Pope Francis Brought A Rarely-Seen Collective Sense Of Peace In Central Park
by Adam Harrington, CBSNewYork.com
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- What kind of event would warrant standing in line for two hours to get through a security checkpoint, just so you could stand around some more (or sit in dusty leaves) for another four hours – all in order to witness an event that lasts a matter of seconds?
At face value, it sounds like the dictionary definition of something that isn't worth it, doesn't it?
Well, it was very much worth it for me and tens of thousands of people who gathered to see Pope Francis in Central Park. They were from all backgrounds and walks of life, and of a vast variety of faiths and beliefs. The wave of exuberance was palpable when Pope Francis emerged in the distance on West Drive in the Popemobile. Somehow, despite being surrounded by thousands, his wave and smile suggested a sense of personal intimacy with every individual in the crowd.
But it wasn't only about Pope Francis himself.
PHOTOS: Pope Francis Procession Through Central Park
Everyone I spoke to today noticed something about the spirit of the crowd that was far removed from the day-to-day New York experience of hurry and impatience. Leo Horner of Jamison, Pennsylvania – even while standing in a slow-moving entry line on Central Park West – said he had "never been around a crowd with this kind of positive energy."
Philip Berisha of the Bronx said everyone could "tell the joy and the excitement that everybody's waiting for the pope to arrive."
And New York City 311 employee Sonia Febles said she had come to the event expecting that it would be of interest primarily to Roman Catholics. But she noted that it turned out to be a crowd made up of a variety of different cultures and faiths – all jointed together in a collective sense of peace.
"If the rest of the planet could be like this for one day, it could save lives," Febles said.
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Indeed, the entire experience of attending Pope Francis' Central Park motorcade event – from beginning to end – had nary a hint of the frustrated annoyance of waiting in line at the Post Office, or at an airport security checkpoint that at face value is very similar to the one we all had to go through today. It had none of the anxiety-provoking haste that characterizes walking through Times Square and having to weave one's way through slow-moving tourists. And there was no sense of divisiveness among the crowd whatsoever – it didn't matter whether you believed in the teachings of the pope and the Roman Catholic Church, or where you stood politically vis-à-vis the famously outspoken pontiff.
Instead, there was a true sense that all were welcome – and at peace with one another, united in a common moment of not just of witnessing history, but of breaking down the wall of alienation that so often defines everyday life and coming together. How often does that happen?
I'm from Chicago, where Pope John Paul II famously made a visit in 1979. He held an open-air mass in Grant Park before an estimated 1.5 million people – for which he famously arrived half an hour late. I myself wasn't born yet for that event, and had wondered why people – and not all of them devout Roman Catholics – were still talking about it years and years later. It's been 36 years now, and some Chicagoans still talk about it as one of the greatest events of their lives.
After witnessing Pope Francis' motorcade and joining the crowd that celebrated it today, I think I know why. And I've found two quotes – one from each pope – that put it best.
In Chicago in 1979, Pope John Paul II said: "Let love then build the bridge across our differences and at times our contrasting positions. Let love for each other and love for truth be the answer to polarization, when factions are formed because of differing views in matters that relate to faith or to the priorities for action."
Today at Madison Square Garden, Pope Francis called for "a hope which liberates us from the forces pushing us to isolation and lack of concern for the lives of others, for the life of our city. A hope which frees us from empty 'connections,' from abstract analyses, or sensationalist routines. A hope which is unafraid of involvement, which acts as a leaven wherever we happen to live and work."
We saw some of that love, and that hope in Central Park today. And it seems to me that it would indeed make our lives a lot better if the rest of the planet could emulate that spirit.
