[NEWS] Commentary: Philly nurtures pope's seeds of justice and mercy

From the Philadelphia Inquirer:

One year ago, the city of Philadelphia was in the throes of the historical visit of Pope Francis. For two days, hundreds of thousands of people experienced spiritual uplift and hope in the glow of this remarkable global religious leader.

Many people expressed a sense that the Holy Father's visit as a transformational moment for our city. It is worth looking a back, a year later, to see what transformation has occurred.

Project HOME and many of our partners marked the papal visit by spearheading the Mercy and Justice campaign, to give concrete expression to the pope's global challenge that we reach out to those on the margins in compassion and justice. The campaign raised more than $1.4 million for the special Francis Fund to address the concrete needs of those struggling in the Philadelphia region and Camden. It also generated more than 20,000 messages to Congress to end hunger and homelessness in our nation.