Boston Mayor Marty Walsh To Meet Pope Francis At Vatican
BOSTON (CBS/AP) — Boston Mayor Marty Walsh and several other mayors will meet with the Pope at the Vatican Tuesday to talk about human trafficking and climate change.
The mayor is participating in two workshops, "The Modern Slavery and Climate Change" and "Prosperity, People, and Planet: Achieving Sustainable Development in Our Cities," where he'll share Boston's experience in combating human trafficking and addressing climate change.
"It's an opportunity for us to tackle the issue on a worldwide stage here," he told WBZ-TV in a phone call from Vatican City Tuesday.
Walsh and about 60 other mayors will meet with Pope Francis at noon Boston time. He told WBZ he's nervous and excited.
Proud to join my fellow mayors at the Vatican, visiting with US Ambassador @KenHackett47. #MayorsCare pic.twitter.com/kujOcaunSS
— Mayor Marty Walsh (@marty_walsh) July 20, 2015
"I was asked a lot of questions, what am I going to say to the Pope. I'm really going to thank him for convening this meeting, because I keep hearing it's the first of its kind ever, in the Vatican with mayors from around the world to talk about two very important issues of sex trafficking and slavery and also climate change and global warming."
Mayors, local administrators and religious leaders attending are expected to ask the United Nations to consider modern slavery and human trafficking a crime against humanity. They'll also push the UN to approve new sustainable development goals at the workshops, the mayor's office said.
Walsh returns to Boston on Thursday, July 23.
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