We know that Pope Francis made House Majority Leader John Boehner cry with his address to Congress yesterday, but now the question is, did it cause him to resign as well?
In what would be remarkable coincidence, Boehner’s unexpected resignation comes just one day after Francis exhorted Congress to put aside partisan differences for the good of the nation. Francis reminded lawmakers, “Your own responsibility as members of Congress is to enable this country, by your legislative activity, to grow as a nation. …You are called to defend and preserve the dignity of your fellow citizens in the tireless and demanding pursuit of the common good, for this is the chief aim of all politics.”
Boehner found himself at the helm of an ungovernable Republican caucus that was pressuring him to take up their unwinnable quest to defund Planned Parenthood or shut down the government trying. According to the Washington Post, Boehner met with members of the “Freedom Caucus” following the pope’s address to Congress and found them as recalcitrant as ever. He made his announcement this morning “by talking about it as part of a ‘healing process,’ closing by praying the prayer of St. Francis.”
“Obviously the pope had a big impact on him,” Rep. Richard Nugent told the Post.
The Freedom Caucus has abandoned plans for a government shut-down in the wake of Boehner’s resignation, perhaps a miracle that can be attributed to Pope Francis.
