[NEWS] Sister Mary Scullion tells conference on homelessness that papal visit must be more than 'pomp and ceremony'

From the Philadelphia City Paper: 

Sister Mary Scullion on Thursday told participants at the National Conference on Ending Homelessness that Pope Francis' visit to the United States this fall offers a "historic opportunity" to do something concrete about the housing and homeless crisis in this country.

"We need to make sure that the events surrounding his visit are not lots of pomp and ceremony — but real concrete action that takes seriously his fervent challenge to compassion, human dignity and the common good," the co-founder of Philly's Project H.O.M.E. told those attending the conference in Washington, D.C.

Scullion is also chairman of the Hunger and Homeless Committee of the World Meeting of Families, which will meet here in Philadelphia.The Pope's visit on Sept. 26 and 27 is the capstone of that meeting.

"This is a message that our country needs to hear. The housing and homeless crisis ... is only part of a deep and inhumane web of poverty that affects tens of millions of Americans — while those on the top of the economic ladder reap ever greater benefits," Scullion told the Washington conference.