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                     Francis Appeals for Religious Freedom

   by VOA News

   In a setting closely linked with American liberty, Pope Francis
   delivered an address appealing for religious freedom throughout the
   world.

   The pope took the stage to loud applause and cheers from a large crowd
   at Philadelphia's Independence Hall, a place steeped in U.S. history as
   the adoption site of the two documents enshrining basic American
   rights: the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.

   The Philadelphia Orchestra welcomed the pope by playing American
   composer Aaron Copland's "Fanfare for the Common Man."

   From a lectern once used by slain U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, the
   pope spoke about the importance of religious freedom and embracing
   immigrants.

   He called on the crowd to reflect on the right to religious freedom,
   which he described as "fundamental." He added religious freedom means
   the right to worship individually and with others.

   He echoed concerns raised in his address to world leaders at the U.N.
   General Assembly on Friday.

   Before entering Independence Hall, Francis was presented with a cross
   from Hispanic Catholics. Organizers say the delegation includes a
   family of seven whose members immigrated to the United States from
   Mexico.

   ''

   World Meeting of Families

   The pope has arranged his travels to focus on World Meeting of
   Families. The international conference, sponsored by the Vatican and
   the Philadelphia Archdiocese, aims to strengthen "the sacred bonds of
   families across the globe," its website explains.

   The family has been buffeted by social change, with growing acceptance
   of gay marriage, for instance. The Roman Catholic Church hews to its
   traditional definition of marriage only between a man and woman.

   Outside of the official schedule, lesbian, gay, bisexual and
   transgender Catholics have planned separate events as they press for
   church acceptance, the Associated Press notes. Pope Francis raised
   their hopes and created a stir in 2013 when, asked about homosexuality,
   he responded, "Who am I to judge?"

   ''

   Earlier Saturday, at a midmorning Mass at the Cathedral Basilica of
   Saints Peter and Paul, Francis urged more than 1,200 worshipers there,
   as well as audiences tuned in electronically, "to reflect on our
   ministry to families, to couples preparing for marriage, and to our
   young people."

   He also requested prayers "for the deliberations on the forthcoming
   Synod on the Family." Bishops are scheduled to meet October 4-24 at the
   Vatican.

   At the Mass, Francis asked worshipers to value "the immense
   contribution which women, lay and religious, have made and continue to
   make to the life of our communities." Many liberal Catholics have
   questioned the church's male-dominated hierarchy, agitating for more
   roles of authority for women, including the priesthood. The Vatican
   steadfastly opposes women's ordination.

   ''

   Francis stumbles

   Organizers of the family event greeted a slightly limping Francis when
   he landed at Philadelphia International Airport shortly before 10 a.m.
   When he left New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, the
   78-year-old pope carried his own bag and stumbled as he climbed the
   stairs to the aircraft - but at the top, he turned and grinned.

   Francis' welcome at the Philadelphia airport included a high school
   band playing the theme song from the film "Rocky," which shows a boxer
   (Sylvester Stallone) triumphantly raising his arms atop the stairs of
   the city's art museum.

   After the Mass, Francis headed to St. Charles Borromeo Seminary,
   meeting with seminarians as well people with cognitive challenges. He's
   staying in a renovated dorm room at the seminary, which also is
   providing lodging for his entourage of 59 others, The Philadelphia
   Inquirer reports.

   ''

   In the evening, he'll be serenaded by soul singer Aretha Franklin,
   Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli and the Philadelphia Orchestra at the
   Festival of Families.

   Sunday's schedule sends the pope to the Curran-Fromhold Correctional
   Facility, where he'll meet with inmates. They plan to give him a chair,
   resembling a throne, which they'd made without power tools from black
   walnut.

   A 4 p.m. Mass on Sunday is expected to draw roughly 1 million to the
   Benjamin Franklin Parkway. It's the final major event before Francis'
   return to Rome.

   Shadow of sexual abuse scandal

   Sometime during the weekend, Francis also is expected to meet privately
   with people who were sexually abused by priests.

   Philadelphia, once a bastion of the U.S. Catholic church, especially
   has been rocked by the scandal. Its archdiocese was the focus of three
   grand jury investigations, the last of which, in 2011, accused it of
   leaving more than three dozen priests, accused of serious crimes, in
   assignments that might jeopardize others, the Associated Press
   reported.

   The archdiocese also has dealt with financial misappropriations and,
   like many others, had to close parochial schools in the face of waning
   enrollment and falling donations.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/francis-to-make-appeal-for-religious-
   freedom/2980534.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/francis-to-make-appeal-for-religious-freedom/2980534.html