Archdiocese of New York condemns reselling of tickets to see Pope Francis in New York

Carindal Timothy Dolan yesterday condemned the reselling of tickets to see Pope Francis during his Central Park procession on eBay and Craigslist.

Thousands of people won the tickets through a lottery after the Archdiocese of New York, which together with the city administration offered them to the public.

“Tickets for events with Pope Francis are distributed free for a reason — to enable as many New Yorkers as possible, including those of modest means, to be able to participate in the Holy Father’s visit to New York,” said Cardinal Timothy Dolan. “To attempt to resell the tickets and profit from his time in New York goes against everything Pope Francis stands for.”

The cardinal was joined by state Sen. Daniel Squadron, Assembly Member Michael Cusick and U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer to speak on the actions of those trying to gain a profit off the pope’s visit.

After the uproar over the reselling, eBay banned their sale and took the page down. The elected officials are hoping Craigslist and other site who might have them do the same.

“Pope Francis’ visit to the city is a chance for us to reflect on our values, not jump on the Internet to sell devotion to the highest bidder,” said Senator Squadron . “It’s disappointing people would exploit this historic occasion to profiteer, in direct conflict with the message of this spiritual world leader.”

This is another time when tickets to a high profile event are being resold for exorbitant amounts of money.

For the MusiCares MAP Fund benefit concert headlined by Billy Idol and Joan Jett this year, tickets were resold for over $1,250 a piece.

Pope tickets on Craigslist are being sold anywhere from $50 up to $600 for two tickets.