Pope Francis may not be a Democrat, but Democrats certainly love Pope Francis. And during his trip to the United States, they’re evidently trying to get a boost from his popularity. On Friday, presidential nominee Hillary Clinton appeared in an unlikely media outlet, the National Catholic Reporter, with a Francis-themed op-ed on climate change. For anyone who’s followed Clinton’s campaign even a little bit, the rhetoric will sound familiar, even if the venue is new. “As a person of faith, a mother, and a grandmother, I am deeply moved by Pope Francis’ recent teachings on climate change—to reflect and above all to act,” she writes. “We are rich, powerful, and blessed with many advantages. We must lead the charge.”
Unfortunately, Clinton was beaten to the pages of NCR by her Catholic competitor, Martin O’Malley. His pope-full op-ed on climate change, which also touched on poverty and the migrant crisis, ran a few days ago, right before Francis arrived in the U.S. And just to round things out, Bernie Sanders did his own round of pope praising on Thursday after the pontiff addressed Congress. “The name Dorothy Day has not been used in the United States Congress terribly often,” Sanders told The Washington Post. “She was a valiant fighter for workers, was very strong in her belief for social justice ... This would be one of the very, very few times that somebody as radical as Dorothy Day was mentioned.”