Speaking as “a son of this great country, founded by courageous men and women who dreamed of liberty and of a better life for themselves and for their children,” the first American Pope in history, Leo XIV, today urged Americans, on this 250th anniversary of the nation’s founding, to make “a solemn recommitment to these ideals that have made America a country that values peace and prosperity, a country characterized by generosity and nobility of heart.” He specifically reminded people that the United States was built as a nation by waves of immigrants who came from across the world because of such ideals, dedicated to protecting the God-given dignity of every human being.
Pope Leo was speaking by live-streamed video to the ceremony held in his honor at the National Constitutional Center (NCC) in Philadelphia, for his receipt of the NCC’s annual Liberty Bell award. Religious leaders representing many faiths—Protestant, Catholic, Islam and Judaism alike—spoke, as did political leaders, Pennsylvania’s Governor and Philadelphia’s Mayor among them.
The character of the ceremony was in stark contrast to the current abysmal state of U.S. politics and discourse. The responsibility of the government and the citizen to defend the innate dignity of every person was a recurring theme in the remarks by nearly all of those leaders, who spoke before the Pope. So, too, was the idea that the U.S. republic is a process which must still be perfected, and that freedom only flourishes when it is joined with moral responsibility. Benjamin Franklin’s caution—"I have given you a republic, if you can keep it”—was cited. We are here to honor the Pope—and to renew our commitment to defend the liberty of all people, another speaker noted. Pope Leo received a standing ovation, before and after he spoke.
In his remarks, Pope Leo noted that “from our youth, most of us have admired the eloquence of those words (of the Declaration of Independence) with their resounding appeal to the law of nature and to nature’s God as the basis of their assertion that all men and women are created equal and endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, including the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
“In these past 250 years, for so many peoples throughout the world, it was the firm resolve to achieve the noble vision of the nation’s founders that made America a byword for freedom, as the country opened its doors to successive waves of immigrants, enabling them and their children to play their part in shaping the future of the nation.”
Achieving that vision, however, is not a given. “Today, as we look to the future, this historic anniversary presents us with the opportunity to reflect once again on the nation’s founding principles.”
