Mayor de Blasio emerged from a meeting Monday with Timothy Cardinal Dolan gushing about Pope Francis as “the most powerful voice on this earth” on inequality — and expressing hopes for a papal visit.
De Blasio’s 45-minute powwow with Dolan at the cardinal’s residence behind St. Patrick’s Cathedral was his first as mayor.
“We have a common passion and a common wish that we hope that some day Pope Francis will visit our city — which would be an extraordinary blessing for the people of New York City,” said de Blasio, who campaigned on a platform of reducing income inequality.
The mayor, whose mother’s family hails from Italy, was baptized and raised as a Catholic.
He now describes himself as a “spiritual” person who doesn’t practice any single religion — but he’s been effusive in his praise of the pope.
“Like so many people around the world, I have been inspired by Pope Francis’ message. I think he’s the most powerful voice on this earth on how we have to address inequality all over the world and on the dangers of letting inequality grow,” de Blasio said.
“And it’s my fervent hope that at some point, working closely with the cardinal, we’ll have the opportunity to bring Pope Francis to New York City.”
De Blasio and Dolan said they’d found a lot of common ground on issues like affordable housing, the works of Catholic Charities and fighting inequality.
“My predecessors have enjoyed a great working relationship with his predecessors, and we want that history to continue,” said Dolan.
One of the few specific issues both mentioned was the derailed plan to rezone much of Manhattan’s East Midtown — a late-term initiative of ex-Mayor Mike Bloomberg that Dolan supported but de Blasio opposed.
The City Council ended up tabling the proposal — for taller, more modern buildings within a 73-block area around Grand Central Terminal — before Bloomberg’s departure.
“I mentioned to the mayor that that’s one thing I would look forward to working with him on, and would appreciate his interest in,” said Dolan.
De Blasio said his administration is working on putting forward a new proposal.