(Via Washington Examiner) In a bow to the huge U.S. Hispanic population and the Catholic Church’s advocacy of immigration, Pope Francis plans to give his Washington mass Sept. 23 in Spanish, according to Cardinal Donald William Wuerl.
“The mass is going to be in Spanish,” Wuerl said Wednesday while previewing the pope’s trip to reporters.
“It’s a recognition of how large the Hispanic population in the United States is,” said Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington. “And he’s coming as the first pope from the New World and the predominant language in this hemisphere is Spanish,” added Wuerl of the Argentine-born pope.
Francis, meanwhile, will use his address to Congress to call for bipartisanship, something missing for several years as Republicans and President Obama have jockeyed for power. In that speech he will speak English. […]
The cardinal said that since Spanish is his “mother tongue,” Francis feels more comfortable speaking it. The non-Hispanic mass audience will be provided translations on Jumbotrons, he added.  (read more)