Philadelphia's small community worshiped in a 4,000-square-foot mosque on Ninth Street before moving into its new $7 million building, funded by members' donations and support from the national headquarters. Inside is a pristine house of prayer with cool gray/blue walls, a library, offices, and a multipurpose room where the local community will host on Friday a dinner in honor of Ahmad. During his visit, he will meet with individual families, lead prayers, and meet local dignitaries at the Friday event. … [Read more...] about The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community’s ‘pope’ visits to dedicate a mosque in North Philadelphia
Pope visit philadelphia
Cardinal Dolan on pope visit: “I feel like the father of the bride”
Pope Francis is arriving in America shortly for his first trip here not just as pontiff, but ever in his life. The pope's arrival will shine a big spotlight on New York City's Catholic community when he arrives there for a stay, and Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the Archbishop of New York, is excited. Dolan sat down for an interview Tuesday with "CBS This Morning." Charlie Rose: There is great anticipation. Dolan: You bet there is and I'm kind of nervous. I hope I'm not showing it. I feel like the father of the bride or something. Rose: Is he coming with a pastoral visit or is it a visit with a political message? Dolan: But you had it in the right sequence, Charlie. He's coming as a pastor, as an apostle, as an evangelist but in preaching that gospel message, in handing onto us the teaching of god as revealed in Jesus Christ and the Bible, there's always implications in the moral life and some of those implications are in the encomia and political realm. So even if he doesn't come as a … [Read more...] about Cardinal Dolan on pope visit: “I feel like the father of the bride”
CBS News Logo Pope weighs in on “Communist crucifix” and U.S. critics
ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE -- Pope Francis says he wasn't offended by the "Communist crucifix" given to him by Bolivian President Evo Morales during his South American pilgrimage. Morales surprised the pontiff with the unusual gift, a crucifix attached to a hammer and sickle, when Francis arrived in La Paz on Wednesday. The crucifix was a replica of one designed by a Jesuit priest, the Rev. Luis Espinal, who was tortured and killed by Bolivian paramilitary squads in 1980. Francis prayed at the site of Espinal's assassination upon his arrival in Bolivia. The modified crucifix immediately raised eyebrows, with some questioning whether Morales, whose socialist and anti-church rhetoric is well-known, was trying to score a questionable political point with a questionable, and possibly sacrilegious, melding of faith and ideology. Francis, an Argentine Jesuit, said Espinal was well-known among his fellow Jesuits as a proponent of the Marxist strain of liberation theology. The Vatican opposed … [Read more...] about CBS News Logo Pope weighs in on “Communist crucifix” and U.S. critics
Pope’s visit to Philly will “invigorate the church”
PHILADELPHIA -- The woman in charge of organizing Pope Francis' autumn visit to Philadelphia says people in the city chosen as his final destination can't wait to greet the pontiff. "The city is alive with excitement around this, everybody is excited," Farrell told CBS News correspondent Mireya Villarreal. The pope's trip kicks off in Washington with stops at the White House and Capitol Hill, where Francis will be the first pope to address Congress. Then in New York, he'll appear before the U.N. General Assembly and visit Saint Patrick's Cathedral. He concludes his trip in Philadelphia at the 2015 World Meeting of Families, a global Roman Catholic event that happens every three years and is drawing Pope Francis to the United States for his inaugural visit. "He's never been here at all, not as a cardinal, not as a priest, so I hope he takes home the heart of our country and he knows the affection that this country has for him," Farrell said. How Pope Francis may pack a bigger economic … [Read more...] about Pope’s visit to Philly will “invigorate the church”
CBS News Logo Pope Francis to visit Mexico in February, church official says
MEXICO CITY -- Pope Francis will arrive in Mexico on Feb. 12 to start his long-awaited visit to the heavily Roman Catholic country, a church official said Sunday. Mexican Cardinal Norberto Rivera didn't provide any more details about the visit, only saying the pontiff would arrive in Mexico City on that date. Local media reported that the visit would last until Feb. 20. Archdiocese spokesman Carlos Villa Roiz confirmed Rivera's comments, which were made Sunday during a homily in Mexico City. Villa Roiz told The Associated Press that a Vatican official would be traveling to Mexico soon to arrange the pope's agenda for the trip. During the visit, Francis is expected to address the violence in Mexico as well as migration, one of the central themes of his papacy. Francis had said he wanted to enter the U.S. from Mexico in a sign of solidarity with migrants during his recent U.S. trip but that the schedule didn't allow for it. Some Mexican church officials are hoping the pope will tour the … [Read more...] about CBS News Logo Pope Francis to visit Mexico in February, church official says