His Holiness has arrived! Pope Benedict XVI arrived at JFK Airport this morning (NY1's Roger Clark excitedly noted the flight from DC was shorter than expected) and was greeted by various Catholic Church and political dignitaries. Some children from local Catholic schools presented him flowers.
From JFK, the Pope took a helicopter to Wall Street and then traveled by car to the United Nations, where he is about to address the General Assembly. (You can see it on WNBC.com, CNN.com, and other station's live feeds.)
UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon said before the Pope leaves, he will visit the UN's meditation room. Moon added something along the lines of, "Whether we worship one God or none, we at the United Nations must sustain our faith every day."
Pope Benedict is expected to address world issues, such as, per the AP, "a call for bedrock ethical and moral principles as a guiding force even in pluralistic societies, a human rights agenda that encompasses religious freedom and the sacredness of human life, and the responsibility of first-world nations to aid developing ones."
The Vatican's permanent observer at the U.N. Archbishop Celestino Milgore told reporters last week, "Our future must be based on respect for universal truths and our common humanity."
