Notations On our World (Special Edition): On the Virtual Road w/the Holy Father as @Pontifex Leaves The United States

It has been one of our greatest honors to have reported on the visit of the Holy Father to the United States as we have been "on the virtual road" with him.    He left the United States earlier tonight after conducting an open mass for an Estimated 1,000,000 People in Philadelphia: The City of Brotherly Love.     Vice President Biden was at The Philadelphia Airport to bid Farewell to the Holy Father as he blessed and noted "God Bless America" on this as reported by one of our go-to sites, +The Guardian : 

Notations For the Week-End: Reflections On the Interfaith Service w/@Pontifex @Ground Zero

Our team has been commenting on the travel of the Holy Father in the United States.   The Holy Father was at the 9/11 Memorial yesterday.   He began by being at the Pool, meeting with the families of the first responders and thereafter walking into the Museum after giving each person a Rosary. 

It was a very moving ceremony that honored the fallen.   It was a ceremony that brought about the best of humanity and how resilient humans are--and how the beauty of faith can overcome hatred.   We could not help but be moved   as Imam Khalid Latif and Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove opened the proceedings with an embrace.     We also were so moved as the Holy Father embraced Imam Latif after the ceremony.     This was just one beautiful scene of many the World was witness to with Rabbi Cosgrove, Imam Latif and the Holy Father:   

Our team caught an interview with a retired New York Fire Department Fire Firefighter, Peter D'Ancona.   He was a Marine For 10 years before joining the Department and was one of the first responders that ran into the building and as Brian Williams of MSNBC noted, "worked the pile".   Members of our team were driven to near tears as he noted how he had never walked through the Museum and remembered his Brother Firefighters who had fallen--some 343 members of them.  We salute them all.

Cantor Azi Schwartz's moving Jewish  Prayer of the Fallen sent shivers down our spine as we listened to it and he ended it with "Shalom" (Peace):  

What the Youth sang that moved the Holy Father moved us all:  




It is a prayer and an aspiration we all aspire to.  Let there peace on what the Holy Father reminded us is our Common Home.

An #Outsider Newsflash (W-End Editoin): Clinton Global Initiative 2015 is Here!!

We have a busy weekend here in #Outsiders as we will be on the "Virtual Run" as we make the "Virtual Rounds" of the Clinton Global Initiative, share comments/updates on The United Nation General Assembly and of course continue to be on the "Virtual Road" with the Holy Father.   

Please note this guidance from the Clinton Global Initatiive on the eve of this mometous weekend:

I can hardly believe it, but tomorrow is the first day of the 11th Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Annual Meeting – our annual gathering where new and returning members from the public, private, and non-profit sectors come together and make commitments to address some of the world's most pressing challenges. In 2005, when President Clinton launched CGI, his goal was to turn ideas about how to improve the world into tangible action. To date, CGI members have answered his call by making more than 3,200 Commitments to Action which have improved the lives of over 430 million people in more than 180 countries.  This year's theme, The Future of Impact, builds on the achievements of CGI members over the past decade and prompts us to expand and replicate proven solutions in the areas that need them the most.  And I hope you can join us. We will be livestreaming this Sunday's Opening Plenary, moderated by President Clinton and Chelsea Clinton, and many other interesting conversations and talks over the course of the meeting.  Click below to receive a reminder to watch our live webcasts, starting with the Opening Plenary on Sunday, September 27.  We've accomplished so much in our first 10 years, and CGI looks forward to continuing to make a difference for many years to come.  Robert Harrison Chief Executive Officer Clinton Global Initiative