Did a conference break out at Pope Francis’s appearance in Philadelphia? A mixed review is here. In addition to the criticisms mentioned, no workshop on adoption. Big miss.
The perspective of family is easy when one is a fertile parent. Or a celibate, I suppose. Not so much when one lacks parents, is housed in a community facility, and is considered “unadoptable” because of racial background, or being of age to speak and walk.
Catholic Sensibility 
Ha! The dotCommonweal crowd doesn’t know what to make of an unabashedly orthodox Catholic gathering. It was sadly humorous in reading the comments.
This Festival of Families seemed strangely anticlimatic. I had pictured something like an International Eucharistic Conference, but from the West Coast it seemed like a bit player in the pope’s schedule.
I live in the nearby diocese. My friends and I were curious about the conference but work, money and other obligations prevented a trip in. And the Pope’s visit probably scared some people away/overshadowed the news about the conference.
Without mention of adoption, one of the singular pro-life, pro-family issues in the world today, this was also an unabashedly incomplete Catholic gathering. PC caution: orthodox = conservative, a church running on one leg.
You made that assertion in the main post and now again in the comments. I went to the registration website and saw, unfortunately, that you were right. On the other hand, there were plenty of presentations that were far from Ozzie and Harriet. The festival looked really good, with the one glaring oversight.
When I was initially considering attending, I was almost certain that adoption was part of the topics being presented. Perhaps they changes at the last minute?