[NEWS] Scullion using pope's visit to campaign for homeless
From the Philadelphia Inquirer:Â
As Pope Francis' visit draws nearer, Sister Mary Scullion wants to make sure the whole city is ready for his arrival - including the homeless men and women who normally sleep on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.
"We hope there will be alternative shelter, as well as places where people will be able to get meals," Scullion said during what she called a "pope-up" on the northeast corner of Rittenhouse Square. The event, one of three held Wednesday in Center City, was designed to encourage people to combat poverty and homelessness through her Mercy and Justice Initiative.
With a life-size cardboard cutout of Francis on hand, Scullion and volunteers handed out pamphlets about the initiative, organized by the World Meeting of Families' Hunger and Homelessness Committee. Clad in bright-yellow T-shirts, they stopped passersby to discuss how Philadelphians can lessen poverty's presence in the city, and to add names to contact lists and encourage people to donate to the effort.
