The impact of the pope on Congress Jennifer Steinhauer, NYTimes Tuesday, July 21, 2015 When Francis becomes the first pope to address a joint session of Congress, Catholics in the House and Senate, especially the Republicans, will greet him with some trepidation. © 2023 The Catholic Thing. All rights reserved. For reprint rights, write to: [email protected] The Catholic Thing is a forum for intelligent Catholic commentary. Opinions expressed by writers are solely their own.