my final rhetorical analysis. This speech is important because it
addresses societal issues in the United States and the whole world such as poverty, religion, war, the
environment, immigration, and gun laws. The popenot only addresses the issues, but also
acknowledges many of the marvelous features of America. In this paper, I will provide a
summary of research I found on the context of the speech, the speaker, the audience, and the
effects the speech had on society. Pope Francis is the present day spiritual leader of the Catholic
Church, also known as the bishop of Rome or pontiff. He is the very first pope from Latin
American, Argentina specifically, and is now known as the first pope ever that has addressed
Congress. According to the guardian.com, Pope Francis, electrified Congress with a call for
action on climate change, immigration, poverty and capital punishment, laying down a
challenge for the United States to transcend division and rediscover its ideals (Carroll 1). He
addressed these issues and drew a great interest from the audience for fifty one minutes in the
chamber of the House of Representatives. The audience of the speech consisted of a large
number of lawmakers, aides, and invited guests. The New York Times, referenced some of the
people that attended: Sitting behind Francis were Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and House
Speaker John A. Boehner, both Catholics. Flanking the aisle at the front were Secretary of State
John Kerry and Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., and not far behind them was Nancy Pelosi, the
House Democratic leader, all Catholics (Baker, Yardley 17). Others in the audience included three
other Supreme Court associate justices, Justice Anthony Kennedy, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and
Justice Sonia Sotomayor, other cabinet members, senators, House members, presidential candidates,
a few four star generals, priests, nuns, and bishops. According to the New York Times, the
lawmakers interrupted Pope Francis about thirty times applauding him, causing the speech to run
fifty one minutes when originally scheduled for thirty. *****add
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