Pope paper revised

The Pope's recent visit to America was covered extensively by the press, and was largely received as positive. He spoke on a variety of topics and issues, including the role of women in the Church, climate change, single mothers, immigrants and the plight of the less fortunate.  While there were crowds in Philadelphia to enjoy these messages, there were not as many people to share the experience as there could have and should have been.  Far fewer people witnessed the Pope's visit than originally predicted by Philadelphia’s Government and the World Meeting of Families. The low attendance is proof that Philadelphia’s government is incapable of planning a large scale events without discouraging people from coming.   

The City of Philadelphia initially expected up to 1.5 million people to come to the highlight of the Pope's visit, the Papal Mass.  Keith Still, a professor of crowd science at Manchester Metropolitan University, estimated that anywhere between 80,000 and 142,000 people came to the Papal Mass on Sunday, September 27. Still, made his estimates by analyzing photographs and assuming four people were in every cubic meter of space.  He then looked at how far the crowd stretched down the Ben Franklin Parkway.  In response to pressure from media regarding how many people came, Mayor Nutter stated, "It's not like a football game. This is not a situation where you evaluate success based on the score."  It is obvious that Philadelphia’s government is embarrassed by low attendance at the Papal Mass, as they have dodged all questions about it.  The road closings and the confusion over what public transit stations would be open caused people to avoid this incredible event.  The core of Philadelphia’s mass transit system was functioning far differently than normal.  Many stations on the Broad Street Line, Market Frankford Line and the Regional Rail Lines were closed. In order to get on Regional Rail System one needed to enter a lottery to buy a special pass.  In addition, multiple bridges and highways were closed going in and out of the city; thus, driving also became a difficult option.  Fewer people came to the Papal Mass because they did not want jump through hoops to get into downtown Philadelphia.    

The elderly are a significant part of the religious population in the United States.  The Pew Research Center has done multiple studies on this and is a leader in researching religious and political topics.  According to one of their studies, 53 percent of people 65 and older attend religious services at least once week.  However, only 33 percent of people between 18 and 29 attend services once per week.  This means that a large percentage of the Papal audience could have been the elderly. However, elderly people are often more challenged to walk than young people.  In spite of this, Mayor Michael Nutter said, “Philadelphians and visitors to the city for the World Meeting of Families and visit by Pope Francis should be prepared to walk for miles when the events take place.”  Many elderly people are not capable of walking miles.  Mayor Nutter scared the elderly away because they were worried about not being able complete this walk without injuring themselves. This shows that city government values young people more than the elderly.

Although the Pope’s visit may only seem important  to Catholics who were discouraged by the government from coming, it should in fact concern anyone who cares about Philadelphia.  The handling of the Pope's visit has already done damage to our reputation as a city capable of holding national scale events. Poor travel systems, lack of attention to the elderly’s needs and the excessive media hype tarnished our reputation.  If Philadelphia also mangles the upcoming Democratic National Convention, it will decimate the city’s reputation for holding national functions.    For the recent 785 million dollar investment for the renovation of Philadelphia’s Convention Center to be worthwhile, the city must be known as a prestigious place for national events. Philadelphia is one of the most prominent cities in America’s history and it needs to present itself that way on the national stage.  

Bibliography:

"Religion Among the Millennials." Pew Research Centers Religion and Public Life. Pew Research Center, 16 Feb. 2010. Web. 13 Oct. 2015.

Rhoads, Kelton. "Everyday Influence." Everyday Influence. Www.workingpsychology.com. Web. 13 Oct. 2015.

"Map: Road Closures During the Pope's Visit." Map: Road Closures During the Pope's Visit. Philadelphia Media Network. Web. 13 Oct. 2015.

"Map: Road Closures During the Pope's Visit." Map: Road Closures During the Pope's Visit. Philadelphia Media Network. Web. 13 Oct. 2015.

Avril, Tom. "800,000 at Papal Mass? Better Count Again." Philly.com. Philadelphia Media Network, 30 Sept. 2015. Web. 8 Oct. 2015.

Sisak, Michael. "Philadelphia In A State Of Panic As Pope Visit Nears." Huffington Post. HuffingtonPost.com, 1 Aug. 2015. Web. 7 Oct. 2015.