Cardinal Timothy Dolan and several New York elected officials condemned people Sunday who are making a quick buck by selling the free tickets for events during the papal visit.
The Archdiocese of New York and the city awarded 40,000 city residents two tickets to view Pope Francis’s motorcade through Central Park, and parishes sent out tickets for his Madison Square Garden mass. However, since Friday, there have been reports of the tickets being sold on sites like eBay and Craig’s List for as much as $200, according to Dolan.
“To attempt to resell the tickets and profit from his time in New York goes against everything Pope Francis stands for,” the cardinal said in a statement.
Dolan joined U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, state Senator Daniel Squadron and state Assemblyman Michael Cusick to find ways to curb the scalping. eBay announced it would take down sale pages for papal tickets, according to Schumer, and he wants other sites to do the same.
“My message to anyone thinking about doing that is to look deep into your heart. If you have a ticket you can’t use, do the right thing and let the office who gave it to you know,” he said in a statement.
Squadron and Cusick both pushed for the passage of a state bill that would prohibit “the practice of reselling tickets for more than their face value for charity or not-for-profit events.”
“Profiting off events during the Papal visit is in direct contradiction to his message of compassion and care for all, and this practice should end immediately,” Cusick said in a statement.
