Continued … A 135,000 square foot media hub is being prepared in Philadelphia with all its cable feeds, workstations,
translators and coffee for the expected 5,000 to 7,000 journalist who will cover the Pope’s visit and the World Meeting of Families event. In the past Archbishop Chaput has been critical of the media, saying he believes his words have been twisted (in the past) to advance certain ideological agendas. He said he suspects some journalists have intentionally tried to “drive a wedge between me and the pope,” which he called “a sin, a sin against the unity of the Church. They love to sell newspapers doing that.”The archdiocese of Philadelphia has brought in experts in large-event staging to head the major operational components such as security and transportation. Credentialing, background checks, adherence to labor law, competitive bidding for contractors, insurance, attracting corporate and individual sponsors are all issues the
non-profit World Meeting of Families Organization finds itself dealing with. Money is being raised online and through texting and selling items to benefit the cause.
Many area museums and cultural institutions are in the process of developing programs related to Pope
Francis or to themes of family or religion. The Philadelphia Museum of Art, for example, will be directing
visitors to it Jan Van Eyck portrait of “St Francis of Assisi Receiving the Stigmata” while the National
Constitution Center will likely foster discussion about religious freedom, a motivating principle for
Pennsylvania’s founder, Quaker William Penn. A group of black churches is hosting a “Faithful Family
Forum.” The World Meeting of Families will have 70-plus speakers varying in religion and denomination and 20,000
conference attendees from around the world. The Meeting is planning to recognize Yom Kippur, which
begins Sept. 22. Much of the event will be ecumenical, with about 60 percent appealing to Christians in general
and 40 percent geared for those of any or no faith. Muslims, Jewish and Mormons will be involved in the event.
Archbishop Chaput said the World Meeting would not focus on hot-button issues familiar to Americans, like
same-sex marriage and contraception.
“Families with children with disabilities is a big issue,” he said. “Spouses who have been abandoned by their
spouses, and how does the Church reach out to them. This is a really big issue, because it’s not just the spouses,
but the children. Mixed families, where there are children from two families who come together when their
parents marry each other. How do you work those things out?” Those are some of the planned discussions.
The Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau estimates the events will generate $417 million, an economic
momentum set to continue with the arrival of the Democratic National Convention in 2016. to be continued …
Sources : Religious News Service, Cruxnow.com