TOW #3 - Protector Pope

This is a political cartoon, drawn by Steve Sack, which was published in the Minneapolis Star Tribune.  Steve Sack is a liberal leaning political cartoonist who won a Pulitzer Prize in 2013 for his cartoons.  This cartoon depicts the Pope sheltering a family labeled immigrants from the storm around them.  This is a reference to the Pope’s policy and thoughts on immigration.  He is one of the most liberal Popes, if not the most, of all time, and his views on immigration reflect this.  The Pope is much more sympathetic to immigrants than many previous Popes and members of the Catholic Church.  His lenient views on immigration policy have been well documented and occasionally disputed by many, often times republicans.  The context of this cartoon is essential in order to understand it.  The Pope just gave a speech to a joint meeting of Congress and mentioned immigration.  He said, “We must not be taken aback by their numbers, but rather view them as persons, seeing their faces and listening to their stories, trying to respond as best we can to their situation, to respond in a way which is always humane, just and fraternal. We need to avoid a common temptation nowadays: to discard whatever proves troublesome.”  This makes the idea behind the cartoon justified and relevant.  Since, Sack is a liberal leaning cartoonist, it can be assumed that the he agrees with the Pope’s stance on immigration.  This is made ever clearer by the rhetorical strategy of juxtaposition between the bright whiteness of the Pope and the dark, black color of the storm surrounding him.  Sack purposefully uses the two opposite colors in order to show the contrast between the Pope’s views and the views of the Catholic Church more generally.  He makes the Pope’s aesthetic white, since white is generally considered a symbol of goodness and hope.  White is also historically symbolic of Heaven, which makes sense since the Pope is the leader of the Catholic Church.  Because of his use of contrasting colors, I believe Sack achieves his purpose.  Not only does Sack shed light on the policies of the Pope, but he also makes the argument that the Pope is correct in his views and his call for immigration leniency is right.