Pope Francis will travel through the western side of Central Park in a procession on Friday, September 25 before leading mass at Madison Square Garden that evening.
The pope’s Central Park visit will likely take place between 4 and 6 p.m., according to the schedule of his New York visit. You need tickets to get in. Apply for them here or by calling 311.
Image via Wikipedia.
I dread when world leaders come to town and destroy the streets with their security details but(even as a Non Catholic) I think the Pope’s procession is a worthy/historic celebration of tolerance, inclusiveness and good will. What a Pope! Just my opinion, so hopefully this won’t generate a spate of WSR hateful, trolling responses. BE NICE!
I wonder whether you would be reacting the same way, if instead of the current darling of the left and the trendy, it were one of the previous pontiffs who were visiting.
Would you be as glowingly positive?
Imagine, hypothetically, in the case of a previous Pope vising, that someone were to post a comment that was sharply and unmistakably negative and unwelcoming in its tone but nonetheless avoided personal insults or vulgar language. Would you characterize such a comment as “hateful” or “trolling”? Would you even go the trouble of challenging it at all? If yes, would you do so even if the hypothetical poster had specifically criticized what he had claimed was the Pontiff’s “intolerance”, “misogyny” and/or “homophobia” [sic]?
Come to think of it, did West Side Rag exist during any of the previous pontiff’s papacies? If so, it would indeed be interesting — and perhaps instructive– to scour the archives for comments to compare with these.
that’s how you characterize Pope Francis? “the darling of the left and the trendy”?
Mr. Bernstein:
Imagine if I had characterized the previous Pontiff, Pope Benedict, as a “darling of the right and the reactionary”, or even, “a darling of the anachronistic and the regressive”. Would you have had any objections? Ones strong enough to drive you to post a reply to me such as the one that you did?
Note that both of the hypothetical phrasings I gave above included at least one word that would be considered pejorative by most people. In contrast, neither of the characterizing words that I used in my what I actually wrote are inherently pejorative or negative. Even with this additional factor, however, I doubt whether you would be too bothered as long as the subject were not…yes, a darling of those of the ideological/political/philosophical perspective that happens to align with your own.
Likewise, I still doubt whether Nelson, the first one to comment on this thread, would have been as glowing had the subject, instead of the current Pontiff, been one of his (less “progressive”) predecessors.
(And perhaps there are even one or two individuals here who bothered to notice that Nelson never actually answered my question. I do give him credit, though, for at least responding at all and for doing so without being gratuitously nasty toward me– both more than most people here do.)
Honey, you can’t sling mud and use inflammatory language and then whine that people are mean to you. Grow a pair already.
Actually, shouldn’t the Pope be the “darling”of the People no matter what political affiliation one belongs to?! I certainly think so!!!!
“Left and trendy” were the adjectives used by ‘Independent,” not me.
Nelson, i was responding to Independent’s comments. I agree with all your comments. My apologies for not making that clear.
I don’t consider myself “left” or “trendy.” I’m not even Catholic, I just think the Pope is a good person and groundbreaking in terms of inclusivity and philanthropy.
I wish these comment threads reflected the “neighborhood” vibe of the WSR instead of so frequently becoming a place for spleen-venting, fight picking and word-combat.
Try having a nice day, UWS’ers. And Do Unto Others!
Thank You, Nelson. Most everyone would agree with and compliment you on your comments. You epitomize common sense, of which it is said, is not so common.
+1
Hopefully my response isn’t seen as “hateful”, but I don’t share the Pope is all that great. His views on same-sex relationships and reproductive rights put him at ~ 1970. So while this is progress, he’s still many decades behind what we can consider to be enlightened.
Not to worry, Mark. If things continue at the current rate, it won’t be long at all before the Roman Catholic Church has fully caught-up with their “mainline” Protestant and liberal “Jewish” counterparts in fully embracing and championing the cultural Marxist agenda– in all its wretched depravity.
You have an odd way with quotation marks. “Jewish”?
For some, religion is more of a competition and an opportunity to judge others based on their own level of understanding.
I certainly hope so. I believe each of those also support mental health services.
Just because you don’t agree with the teachings of the Catholic Church or the views of the Pope, doesn’t mean their views are not “enlightened”. While I may not agree with all of the Church’s views (I’m not Christian), I nonetheless respect them. I would hope that a Christian would respect my beliefs without deeming me to be not enlightened.
I “respect” views that don’t seek to deny equal treatment of others.
but he’s many decades AHEAD of what many in the US consider to be “enlightened” on economic and social justice issues and also on climate change.
… and anyone who denies climate change would by definition be considered “unenlightened.”
Donald Trump and most right wing Republicans are actually decades BEHIND and very un-enlightened. I wish they would listen more to the Pope.
Do you also consider yourself to be decades ahead and more enlightened than many in the US?
As soon as I heard that the Pope, Obama and the UN General Assembly were going on at the same time I booked a trip for the wife and I to get the hell out of Dodge. You couldn’t pay me to be in the city for for this mess.
PS I hope all the people who do want to be here have a great, safe time. I’ll see it on the news.
Sorry, I can’t resist.
“For the wife and me, not I…”
I would have corrected the same. We are alike!
You are, of course, correct.
Of course this particular Pope deserves our respect and admiration for his wonderfully tolerant and progressive views.
BUT, does His Holiness KNOW that, here in Gotham, his religion has a very special New York City pronunciation?
Ask many an outer borough Parochial School student to reveal his/her religion, and said youngster would proudly proclaim: “Wassa madda wich youse; can-cha see I’m a CAT-LICK!”
🙂
Here’s a question: the tickets are to get into the Park and wait for the drive by? (I assume lining up hours before)
Pope Francis is doing AMAZING THINGS…and I am not catholic but this guy is better than any president or any of our Government officials….I mean come on UWSiders! He is so liberal. and changing the world. He Stuck it to the republicans with the climate change stuff. He is an Amazing Pope
I am an atheist and not a fan of religion in general, particularly when it is trying to dictate the laws here. Nonetheless, I cannot help but find myself liking this particular Pope. I don’t like that I like him but I do. I think I might even apply for the tickets to see him.
Now would be the perfect, perfect time for the Pope to ask the world’s forgiveness for The Inquisition. For 500 years of murdering and torturing people in the name of god.
Re: “ask the world’s forgiveness for The Inquisition”
Ahhh, the Inquisition!
The mere mention of which has us recalling this great shtick:
“Torquemada – do not beg him for mercy. Torquemada – do not ask him for forgiveness. Let’s face it – you can’t Torquemada anything!”
from MEL BROOKS’s Wonderful “History of the World-Part 1”
(thanks, Internet Movie Data Base)
All we have to do is somehow link this thread to “bagels” and the WSR server will be blown off the face of the earth!
Honestly people, I sometimes wonder if your mothers know that you’re on the computer.
You can all get orgasmic when the Dalai Lama drops by, but can’t give a shout out to a religious leader who’s doing his best to push a centuries-old set of dogmas into the 2000’s?
I am not a subscriber to any religion, but how can you justify finding negatives in a man who is clearly showing that he is trying harder than any of his predecessors to use his charisma to guide his flock into the present world?
My god, when did New Yorkers become so fragile and afraid of contrasting opinions?
I agree. He’s got a few thousand years of legacy (mostly not positive) to deal with. Huge wheels grind slowly. Though I’m not Catholic many of my best friends are and I can clearly remember growing up as a little girl in the 1960’s aware of the fact that many of my friend’s ate no meat on Fridays, and many had parents who refused to divorce without special dispensation (they just stayed miserable together). The official Papal stance on the holocaust has changed. And I just read that this coming year is a “Year of Forgiveness” where the Pope has asked his clergy to find a way to forgive the sin of abortion for women all over the world. Now, I don’t agree with his political stand in any way, shape or form. But you’ve got to admit that the Church has attempted some small changes and this Pope seems to be trying to hasten more change. But I think he’s fighting against the tide.
I realize this pope is more popular than his predecessor, but no tickets were needed to see the last pope roll up Fifth Ave. Viewing was a bit crowded from the sidewalk but you could position yourself from within Central Park just fine. I have been to several ticketed events in Central Park and each one is a madhouse — poor signage, the end of the line seems miles away, it takes hours for check-in and clearance…. why?? Just make a motorcade, zip down Central Park West, and whoever wants to see the pope can line up. Think of all the charitable work (or anything else) that people could do with those hours that they are not on line. And ticketed viewing does not seem in the spirit of inclusiveness anyway…
Good points. The Pope is a commodity and a tourist attraction a la the British royal family.
But hey, he takes some progressive stances while leading an organization that fights against equal treatment of different types of people and everyone falls over themselves declaring how wonderful he is.
How low are people’s standards to laud an individual who merely suggests that people should be treated as whole humans?
He couldn’t walk?
Re: “He couldn’t walk?”
No, and remember this moldy-oldy:
An UWSer sees a woman carrying her small dog under one arm:
UWSer: “Can’t the dog walk?”
Woman: “Denk Gott he doesn’t have to!”
Tickets to watch someone drive through the park? Itt’s a disgrace. What if he drove down an avenue, people would need tickets to be on the street? Insane.
Neighbor is right: The Inquisition is one of the greatest crimes against humanity. That crime is still not addressed.
I prefer the Pope that was included on Prince’s The Hits 2.
Where: Central Park West Drive
When: September 25th, check-in for ticketed guests begins at 12pm
I don’t understand the ‘ticketed guests,’ part. I don’t plan on going but I would like to be able to get back home from work that day. Are tickets for seating, or are they planning on shutting down the entire park and crosstown transportation to those who are non-ticketed?
It will be a busy weekend all in all as the Global Citizen Festival is Saturday the 26th on the Great Lawn.
Ah-liberal progressives blast the pope and religion – except for Muslims of course. Their treatment of gays and women is ignored. Typical. While you progressives sit here and type the Catholic church is busy feeding and clothing the homeless. What do you do Mr. Bernstein? What do you and your ilk do? Nothing.