>> tickets to see pope francis go in seconds. is it all good or is there cause for concern? let's get the inside story. ♪ good morning. i'm tamala edwards. in fact, in the space of time that it took to do that open, that's how fast some of those tickets went. let's introduce you to our panel. first up we've got george burrell, a nonprofit exec. we've got writer christine flowers. we enjoy what you write. ajay raju, attorney. and renee amoore, gop state official. >> good morning. >> it was amazing after watching the septa tickets linger and linger and linger. once they got to these actual tickets for events, they went in seconds. but the question is, did they go to people who really are going to use them or people who saw an opportunity for profit? "a free ticket that i can now resell on ebay or someplace else." what is the message to be taken out of how fast those tickets went -- that this is going to be a blockbuster event or people

who are looking to profit? >> you know, i think that there's a difference between a septa issue. and if there are only gonna be 500,000 people in town, those tickets were going to go quickly. i mean, so the ticket -- but i do think that the city has done -- the convention & visitors bureau, visit philadelphia, and the administration have done a better job over the last several weeks toning down people's sense of how challenging it's going to be to move. it's gonna be challenging. but how challenging it's going to be to move around in the city, and i think they've done a pretty good job of it. and i think the people have discounted the problem. they understand it's going to be difficult, it's gonna be crowded, and they're gonna have to figure out, and there's gonna be some negative behavior that goes on. but i think people are going to be here in big numbers. >> i think george is right. it's the timing of this. at the beginning, the city and septa, there were, you know -- this was like the pope-ocalypse, the pope-ageddon. it was just unbelievable. "how are we gonna get out of the city? how are we gonna get into the city?" but now it's calmed down a bit.

i think both the world meeting of families and the city, you know, and nutter and septa have done a good job in trying to calm the fears of most people. but here you have a once in a lifetime, or for those of us who were here in 1979, twice in a lifetime event with the pope coming to philadelphia. and i think that -- i do think that there were those who wanted to profit by it, going on ebay and selling pope tickets, which there is a special place in hell for people who do that. [ laughter ] literally. >> [ laughs ] >> christine, that may not be very catholic to resell pope tickets, but it's still american. >> hell is not a catholic thing. hell is ecumenical. >> no, it's not. but i will say this -- the message is -- this is not woodstock. the goal is not to sort of set attendance record, but instead there are two important things to remember. first, it's a great opportunity for the faithful, both catholics, as well as non-catholics, who are faithful to engage with probably one of the most dynamic religious leader in the world. second is an opportunity for philadelphia to reassert itself

on the global stage. what most people will remember 20 years from now will not be the logistical nightmares or the communications strife or the gripes, but instead would be the message that pope francis will deliver and the reception that he will receive from our city and its citizens, and i think we're ready for that. >> ajay, renee, i think a lot of people are still, though, for right now, talking about logistics. we learned that there's gonna be a campground in fairmount park right near strawberry mansion. they're going to try to have facilities -- place to get food, go to the bathroom. these people, though, will have to walk two miles down into center city and back through some neighborhoods they may not know, varying different kinds of neighborhoods. and you look at that and you think, "will it be fine," or is that a potential issue? >> listen, it's gonna be fine. that's the bottom line. people want to come here to see the pope. you're absolutely right. that's what they're gonna remember. they're gonna remember what he says. the fbi, the cia, the secret service, everybody is involved. and the city and septa, all these people have come together now as partners. and so now those tickets have sold. they are gone. yes, it's gonna be on ebay, but

they do that at big events all the time. that's human nature. the bottom line, it's gonna be safe. you're gonna have police all over. people should feel comfortable in coming because it's something that they will never be able to do again probably. >> and scalping, if somebody sells water for 10 bucks, that's the way it is? >> they're just gonna have their $10 to buy the water. >> i agree in general with ajay, but i do think we have to be concerned about what the short-term reaction as a destination city, what's gonna be the short-term reaction to this -- to all of this movement. it's one thing to walk one day two miles and back. it's another thing to have to walk two or three days two miles back. >> people will make that decision. people will make that decision if they want to do that or not. >> it's true, but can i -- >> but -- i'm sorry for cutting you -- but they are gonna make that decision, but the question is, from a destination point, what's the criticism going to be and what's the reporting going to be in the short term after the event's over? >> rightfully so, we are focusing on the last two days, which will include the pope's visit. but this is a week-long -- in terms of a philadelphia event,

it's a week-long event, the world meeting of families, which is an international event, which is not like woodstock. these are holy -- these are pilgrims that are coming from around the world. i've been working on the visas. >> i'm sure. >> these people are coming from vietnam, from honduras, from kenya, from places where this man has a message that is so attractive, and i think that we have to understand that in the run-up to the pope coming, it's going to be a joyful celebration, a spiritual celebration, so while there may be some logistical problems and there may be people beefing because there aren't enough pope port-a-potties, i do think that there's gonna be a good tenor set prior to the 26th when he actually sets foot in philly. >> let's talk a little bit about what he will talk about. i know you said you're going to go to the event on independence mall where he will talk about immigration and religious freedom. some people wondering will he talk about the sex abuse scandal.

it is not on the list. he has spoken out in the past, embracing people this past year, setting up a tribunal and a commission. given what's going on in philadelphia, some people think it would be remiss not to talk about. what is your prediction? does he do it? does he go off script and say something, embrace people, talk about it? >> i think pope francis has earned a great reputation for being a champion of the poor, the dispossessed, and the voiceless, and you can't find more dispossessed than voiceless people and the victims of sexual abuse, especially at the hands of the clergy in whose hands they place such faith and trust. so, if the reputation that he's earned is sincere, then i believe he will be inclined and have an obligation to speak up with a most frank and direct way. and for catholics like me, who both celebrate and are proud of pope francis, i hope he does speak up, because i think it's appropriate that he does because that's what he's doing. he's a reformer who's challenging the old notions of what the dogma has been in our church and giving voice to the

voiceless. >> i don't think, though -- i think he'll address this issue in a macro issue. i don't think he's gonna address it in a unique issue with respect to philadelphia. he's not gonna pick a fight with a more conservative diocese that they have here. and the pope is really speaking to the future of the catholic church. he's not speaking to the people who are fixed in their views. they're not gonna change those views -- >> because he's been so outspoken, progressive, and a reformer, his comments will reverberate not only immediate surroundings where he is, but for generations to come. i believe it's his obligation, and i think it's a demand for those of us who admire and celebrate him that he does do it. >> does he talk about those differences that george has pointed out? this week alone, we've talked about annulment, we've talked about abortion. he is in one place. this diocese is in another place. is it kind of like you just don't talk about it, or will they actually talk about it? >> to me, he will talk about it. this is a pope that's -- he doesn't stay on script, okay?

he's gonna say how he feels, whatever the spirit tells him. to me, that's who he is, and that's what he's about, and that's what he's gonna do. >> renee's absolutely right, but it is, in many ways, it's a difference in the background. this is a pastoral man. this is a man who was a parish priest for years, as opposed to john paul and benedict, who were scholar theologians, and they were very careful in what they said and how they spoke. this pope speaks off the cuff, as, you know, renee just said. i do think he's gonna talk about the abuse scandal. there is a rumor that the world meeting of families came to philadelphia because the pope saw that the archdiocese here was decimated by the abuse scandal. but i don't think, as george said, that that's going to be the major focus. we have a refugee crisis that is going on before our very eyes. this pope is intimately involved in that. that's going to be the focus. >> i hope the focus also is poverty. we have one of the deepest poverties among urban cities in the country. i know that is a big topic for

him, as well. >> let's talk about something that touched the archdiocese this week. it came out that if you were applying to a catholic school these days, you will get something that you have to sign. it says six points essentially. catholic education is a privilege, not a right. catholic teaching is paramount to all. and the archbishop here has the final word. now, they said this had nothing to do with everything that went on at waldron mercy, the firing of an administrator who was in a lesbian marriage. do we believe that, or do we think that this absolutely was connected to that back and forth? >> the archdiocese says it wasn't connected. >> that's not what i'm asking. >> i know, i know. i mean, i think all thinking people would have to make that connection. but who cares? it's irrelevant. the catholic church, the archdiocese has the right to have a code of understanding, because if you go to a catholic school, as they said in that code of understanding, catholic school is not just giving you a good moral grounding. it's not just like a secular school that's teaching you how to live a good life.

a catholic school is geared toward teaching you how to live a catholic life, and so parents have to know, kind of like assumption of the risk -- parents have to know what they're getting into when they sign up, when they send their kids to those schools. >> but was this the right time? should they have waited a year, let everything out the main line die down? because people are making this connection at a time when there are a lot of bruised feelings out there. even though the archdiocese didn't have a hand in it, the archbishop came out and said, "well, i kind of agree with what they did." >> you know, that was my alma mater, and i think it's been blown out of proportion, the amount of people who were upset about it. a lot of the people who were upset about it came from outside of the waldron mercy community. >> the first amendment supporter in me believes that the religious institution has every right to require and demand that its employees adhere to the dogma of the institution. having said that, the civil rights supporter in me and the supporter of basic human decency also believes that you cannot fire somebody who's otherwise competent just because of your sexual identity or sexual preference. i think here that's the very

nature of the tension that pope francis that has been outspoken on the progressive side and the conservative church that we have in philadelphia that we're wrestling with. >> there's definitely a connection to me. >> the important question is, how are they going to enforce this? because with all due respect to christine, you know, a significant percentage of the people who sustain the catholic schools are not catholic or have any interest ever in being catholic. there's a place in the african-american community where you had access to a private education in a safe place. these schools now compete with charter schools for their population, and so i think they've got to be careful about how they implement it, whether it's a reaction to waldron or not. if they're not careful about how they implement it, those folks -- and those folks send their people, send their children to the school understanding they're going to get the catholic doctrine, but they're not sending them there for a religious purpose. they're sending them there for an education purpose. >> and that's a great point, george. i had jewish students in my classes. my favorite teacher was my jewish algebra teacher. and so you're absolutely right.

but i don't think this is a loyalty oath or a loyalty pledge. it's simply saying, "listen, we're a catholic school." >> so don't be surprised when we come out in certain places. let's quickly talk a little bit about the state budget. we now have schools that are saying we're feeling the pinch, we're going to reserves, we're taking out loans. quickly, is there any sense that we're on the horizon of a budget, or this is still gonna drag for a while? >> quickly, no. >> no? >> it's gonna drag. let me be clear. not-for-profits haven't just started being hurt. they've been hurting for a long time. i have a not-for-profit. it is very difficult. i'm just blessed to be able to put the finances together. a lot of folks are having to lay off people. you know, a lot of folks are having to close their companies because of that. this is a serious problem. it's very serious. >> litigate your republicans. >> it's not on us. you need to get your governor to get it together. >> okay, this will go on for a while. >> yes, it will. >> interesting piece came out from the dnc trumpeting 35% of our vendors are going to be minorities, and they list this out in this order -- women, people of color, lgbt community.

bruce crawley, who's a well-known businessman, said, "well, i want to see a breakdown of this. like, what are we talking about? is it gonna be a room just full of white women?" yeah, this is a city that has 62% people of color. when you say minority, what is that room going to be like? it seems as though this is a good thing for him to bring up now so that they start to think about that. what can we expect? >> first of all, the rnc -- we had the convention here, and we were very diversed. very diversed. didn't say, "we're just gonna do it. we're gonna make sure the minority speaks." we had people coming in as growth, 'cause i was a part of that. as far as the dnc and stuff, and as far as an african-american businesswoman, what is really diversity? okay, because when i go up against another woman and stuff, how am i gonna fare? >> well, there are 93,000 small businesses in philadelphia of which 1,500 of them are minority owned and 416 of them are women minority owned businesses, so we can start from that at least, that pool of population. women own businesses nationally have increased from 2007 to

2009, same with lgbt owned firms. and if you don't support them and if you don't give them a lifeline, if you don't have at least an affirmative goal of having it set aside of at least an aspirational goal of a certain large chunk of that business going to that constituency, then you've missed the mark before you even got on the starting line. >> family fight of people saying, "susie got more than i did and that's not fair," and rather than getting the credit for it, you've got a fight going on. >> at the end of the day, the republican party sends 1% of their money on an annual basis with minority businesses. the democrat national community spends 3% of their money with minority business. so this is a four-year thing we're gonna do, and the 35% is gonna be my inside story, actually. the 35% is really irrelevant. it's just a function of the numbers. it's a question of what's its impact upon the companies who get the contracts, and historically it's just cash flow. it doesn't create growth.

>> so no matter who gets what, it's not like this is a turnaround issue. >> it doesn't matter. >> all right. well, it does matter that we take a commercial break. we will do that, and we'll come right back to "inside story." >> "inside story" is presented by temple university. temple fuels students with academics and opportunities to take charge. plugged into the city, powered by the world. temple.edu/takecharge. >> important message for residents age 50 to 85.

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>> welcome back to "inside story". now, on one hand, the race for the senate seat in p.a. seems so far away -- next november -- but let's talk primaries a little bit. katie mcginty was out in pittsburgh over the weekend, over labor day, and picked up a number of endorsements. the mayor of pittsburgh, the allegheny county executive, i mean, the list is getting longer and longer. is this adding to the idea that she might, indeed, be steamrolling, that this is not looking good for joe sestak or -- he's the kind of candidate where it doesn't matter how many names she gets on that list, anything can happen. >> i think what's important is that it has given katie mcginty the momentum that she needs to be a credible candidate. now the question becomes -- how much money does that translate into so that she can be able to fund a campaign? what does governor wolf do? what does senator casey do? and ultimately whether there's a democratic primary election for president in pennsylvania next year. if hillary clinton came in as the singular candidate, i think that works for katie mcginty, given her relationship to the

clintons, but i think that sestak -- he's a plotter, so people shouldn't assume he's going to go away. he almost won against toomey a round, so he's going to be in, and he's going to be there, but she does have momentum. >> he is a fighter. sestak is a fighter. he's not going to give up. katie is going around. people are supporting her. you could tell that people always have issues with sestak because they don't like where he's come from. i'm not a democrat so i really don't understand. >> is it enough to get her $8 million? because that's what she's facing if she wins that primary. >> you know i know 'cause we have a lot of money for toomey. >> i'm a big senator toomey fan, and i think he's done great things for the commonwealth. i also like katie mcginty. she's just so likeable. i think if it was a head-to-head contest between senator toomey and katie mcginty, it will be about policy, because it is hard to attack them on -- yeah, because it'll be about policy. it'll be about which world do you agree with -- toomey or mcginty? >> remember in the primary, you were here, you were here, you were here. we were all talking about how great katie mcginty performed. you know, she came in fourth,

and yet -- i mean, that's not a great thing. personality may not make it for you, but -- >> she's smart and just a likeable person. >> she's smart, but the legislators had a hard time with her in harrisburg, as you know. they really did not like katie. let me be real clear about that. i'll put that on the table. >> but does that really matter in a state election? does that tell us anything about her as a candidate, or is that was just a one-off in terms of how she dealt with them? >> i think it matters. >> all right. >> and i think the important question is -- that all of what we said is true and that she's gained the momentum, but she did run fourth, and so the question is can you connect a voter? >> i think it's tough to beat toomey, period. i don't think anybody, really. >> toomey has a done good job on both sides. >> you know, we have to shake our head and hold our head at the same time when we talk about elections in philadelphia. listen to these numbers. $28 million was spent this last mayoral primary, the most ever, and only about a little bit over a quarter of democrats who could have voted came out -- 234,000 out of 806,000. and now it feels as though for months, nobody has really talked about this election. now, it often is this case in the city.

does this feel different to you, though, the fact that it just really feels -- it's after labor day. we haven't really heard anything. >> it almost feels as if the election was the primary. i mean, we talk about this all the time. the democratic primary is pretty much it. and melissa bailey -- >> murray bailey. >> murray bailey is campaigning. she's, you know, a presence out there, and she's a likeable personality, but i mean, even with 25% of the democrats coming out, i don't think anybody here expects to see a republic mayor in november. >> i've spent the last 40 years involved in politics in the city of philadelphia. >> wow. >> and i think the question for me -- >> i'm 32. [ laughter ] >> what does our generation of leaders have to show for the service that we provided? when you get the turnout that you get -- whether it's a democratic city or not, we're talking about the turnout in the democratic primary. we're not talking about the turnout in the general election, and i think even the people who vote vote out of a sense of

obligation, not because they think it makes any difference. there is a frustration with politics and politicians in general in this country. >> in fact, melissa murray bailey -- it was brought to light that she had not voted in three out of the last six possible elections, and when asked about that, she said, "you know, like a lot of people, i just felt that my vote didn't matter, so i didn't do it. and in part, that's why i'm running, because i want to change that feeling." does that, for a candidate, does that -- is that a good turn of p.r. for her to explain that, or does that really hurt her with the public? >> i knew you were coming here. >> well, because you do p.r., does it hurt her when people say you're running, but you didn't even bother three out of a possible six times over the last three years to go vote? >> of course, people are gonna question it just like we are now. people are gonna talk about it, and i think, you know, she was being -- well, she had to be honest because it's public information, but i also think that it's important for her to be out there and do the best she can to bring in other people -- like george is saying, i haven't been doing it 40 years, i'm not that old. but the bottom line is that i think it's so important to reach out to these young folks to

really get them to come out and vote. >> from a p.r. spin standpoint, if i'm the republican party -- >> oh, yeah. >> i would say that the democrat miss bailey has a poor voting record, but the republican miss bailey has a perfect voting record. [ laughter ] >> maybe they should hire you on this, ajay. >> also, they should say that there's a commissioner that has an even worse voting record. let me put that out there. that's all i'm saying. you can use that as a spin, too, thank you very much. >> very quickly, chaka fattah this week came out and he's got a web site you can give money for the next congressional election, but you can also give money towards a defense fund. this is not new. plenty of people have done it, but it still raises questions when somebody does it. is it seemly? is it the right thing to do? how should we look at this? >> vince fumo did it. i mean, everybody who goes through this process -- it's an expensive process. not very many people have a million or so dollars laying around that they can go out and afford -- and private individuals do it. they go to friends, i mean -- so i think it is a difficult

circumstance, but it's the norm in these circumstances. >> it's just the optics are a little weird, you know? >> go ahead. >> either contribute to my campaign or contribute to keep me out of jail it's just -- i mean, the optics of it -- i agree with what george is saying. it's done, but it just doesn't look right. >> all right, well, we will take a short break and come back to our insider's inside stories of the week. let's clear the air.

there are no limits on the amount of carbon pollution power plants can...

release. and our senator, pat toomey, led the fight to keep it that way. carbon pollution, a major cause of climate change, leads to more asthma attacks in children. over a million pennsylvanians now suffer from asthma. and senator toomey took over a million dollars from polluters. tell senator toomey: it's time to clear the air. vote for the clean power plan. >> "inside story" is presented by temple university. temple fuels students with academics and opportunities to take charge. plugged into the city, powered by the world. temple.edu/takecharge. >> welcome back. let's get our insiders' inside stories of the week. george, we'll start with you. >> we talked about diversity in the democratic national convention. we've been doing affirmative-action programs since 1980 in philadelphia with lu blackwell and parren mitchell, united states congress. and after 40 years, african-american women and other minority businesses haven't grown to scale. either there's something wrong

with the businesspeople, or there's something wrong with the program. >> all right. christine? >> tam, a picture speaks more than 1,000 words or 10,000 press conference. the image of a little 3-year-old syrian boy who drowned on the beaches of turkey went viral. and it reminds us that we cannot look away. we looked away in rwanda. we looked away in bosnia. we have looked away consistently. there is a genocide going on. there are refugees that need homes. thank goodness secretary kerry said that we are going to be accepting 10,000 more refugees. it's not enough. we need to look directly at what's happening. >> aylan is his name, and he made me cry. >> yep. >> let's go ajay. >> www. thephiladelphiacitizen.org, a new solutions-based journalism project which we just recently launched with our panelist larry platt as our editor and jeremy nowak as the chairman and connor barwin, the great linebacker for the philadelphia eagles, as one of our reporters. go check it out before you watch connor play on monday night. >> all right.

>> mine is about the pope is coming, as well, i know, but people are concerned about their healthcare, with him being directly across the street from lankenau hospital. i want to give kudos to main line health, their c.e.o., jack lynch, who is really coming together with all entities to make sure that people will have their healthcare, no matter what it might be. so, if you have to go to the hospital, go there. >> all right. that's it for "inside story." thank you for joining us. we'll see you back here next week. i'm tamala edwards. have a great sunday. >> i'm in an nun -- nydia han along with eva pilgrim. >> coming up a sixers legend has passed away. a road is closed after a water main break last night. the countdown to the crown we're live in atlantic city where a new miss america will be named in just a matter of hours. those stories and the accuweather forecast next on

"action news." >> good afternoon, it is

sunday, september 13, rhyme nydia han along with eva pilgrim. >> here's some of the stories we're following on "action news." a investigation is underway in bucks county after a crash left a teenager dead and sent three others to the hospital. friends and family members are remembering a south jersey