Transcript: Mayor de Blasio Speaks With W-CBS2's Andrea Grymes About The Papal Visit

September 24, 2015

Andrea Grymes: Hey, good morning, Chris. It is here on 72nd Street, just off of Madison Avenue. The police are here, gearing up in terms of security. Mayor de Blasio also here this morning to talk to me a little bit about what this visit means for New York, just a few hours away.

Mayor Bill de Blasio: There’s such excitement. There’s such energy to have Pope Francis with us. He’s an inspiring figure of a type I don’t think we’ve seen hardly ever in world history, certainly in world recent history. So here’s someone who simultaneously unifies and calls us to action. Pope Francis’ voice has been all about our common humanity. He’s worked with people across all faiths, but he’s also said, we have to really get some things right. He’s called us to action on climate change, on helping those who happen to be poor or homeless. He’s talked about inequality and how we address it. I think this Pope is having a global impact across all faiths, all nations. To have him here in the center of the world – as I say – the greatest moral leader on the earth here in the greatest city in the world is a match made in heaven.

Grymes: [Laughs] What do you hope that Pope Francis gets out of his visit here?

Mayor: I think he obviously is looking to understand the United States better. And you cannot understand this great country without coming to its greatest city. And I think he obviously has a special feeling on the question of immigration – the common humanity of all immigrants. So it’s so exciting to me that he wants to go to East Harlem and meet immigrant families and children, and get a perspective on what’s happening here in America. But I think we’re going to get a lot more from his presence – because he’s so inspiring, because he really calls us to work together in a different way. And he’s a figure of such universal appeal – his humility, his decency, his warmth. But at the same time, there’s an urgency to his message – that we have to work together and get some new things done.

Grymes: Mayor Bill de Blasio, thank you so much. We appreciate it.

Mayor: Thank you.