Pope's visit to Philadelphia: "He will not stop here, not even on the way."

[Lobster Martini]

(LM: There are certain parts of Philadelphia that I prefer to avoid, but I'm not the Pope...really...is it worse here than in New York or Washington?...well, maybe...)

Why the pope should visit, & why he won't

WHEN THE NEWS broke in July that Pope Benedict XVI would visit the U.S. next April, Philadelphia Catholics dreamed to repeat that magic fall day in 1979.

Didn't Pope John Paul II draw a wildly enthusiastic crowd estimated at one million to a Mass at Logan Circle on that beautiful day?

Isn't 2008 the 200th anniversary of the Philadelphia Archdiocese?

And won't Upper Darby's own Archbishop John Foley soon become a cardinal?

Yes, yes and yes.

Which made it tough this week when the answer was "No." The pope will be in New York. He will be in Washington. He will not stop here, not even on the way.

And they wonder why Philly has an inferiority complex?

"New York is still the capital of the world to the Vatican (LM: Emphasis is mine), and the prime reason for his trip is to address the U.N.," said papal observer Rocco Palmo. "Plus he has to go to Washington. As a head of state, a pope needs to go through formalities."

<snip>

(link--not much more but here it is--: http://www.philly.com/philly/hp/news_update/11422166.html)

[BrklynLiberal]

1. Traffic in NYC is going to be such a mess that. day.....

:mad:

It is a real pain in the arse to have someone visit the city and cause such traffic jams.
Us working folks must still get back and forth..
The lucky cities are the ones he is not visiting.