Vatican Officials Hold Conference On Pope's First Day In Philly
By Kristen Johanson
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Each day, Vatican officials have updated the press on what's happening behind the scenes of the Pope's visit. Saturday's briefing was held at the Pennsylvania Convention Center.
Pope Francis started the day taking a helicopter ride to the airport with New York's Archbishop Cardinal Timothy Dolan.
"He showed him the Statue of Liberty, but in particular, also Ellis Island that had such an important history of migrants to New York," says Father Frederico Lombardi.
These are among the moments Lombardi described as part of the daily press briefings. There was also a Q&A session about many topics -- including gay marriage and whether the Pope will address the issue.
"We have to listen to what the Pope will say in these two days, about the family and what problems that is approached, maybe there is something, but I can not preview or announce it," says Lombardi.
He also had to answer some questions from reporters about the Pope's stance on the child sex abuse scandal. Lombardi was asked if Pope Francis would be meeting with victim's families, but he would not confirm:
"Because of the protection of the particular character of this meeting, (it) has to not be a media event, but a personal encounter of the Pope with concrete persons that suffered."
Father Lombardi says the common thread in all of the Papal speeches has been the recurring theme of family.
