Both leaders meet for the first time in public during the Prayer Breakfast
The president of the United States, Barack Obama, celebrated the presence of the Dalai Lama at the Prayer Breakfast this Thursday, an event that brings together personalities from the world of politics and all religions every year in Washington. The meeting, criticized by the Chinese government, It is the first time that both leaders coincide in a public event.
Obama's presidential motorcade moved along Connecticut Avenue in the frigid Washington morning, one of the main arteries of the capital, to the Washington Hilton hotel. It is celebrated there every year since 1953 This must-see event for the political and religious class of the United States. This Thursday, The presence of the Dalai Lama brought together dozens of members of the capital's Tibetan community at the entrance to the venue. On the sidewalk in front, another group of protesters rejected Obama's support for the leader.
The Prayer Breakfast quote, created in 1953 during the presidency of Dwight Eisenhower, It is convened every year by an opaque organization called 'La Familia'. Obama has not missed any since he arrived at the White House. This Thursday, in front of him, 3.600 guests of 130 countries and the 50 States of the country, as well as representatives of all religions, They listened to his reflection on the separation between religion and state on which the United States was founded..
The event was also marked by the presence of the Dalai Lama, whom Obama welcomed as “a good friend” and his “inspiration”. Among questions about whether they would also meet privately this year, The president spoke of the Tibetan leader as “a powerful example of what it means to practice compassion.”.
The Dalai Lama and Obama met privately at the White House last year - although not in the president's Oval Office., a gesture that is always criticized by the Government of China as support for the independence of Tibet. This Thursday, the Dalai Lama, who fled into exile in India in 1959, after Tibet's failed attempt to achieve independence from the Chinese government he was sitting next to Valerie Jarrett, one of President Obama's closest advisors.
This Thursday, the American president celebrated the opportunity to take a break at a time when we are “constantly distracted.”” and “we can't spend ten minutes without looking at a phone”. Of the jokes, Obama went on to talk about stronger societies because they embrace and respect all religions or how the fact that in the United States the Government does not profess any religion “or force anyone to practice a particular one” results in a culture in which citizens can practice their confession “in freedom, with pride, without fear or intimidation”.
Just because we have the right to say something doesn't mean we should stop questioning those who want to insult others."
Obama celebrated the importance of guarantees of freedom of expression and religion, recognized in the Constitution - a text in which the word 'God' does not appear- within debates such as the one sparked by the caricatures published in the French magazine Charlie Hebdo, victim of a terrorist attack in Paris last January. “If we defend the legal right of one person to insult the religion of another, “We are equally obliged to use our freedom of expression to condemn these insults.”, the president said to applause. “Just because we have the right to say something doesn't mean we should stop questioning those who want to insult others in the name of freedom of expression.”.
In his speech, Obama accused those who use religion for "nihilistic" purposes” of trying to “twist and distort the faith”. He described the Islamic State as a “death cult”. And to those who justify violence with religion, He reminded them that “no god approves of terror”. This Thursday the presence of King Abdullah II of Jordan was expected, who was forced to return to his country after the Islamic State published a video with the execution of the Jordanian pilot captured after an accident in Syrian territory.
The Prayer Breakfast also serves to recognize some of the most relevant national personalities of the moment. From Pakistani Benazir Bhutto to singer and activist Bono have passed through the presidential podium., Mother Teresa of Calcutta, the British Tony Blair or the Spanish José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero. This Thursday, Barack and Michelle Obama were accompanied by the Secretary of Housing, Julian Castro, the head of the Air Force and Kent Brantly, the American nurse who survived Ebola.
Pope Francis, in the United States Congress
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Republican John Boehner, announced this Thursday that Pope Francis will offer a speech before Congress on the occasion of his next visit to the United States. The next 24 of September, for the first time, a Pope will address legislators at the Capitol.
"En un momento de gran inestabilidad global, el mensaje de compasión y de dignidad humana del Santo Padre ha conmovido a personas de todas las religiones y orígenes", Boehner declared in a statement this Thursday. His teachings, sus oraciones y su ejemplo personal nos recuerdan la bendición de las cosas simples y nuestras obligaciones con el prójimo".
For Nancy Pelosi, California representative and Democratic minority leader, “Pope Francis has renewed the faith of Catholics around the world and inspired a new generation, regardless of your religion, to become instruments of peace”.
