Summary: During Pope Francis’ visit to New York, he will address the United Nations and meet with world leaders.
According to NBC News, Pope Francis will enjoy two distinct experiences during his visit to Manhattan Friday. He will meet schoolchildren in Harlem after he speaks to world leaders at the United Nations.
Thousands anxiously awaited the pope’s arrival Thursday. Crowds gathered on Fifth Avenue as the pope headed to St. Patrick’s Cathedral for a service.
While at the U.N. General Assembly, the pope is expected to talk about the fate of refugees, the need for peace, and the roles that poverty and bad government play in increasing conflict and migration.
Pope Francis will also meet with Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, and Ban Ki-Moon, the secretary general of the U.N.
The pope recently said that abortion is now a forgivable sin.
After he addresses the U.N., Pope Francis will visit the September 11 Memorial and Museum. He will meet ten families of first responders and who lost loved ones during the September 11 attacks. He will then lead a multi-religious prayer for peace with a rabbi and an imam.
Alice Greenwald, the director of the museum, said, “[It’s] truly awe-inspiring, humbling and I think deeply, deeply meaningful.”
Pope Francis will then head to East Harlem, and will provide a special blessing to immigrants and refugees, including anyone who is living in the United States illegally.
Roughly 80,000 people are expected to greet the pope afterward as he proceeds through Central Park to a mass at Madison Square Garden for 18,000 people.
The visit is the first by a pope since Benedict XVI enjoyed a three-day tour of the city in 2008. Heavy security has been lined up, and transportation officials stated that people should stay off the roads Friday because of massive traffic backups.
The NYPD added that it will set up 37 miles of roadside barriers while the pope visits the Big Apple.
Last year, Pope Francis and President Barack Obama met for the first time.
Pope Francis will next head to Philadelphia for a weekend visit.
On Wednesday, Francis spoke to Congress, stating, “Let us treat others with the same passion and compassion with which we want to be treated…Let us seek for others the same possibilities which we seek for ourselves.” Setting an example, he spoke with the homeless, walked with them as they ate, and blessed their noontime meal at a downtown church in Washington, D.C.
According to Newsweek, not all of the homeless are optimistic about the pope’s visit. One homeless man, Ian G. said, “We live here. We’re struggling. Why do we care about him coming here for one day for an hour? He isn’t doing a damn thing for us. He gotta go.” Others complained that the money spent on the pope’s visit could have been used in better ways.
Last year, the pope warned the Italian mafia of an afterlife in hell.
As for other issues the pope addressed to the members of Congress, AL.com adds that the pope also said that the death penalty should be abolished in the United States. He also asked, “Why are deadly weapons being sold to those who plan to inflict untold suffering on individuals and society?” The room erupted in applause when the pope asked Congress to protect human life at all stages of development as well.
Source: NBC News
Photo credit: CatholicPhilly.com