DW: How would you characterize the current state of relations between the United States and the Vatican?

Jim Nicholson: The relations between the United States and the Holy See are good I would say. This visit from the Pope to the United States is a very significant, high silhouette event that has created a lot of enthusiasm among the people of the country. He is a very popular person, a very popular head of state and head of the Catholic Church. So I would see relations are on a high note at the moment.

You had the opportunity to be present when Francis gave his historic speech in Congress on Thursday. What was your impression of the speech and him personally?

His speech was good. It was elevated rhetoric, and I think just the right sophisticated tone for a head of state and particularly for the head of the Church. He also was very affirming of the United States. He started out by praising the land of the free and the home of the brave and went on to affirm the principles that have guided the development of our country, and he didn't prescribe other principles. He basically said what you need to do, because we have a lot of problems in the world, is do better and work harder at employing the principles that has made your country so great and strong and I think he also implied so generous.

I thought it was good speech and he personally has a very soft kind of delivery and is obviously a very lovable and loved human being. It is just extraordinary what he did. This one man shut down Washington DC, the capital of the United States, for two days just because he was here in this city.

Pope Francis' visit is not only the first time he is traveling to the US since becoming the leader of the Catholic Church, but it is also the first visit to the US for him personally. In an editorial ahead of his visit you wrote that you hope that the Pope, who has criticized unregulated capitalism will learn that America's "experiment in freedom and opportunity is working". What leads you to believe that Francis doesn't appreciate the achievements of America's economic system?

I suspect it's two things. One is that he spent most of his life in Argentina which has been a disaster economically and a century ago was one of the leading countries in the world. And it has gone down to become a third world kind of country in its rating of income per capita and its GDP. That I think has tainted his view of capitalism. In fact, he said so on his recent trip home from South America. He said the capitalist market isn't working, it's all about profit with disregard for the poor and disregard for the environment. And that is mistaken, particularly with respect to the United States. But it is a manifestation of where he grew up and that he has never been to our country before and observed what a free and open and prosperous country the United States is.

Jim Nicholson was the ambassador of the United States to the Holy See from 2001 to 2005. He also served as Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs from 2005 to 2007. Nicholson was chairman of the Republican Party from 1997 to 2001.