Pope Francis Has Some Personal Preparations Before His Visit Next Month
By Mark Abrams
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) --- Pope Francis will be in Philadelphia in a little over a month, and a veteran Vatican correspondent who's written extensively about the pope says he will be heavily engaged in personal preparations before his visit.
John Allen is an Associate Editor for the Boston Globe and author of the book "The Francis Miracle." He's also an editor and writer for the newspaper's on-line publication 'Crux', chronicling activities of the Vatican and the Catholic church.
Allen says the pope has a network of contacts he has been tapping to give him some perspective.
"I can tell you that he has been working the phones in advance of the trip, reaching out to people that he knows particularly through his Jesuit contacts," Allen says. "Of course the pope is a member of the Jesuit religious order, to try to get insight, try to get up to speed about the United States."
Allen says because Francis' final stop is the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia, he expects the pope to stress the church's full support for the institution of marriage between a man and a woman.
This despite the U.S. Supreme Court's decision supporting same-sex marriage.
