Philadelphia mayor says media scared people from seeing pope
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The mayor of Philadelphia says news reports about security measures that would be in place for Pope Francis’ visit may have deterred people from attending events over the weekend.
Mayor Michael Nutter used an expletive Monday when telling reporters they scared people from attending. He later apologized for what he called his “intemperate remark” and said he expected “a timely and terse” admonishment from his mother.
The pope came to Philadelphia for the Vatican-sponsored conference, the World Meeting of Families. Officials with the conference had estimated that 1.5 million would show up for the pope’s visit.
Nutter didn’t provide any final crowd numbers Monday.
Nutter also blamed a lack of communication between Philadelphia and its neighbors and information that leaked out over the summer before plans were finalized.