Quick Note: Pope Francis--Loved by the World, Dissed by House Republicans

Pope Francis wears an indigenous headdress given to him by

 Ubirai Matos from the Pataxo tribe in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 27, 2013

With the gridlock that has plagued Congress for the past 5 1/2 years, the news that another piece of legislature is being held up in the House is hardly big news, but this one rates some notice:

Representatives John Larson (D-Connecticut) and Pete King (R- New York) introduced a resolution congratulating Pope Francis on his election and recognizing "his inspirational statements and actions."  The measure, which is symbolic only, has 221 sponsors--202 of those sponsors are Democrats.

The resolution was referred to the House Foreign Affairs Committee, which has refused to act on it.  One House Republican, who is unnamed in a Religion News Service report, said the GOP considers the pope to be "too liberal."  This same lawmaker is quoted as saying that his fellow Republicans have complained that Pope Francis is "sounding like Obama" and were unhappy that the pope had voiced a negative opinion of his party's "trickle-down economics" platform.  He said conservatives consider that sort of rhetoric to be "politically charged."

Nearly half of all resolutions introduced in the past two years have been voted on and passed by the House. A symbolic resolution praising the head of the Catholic church can't even make it out of committee in Washington.

If the Pope isn't good enough for you, maybe the problem isn't the Pope.