Pope Francis to visit Philadelphia

Last updated on: December 3, 2014 at 5:34 pm by Guest Contributor

Pope Francis to visit Philadelphia 2014-12-03T17:34:41-07:00 Guest Contributor

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

World Meeting of Families website

Last month, Pope Francis announced he’s coming to Philadelphia in September 2015 for the World Meeting of Families. Regardless of religious affiliation, it’s an exciting time for the City of Brotherly Love. Yet despite the elation surrounding the visit, it’s perhaps prudent to understand the struggles Philadelphia faces and how the pope’s visit is a rare opportunity to highlight populist, progressive solutions that can and should be taken to strengthen the family unit and society at large.

Philadelphia, like many other cities, struggles with poverty and violence. For many, there seems to be a resignation that such a depressed situation will be a permanent reality. I refuse to be one of those people. Pope Francis is the main reason for my optimism. Before his papacy, there were few international leaders who spoke with such passion about the dispossessed. Now, because of his leadership, inequality has come to the forefront of the international debate.

Pope Francis is being called a progressive—and rightfully so. To clarify though, it’s not the kind of progressive we’re accustom to here in the United States. Pope’s Francis’s refreshing approach to leading the papacy has opened the door for an honest, open discussion on a variety of issues. We may not always agree, but the fact that Pope Francis wants to have a discussion makes his papacy truly progressive.

Last year, Pope Francis said one of the most serious evils that afflict the world is youth unemployment.

“We cannot resign ourselves to losing a whole generation of young people who don’t have the strong dignity of work,” Pope Francis said last July.

Here in the United States, 15% of young Americans have no job. Compounding the situation was the fact that the recovery following the great recession created more low-wage jobs than better paying ones. Thus, for many already with jobs, there are more ladders to climb in order to reach the middle class.

It’s difficult for progressives to connect with broader audience about student loan debt when three fifths of Americans don’t even have a bachelor’s degree. For decades, a destructive view has become embedded within society that the only way to succeed is to get a college education. With more than 40% of recent college graduates underemployed last year, it’s become apparent millennials are among the first causalities of that myth.

We Catholics also can’t ignore the ongoing unrest in Ferguson, Missouri, highlighting the frustration in the Black community over economic and political grievances. The violence in Ferguson will continue to happen elsewhere because too often we share a state, county, and city, but not an actual community in which everyone has the opportunity to grow and prosper. We need to take action. Pope Francis states in the Evangelii Gaudium, “Until exclusion and inequality in society and between peoples are reversed, it will be impossible to eliminate violence.”

When Pope Francis visits Philadelphia, I hope his inspirational words are followed by meaningful action. This action must come collectively from each of us if we’re to encourage the development of happy, healthy families and a society that promotes the dignity of all life. Otherwise, the pope’s visit is just a visit and we learned nothing in the final analysis.

Stephen Seufert is the State Director of Keystone Catholics, a new social justice advocacy organization in Pennsylvania dedicated to promoting the common good.

World Meeting of Families

Previous Post

November 21, 2014

Missing Values, Missing Votes in the 2014 Mid-Terms

Next Post

December 14, 2014 A Tale of Two Seasons: Election vs. Advent

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category About Us About Us Action Center Advertise Ask a Theologian Ask a Theologian Blogs Books Campaign Blog Candidate Spotlights Commentary Donate Facebook Featured Writers Fellows Fellows From the Pulpit General Information Hillary Clinton Interfaith Blog Latest Media Center Media Center Media Center MyBlog MyBlog News Newsflash Newsflashes Our Team Reader Blogs RSS Sermon of the Week Shop Social Networking Static Items Support Talking Points Test blogs The Basics Theology Uncategorized YouTube

Select a Month November 2020 October 2020 February 2020 August 2019 July 2018 July 2017 March 2017 February 2017 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 June 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 January 2006 August 2004

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

True or False: 2 John is addressed to Gaius, the beloved friend.

Select your answer to see how you score.

TRUE FALSE