Officials dismayed as scalpers cash in on New York pope visit tickets

NEW YORK -- New York officials have joined Cardinal Timothy Dolan in condemning the scalping of tickets to see Pope Francis' motorcade during his upcoming visit to New York City.

About 80,000 tickets were dispersed through a city-sponsored lottery system for the pope's Sept. 25 procession through Central Park.

Tickets were being sold on secondary markets such as eBay and Craigslist for thousands of dollars soon after lottery winners were notified.

Dolan, the archbishop of New York, says tickets were free for a reason - to give as many people as possible the chance to participate in the pope's visit, including those with "modest means."

Sen. Daniel Squadron says the ticket scalping is in direct conflict with the spiritual leader's message.

Sen. Chuck Schumer commended eBay's decision to ban pope event tickets.