Rabbi On Pope's Interfaith Service At 9/11 Memorial: 'We Are Going To Be One Family'
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- In exactly one week, Pope Francis will be joined by clergy of different faiths as he visits ground zero.
The pope will hold a multifaith meeting for peace in Foundation Hall at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum on Sept. 25.
Rabbi Joseph Potasnik, vice president of the New York Board of Rabbis and longtime chaplain to the FDNY, said there is no more appropriate place for the pope to visit and for clergy of different faiths to come together as one.
Pope Francis To Host Interfaith Service At 9/11 Memorial & Museum
"Obviously those who sought to destroy us on 9/11 didn't want us to practice our respective traditions, they wanted us not to be together, so we answer that horror by saying we are going to be one family," said Potasnik, who will attend the meeting. "I think us being together with him offering a special blessing and a message will be a resounding response to what occurred on 9/11."
WEB EXTRA: Guide To Pope Francis' Visit To NYC
He points out that as a cardinal in Argentina, Pope Francis was the first public figure to condemn the 1994 terrorist attack on the Jewish community center in Buenos Aires that killed 85 people.
Pope Francis To Host Interfaith Service At 9/11 Memorial & Museum
"So here he comes now to ground zero and I'm sure he will once again strongly, strongly condemn those who somehow feel it is their mission, it is somehow part of their perverse ideology to destroy us," Potasnik told WCBS 880's Marla Diamond.
Hundreds of 9/11 family members, survivors and first responders will also attend the interfaith service.
"I think it will provide enormous comfort for many of the family members," museum director Alice Greenwald told WCBS 880's Peter Haskell.
When the pope comes to the museum he will see about a dozen artifacts of faith, including a piece of steel that had a fragment of the New Testament fused to it from the heat.
It's open to the Book of Matthew, Chapter 5.
"It's about an eye for an eye and to turn the other cheek," Greenwald said.
She hopes Pope Francis recognizes they have similar missions.
"He teaches the aspiration for peace, he teaches that we need to respect one another's humanity," Greenwald said.
The pope will be in New York City from Sept. 24 to Sept. 26.
During his brief stay, Francis will also address world leaders at the U.N., participate in a procession through Central Park, visit an East Harlem school and celebrate Mass at Madison Square Garden.
To see a complete schedule of the pope's upcoming visit, click here.
You can watch all of the Pope's events on CBS2 and on CBSNewYork.com.
