WASHINGTON – Pope Francis landed to a red carpet welcome Tuesday afternoon as he opened his first visit to the United States determined to press the world’s last superpower to do more to care for the planet and its most marginalized inhabitants. The papal jet descended out of cloudy skies to touch down at Joint Base Andrews. As he disembarked, the pontiff was greeted by President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and their families. Hundreds of guests invited mainly by the Apostolic Nunciature, the equivalent of an embassy, cheered as the Alitalia jet rolled along the runway and the pope made his way down the stairs. While he seemed a little weary as he arrived after his visit to Cuba, Pope Francis, 78, smiled broadly and seemed delighted to be here. No speeches were delivered during the short and relatively modest event, leaving the real pageantry for a White House ceremony scheduled for Wednesday. The pope’s arrival started a journey spanning six days that will take him from here to New York and Philadelphia and feature several Masses celebrated before huge crowds, the first canonization on American soil, an address to Congress and not a small degree of tension over his message. Many of his themes coincide with those of Obama, but they also diverge in significant ways that could flavor the visit. “The pope is a singular figure, and he has really stirred the souls of people all around the world,” said Josh Earnest, the White House press secretary. Several liberal House Democrats released three short videos on Tuesday beseeching Francis to address immigration, climate change and poverty in his address to Congress.
On the other side of the ideological divide, abortion opponents were hoping Francis would boost their bid to impose new limits on the procedure and cut off federal financing of Planned Parenthood.
