General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Right Wing Media Lash Out At Pope Francis During U.S. Visit | Media Matters [View all]pnwmom
(110,232 posts)he was given a Congressional Medal of Honor.
And he also met with President Obama.
Did you complain about "extreme favoritism and promotion" of Buddhism and the Dalai Lama?
https://www.google.com/search?site=&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1370&bih=805&q=dalai+lama+obama&oq=dalai+lama+obama&gs_l=img.12..0j0i8i30j0i24l2.1225.10439.0.12585.40.28.12.0.0.0.163.2890.19j9.28.0.ccynfh.3..0...1.1.64.img..0.40.2906.QQwZRXZBvUE
http://www.dalailama.com/messages/acceptance-speeches/congressional-gold-medal
Speech by His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama at the U.S. Congressional Gold Medal Ceremony (Video of His Holiness's acceptance speech here.)
President Bush, Speaker Pelosi, Senator Byrd, my fellow Laureate Elie Wiesel, Honourable Members of Congress, Brothers and Sisters.
It is a great honour for me to receive the Congressional Gold Medal. This recognition will bring tremendous joy and encouragement to the Tibetan people, for whom I have a special responsibility. Their welfare is my constant motivation and I always consider myself as their free spokesperson. I believe that this award also sends a powerful message to those many individuals who are dedicated to promoting peace, understanding and harmony.
On a personal note, I am deeply touched that this great honour has been given to me, a Buddhist monk born of a simple family from the remote Amdo region of Tibet. As a child I grew up under the loving care of my mother, a truly compassionate woman. And after my arrival in Lhasa at the age of four, all the people around me, my teachers and even the housekeepers, taught me what it means to be kind, honest, and caring. It is in such an environment that I grew up. Later my formal education in Buddhist thought exposed me to concepts such as interdependence and the human potential for infinite compassion. It is these that gave me a profound recognition of the importance of universal responsibility, non-violence, and inter-religious understanding. Today, it is a conviction in these values that gives me the powerful motivation to promote basic human values. Even in my own struggle for the rights and greater freedom of the Tibetan people, these values continue to guide my commitment to pursuing a non-violent path.
SNIP