VATICAN CITY – U.S. officials have made their case to the Vatican for Pope Francis to visit the U.S. next year, saying his “message needs to be heard” during a massive church celebration of the family planned for Philadelphia.
The governor of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, and Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter made their pitch Tuesday to Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, whose Pontifical Council for the Family is helping organize the Sept. 22-27, 2015, meeting.
Popes have attended five of the seven World Meetings of the Family, and Francis has made family issues the top priority of his pontificate. But no confirmation of his participation is expected before next year.
Nutter said the event offers Francis a “unique moment in our common history and a signature opportunity” to speak about family concerns to a huge audience.
Meanwhile, I pray the Pop
e preaches the gospel of Jesus Christ to President Obama! Amen! Pope Francis and President Obama are meeting today at the Vatican. The leader of the free world and the leader of the world’s one billion Roman Catholics are expected to find common ground on spreading social justice and working to help the poor escape poverty. They’ll likely focus on those areas of agreement, rather than their big differences over Obama’s support for abortion rights and same-sex marriage, as well as his signature health coverage law’s mandates for contraception coverage. Those are all issues that Catholic doctrine and the Pope oppose.
The so-called Pope of the People is living up to his nickname. A CBS News poll shows Catholics are feeling more connected to the church since Pope Francis began his papacy. For the first time in the poll’s history, more people say the Catholic Church is in touch than “out of touch.” Last year a majority of Catholics thought the church was out of sync with the needs of its members.
