Lois Capps: “The Patriarch of Constantinople is one of the world's leading religious figures. He is a man of great intellect, a man…”

“The Patriarch of Constantinople is one of the world's leading religious figures. He is a man of great intellect, a man of great compassion, and he represents a religious tradition of incomparable majesty. I think that is the only way to describe it. The Orthodox tradition that he represents is a religious tradition of spiritual validity which combines aesthetic consonance with ancient wisdom. We will bestow the honor on him in allowing him to use the rotunda of the Capitol. But actually, we are the ones who are being honored by his presence here. I am also very happy to say that he will visit my hometown, my city in the 22d District of California, Santa Barbara, this October for a conference on the environment. He knows spirituality. He knows environmental concerns. He has a very, very keen sense of the geopolitical dynamics of our world today. So I urge my colleagues to pass this resolution, and I would like to congratulate the authors of the resolution on a very fine resolution.”