Senator Reverend Warnock, the Senior Pastor of the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church, met Pope Francis this Saturday during a Papal Audience in Vatican City

ICYMI from the AJC: Warnock recaps ‘impactful’ meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican

 Senator Reverend Warnock to MSNBC: “The thing about Pope Francis is that he centers human dignity, particularly the dignity of the most marginalized members of the human family. That is something that I’ve tried to do in my ministry and in my work in the United States Senate”

 PHOTOS: Senator Reverend Warnock’s Papal Visit Photos  HERE

Washington, D.C. – On Saturday, April 20, U.S. Senator Reverend Raphael G. Warnock had the honor of meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican. As a faith leader, Senator Reverend Warnock has long admired the Pope’s efforts to center humanity in public life, and during their conversation, the Senator and the Pope discussed global issues like Gaza, Ukraine, and Sudan and the need for peace, as well as what it means to be a faith leader operating in the public square. The Senator was accompanied to the Vatican by U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See Joe Donnelly.

“The thing about Pope Francis is that he centers human dignity, particularly the dignity of the most marginalized members of the human family,” said Senator Reverend Warnock to MSNBC following his Papal visit.“That is something that I’ve tried to do in my ministry and in my work in the United States Senate. And it’s so important at this moment, in which our country is so divided. We’re seeing worldwide the rise of antisemitic sentiment, Islamophobia, bigotry, authoritarian voices that are trying to take advantage of the deep distress that people are feeling in a moment like this.”

During his visit to Rome, Senator Reverend Warnock also participated in several meetings designed to aid his work on behalf of Georgia and the U.S., including:

• A briefing and tour of the NATO Defense College, as the U.S. continues working to strengthen the transatlantic alliance to defend our democratic values amid Russia’s war in Ukraine;

• A roundtable discussion moderated by the World Food Programme on the role of faith-based organizations in humanitarian and development Assistance, as Warnock continues pushing to provide humanitarian relief to crisis zones around the world, especially Gaza; roundtable topics also included Ukraine, Haiti, Sudan, and the role of the U.S. in addressing the global HIV/AIDS crisis; and

• A meeting with Executive Director of the World Food Programme Cindy McCain, where they discussed the crises in Gaza, Ukraine, Haiti and Sudan, as companies in Georgia continue playing a leading role in providing Ready-To-Use Therapeutic Foods (RUTF) to address hunger worldwide.

The Senator cut his visit to Rome short to return to Washington as the Senate prepares to consider supplemental national security funding legislation that will provide support to Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan and address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Read key excerpts from Senator Warnock’s conversation with the AJC and MSNBC below:

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Warnock headed to the Vatican to meet with Pope Francis

April 22, 2024

• U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock said the advice he received from Pope Francis will remain on his mind as he prepares to vote on a foreign aid package that includes billions of dollars in humanitarian aid for Gaza.

• Warnock cut his trip in Rome short, returning to the United States Sunday ahead of votes scheduled for Tuesday on aid to Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan. The House voted Saturday to approve the $95 billion package over the objection of dozens of conservative Republicans. The Senate will consider the legislation on Tuesday.

• “It was a quick trip, but an impactful trip,” Warnock said of his two days in Italy.

• The Atlanta Democrat met with Pope Francis at the Vatican on Saturday. They talked about their shared backgrounds as religious leaders in the political spotlight. Warnock is head pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta.

• For a time, the two men spoke one-on-one with just an interpreter in the room.

• “He said you engage the politics, but you remain grounded in your faith and anchored in that,” Warnock recounted. “And then we had a talk about how that informs one’s perspective on a whole range of issues that we’re dealing with right now in the public square.”

• Warnock said he and Pope Francis talked about Israel’s war with Hamas and how it has impacted the people of Gaza, including the small community of Christians in the mostly Muslim territory. Pope Francis told Warnock that he stays in regular contact with them despite the demands of his role as the leader of 1.3 billion Catholics around the world.

• At the end of their time together, the pope and the preacher prayed for one another.

• The senator said it is long overdue for Congress to approve the foreign aid, which includes $61 billion for Ukraine and replenishing U.S. weapons stockpiles in their fight against the Russian invasion. Other scheduled votes are to approve $17 billion for supporting Israel, $9 billion in humanitarian relief in Gaza and $8 billion to assist allies in the Indo-Pacific region like Taiwan.

• While Warnock was able to squeeze in other meetings with international aid organizations and representatives of the World Food Programme, he ultimately decided that he should fly back early to ensure he does not miss Tuesday’s votes.

• “I have been disappointed and frustrated that it is taking Congress so long to provide our friends in Ukraine the aid they need (and) the people of Gaza, who are suffering, the aid that they need,” he said. “Once I realized we were going to vote on this, I changed my flight plans and made my way back here with dispatch, because we we can’t get this done soon enough.”

 MSNBC: Interview with Morning Joe

April 22, 2024

• Senator Warnock: “I just returned yesterday from a visit to Rome, spent time with the Holy Father. And he’s someone whose ministry and whose sense of servant leadership I have long admired. And it was a real honor to spend time with him. We talked about a range of issues and we got a chance to spend some time together in prayer as well.

• SW: “This is a time that requires moral voices, spiritual voices, even from those who claim no particular faith tradition, but come with a kind of moral bearing. The thing about Pope Francis is that he centers human dignity, particularly the dignity of the most marginalized members of the human family. That is something that I’ve tried to do in my ministry and in my work in the United States Senate. And it’s so important at this moment, in which our country is so divided. We’re seeing worldwide the rise of antisemitic sentiment, Islamophobia, bigotry, authoritarian voices that are trying to take advantage of the deep distress that people are feeling in a moment like this. 

• SW: “Here is a man with some 1.3 billion Catholics who are under his charge, and yet he was very much focused on the parish that he has there in Gaza. And he talks regularly with the folks who are there. And, like me, he believes that the only viable way to peace, a Jewish democratic state in peace with his neighbors, is a two state solution, which is something that he supports and I was honored to spend time and talk to him about how we get there so that cooler heads prevail, and the voices of peace push us towards a vision that embraces the humanity of all of us.

• SW: “It was good to spend time with Cindy McCain, but also with the leaders of various faith-based agencies that are providing humanitarian assistance, and food and aid at a moment like this. We have some 310 million people right now who need food assistance, that’s up by 200 million. And at the same time, the leaders and the workers in those organizations told me that they’re dealing with donor fatigue. We are far behind getting the kinds of resources that we need.

• SW: “And so, it’s important that all of us raise our voices, that we reach wide and high, that we remember that hunger is a moral issue, but it’s also a peace issue. Food security is national security, which is why I support humanitarian aid and I want to see us get it to Gaza and to Sudan, which has been ignored, even though it’s one of the worst humanitarian issues right now on the globe and we can’t get that aid soon enough.”

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