appropriate political response to this present moment of history, marked by a technical ability to overcome distances and fran tears, and apparently to overcome all natural limits to the exercise of power. an essential response inasmuch as technological power in the hands of nationalistic, or falsely universalist ideologies is capable of perpetuating tremendous acrosties. i can only reiterate the appreciation in reaffirming the importance which the catholic church attaches to this

institution, and the hope which she places in its activities. the history of this organized community of state represented be the united nations which is presently celebrating its 70th anniversary is one of important common achievements over a period of unusually fast-paced changes. without claiming to be exhaustive we can mention the codification and development of international law, the establishment of international norms regarding human righting, advances in humanitarian law, the resolution of numerous conflicts, operations of peace-keeping and reconciliation

and any number of other accomplishments in every area of international activity and endeavor. all of these achievements are lights which helped to dispel the darkness of the disorder caused by unrestrained ambitions and collective forms of selfishness. certainly many grave problems remain to be resolved, yet it is clear that without all of those interventions on the international level, man kind would not have been able to have survived the unchecked use of its own possibilities. every one of these political,

and technical advances is a path towards obtaining the ideal of human fraternity and a means for its greater realization. so for this reason i pay homage to all of those men and women who's loyalty and self sacrifice have benefited humanity as a whole over these past 70 years. in particular today i would like to recall those who have given their lives for peace and reconciliation among peoples from [ inaudible ] to the many united nations officials at every level who have been killed

in the course of humanitarian missions and missions of peace and reconciliation. the experience of the past 70 years beyond all of these achievements, has made it clear that reform and adaptation to the times is always necessary in the pursuit of the ultimate goal of granting all countries without exception, a sure in and a genuine and equitable influence on decision-making processes. the need for greater equity is especially true in the case of those bodies with affective executive capabilities, such as the security council, the

financial agencies, and the groups or mechanisms which were specifically created to deal with economic crises. this will help to limit every kind of abuse or userry, especially where developing countries are concerned. the international financial agencies should carve for the sustainable development of countries and should ensure that they are not subjective to oppressive lending systems, which -- [ applause ]

>> -- so the international financial agencies should care for the sustainable development of countries and should ensure that they are not subjective to oppressive lending systems, which far from promoting progress, subject people to mechanisms which generate greater poverty, exclusion and dependance. the work of the united nations in the articles of its founding charter, can be seen as the development and promotion of the rule of law based on the realization that justice is an essential condition for achieving the ideal of universal

fraternity. in this context, it is helpful to recall that the limitation of power is an idea implicit in the concept of law itself. to give to each his own, to site the classic definition of justice, means that no human individual or group can consider itself absolute permitted to bypass the dignity and the rights of other individuals or the social groupings.

the effective distribution of power, political, economic, technological, et cetera, among a puralty of subjects and the creation of a juridical system, are one concrete way of limiting power, yet today's world presents us with many false rights and at the same time, brood sectors which are vulnerable victims of power that is badly exercised, the natural environment in the vast ranks of men and women who are excluded, these are sectors closely

interconnected and made increasingly fragile by the dominant political and economic relationsh relationships. that is why their rights must be forcefully confirmed by working to protect the environment and putting an end to exclusion. [ applause ] >> first, it must be stated that a true right of the environment does exist for two reasons. first, because we human beings are part of the environment, we live in communion with it, since the environment itself entailings ethical limits which human activity must acknowledge

and respect. man for all of his remarkable gifts, which are signs of a uniqueness, which transsends the spheres of physics and biology is at the same time a part of these spheres. he possesses a body shape by physical, chemical, and biological elements and can only survive and develop if the ecological environment is favorable. any harm done to the environment, therefore, is harm to humanity. second, because every creature, particularly a living creature, has an intrinsic value. it's existence, its life, it's

beauty and dependance with other creatures. we christians together with the other religions believe the universe is the fruit of a loving decision by the creator, who commits man respectfully to use creation for the good of his fellow man and for the glory of the creator, but he is not authorized to abuse it and much less is he authorized to destroy it. [ applause ] >> in all religions, the environment is a fundamental

good. the misuse and destruction of the environment are also accompanied by a relentless process of exclusion. in effect a selfish and boundless thirst for power and material prosperity leads both to the misuse of available natural resources and to the exclusion of the weak, and the disadvanta disadvantaged, either because they are handicapped or because they lack adequate information and technical expertise, or are incapable of decisive political action.

economic and social exclusion is a complete denial of human fraternity, and a very grave offense against human rights and the environment. and the poorest of those who suffer most from such offenses for three serious reasons. they are cast off by society, forced to live of what is discarded and suffer unjustly from the consequences of the abuse of the environment. these phenomenon are part of today's wide-spread and quietly growing culture of waste. [ applause ]

dramatic reality this whole situation of exclusion equality with its evident effects has lead me in union with the entire christian people and many others, to take stock also of my grave responsibility in this regard. and therefore to speak out together with all of those who are seeking urgently needed and effective solutions. the adoption of the 2030 agenda for -- sustainable development at the world summit, which opens today, is an important sign of

hope. i am similarly confident that the paris conference on climate change will secure fundamental and effective agreements. now, solemn commitments, however, are not enough, even though they are a necessary step towards solutions. the classic definition of justice, which i mentioned earlier contains as one of its essential elements a constant and perpetual will. [ speaking foreign ]

our world demands of all developments leaders a will which is effective, practical, constant, with concrete steps and immediate measures for preserving and improving the natural environment and, thus, putting an end as quickly as possible to the phenomenon of social and economic exclusion. with its painful consequences of human trafficking, the marketing of human organs and tissues, sexual exploitation of boys and girls, slave labor, including prostitution, the drug and weapons trade, terrorism, and international organized crime. [ applause ]

>> such is the magnitude of these situations, and their toll on innocent lives that we must avoid every temptation to fall into a declarationist nominalism. [ applause ] >> which would just aasuede you own consciousness. we need to assure that our institutions are truly effective in the struggle against all of these scourges. the number and complexity of the problems require that we process

technical instruments of verification, but this involves two risks. we can rest content with the bureaucratic exercise of drawing up long lists of good proposals, goals, objectives, and statistic call indicators, or we can think that a single theoretical and priorist solution must be drawn up. it must never be forgotten that political and economic activity is only effective when it is understood as a prudential activity, guided by a perennial

concept of justice, and conscious of the fact that above and beyond our plans and programs, we are dealing with real man and women who live, struggle and suffer and are often forced to live -- [ laughter ] >> -- in great poverty and deprived of all rights. to enable these real men and women to escape from extreme poverty, we must allow them to be dignified agents of their own destiny. integral human development and the full exercise of human -- of dignity, cannot be imposed.

they must be built up and allowed to unfold for each individual, for every family, in communion with others, and in a right relationship with all of those areas in which human social life develops, friends, communities, towns, cities, schools, businesses, unions, provinces and nations. now this proposes the right to education. also for girls, who are excluded in certain places. [ applause ] >> the right to education, which is ensured first and foremost by respecting and reinforcing the primary right of the family to educate its children as well as

the right of churches and social groups to support and assist families in the education of the boys and girls. education conceived in this way, is the basis for the implementation of the 2030 agenda, and for reclaiming the environment. [ applause ] >> at the same time, government leaders must do everything possible to ensure that all can have the minimum spiritual and material means needed to live in dignity, and to create and support family, which is the

primary cell of any social development. in practical terms this absolute minimum has three names, lodging, labor, and land. [ applause ] >> and one spiritual name, spiritual freedom, which includes religious freedom, the right to education, and all other civil rights. [ applause ] >> now for all of this, the simplist and best measure and implementation of the new agenda for development will be effective, practical, and immediate access on the part of

all to essential material and spiritual goods. housing, dignified and properly remunerated employment, adequate food, and drinking water. religious freedom, and more generally, spiritual freedom and education. now these pillars of integral human development have a common foundation, and this is the right to life and more generally what we could call the right to existence of human nature itself. [ applause ] >> the ecological crisis, together with the large-scale

destruction of bio diversity can threaten the very existence of the human species. the painful consequences of an irresponsible mismanagement of the economy guided by the ambition for wealth and power must serve as a summons to a forthright reflection on man. man is not only a freedom which he creates for himself, man does not create himself. his spirit and will, but also natu nature. creation is compromised, where we ourselves have the final word.

the misuse of creation beginning when we no longer recognize any instance above ourselves. when we see nothing else but ourselves. consequently, the defense of the environment and the fight against exclusion, demand that we recognize a moral law written into human nature itself. one which includes the natural difference between man and woman and the absolute respect for life, in all its stages and dimensions. [ applause ] >> without the recognition of certain incontestable natural

ethical limits, and without the immediate implementation of those pillars of integral human development, the ideal of saving, succeeding generations from the scourge of war, and of promoting social progress and better standards of life in large, larger freedom, risks becoming an unattainable illusion or even worse, just idle chatter, which serves as a cover for all kinds of abuse and corruption, or for carrying out an idealogical caolonization of

lifestyles which are alien to people's identity and in the end, are irresponsible. [ applause ] >> war is the negating of all rights and the dramatic assault on the environment. if we want true, integral human development for all, we must work tirelessly to avoid war between nations and between peoples. [ applause ] >> to this end this is a need to

ensure the uncontested rule of law, and tireless recalls to negotiation, mediation, and arbitration as proposed by the charter of the united nations, which constitutes truly a fundamental norm. experience of these 70 years since the founding of the united nations in general, and in particular the experience of those these first 15 years of the third millennium, reveal both the effectiveness of the full application of international norms and the ineffectiveness of their lack of enforcement. when the charter of the united nations is respected and applied with transparency and sincerity

and without ulterior motives as an obligatory reference point of justice, and not as a means for masking spurious intentions, peaceful results will be attained. [ applause ] >> when on the other hand the norm is considered simply as an instrument to be used whenever it proves favorable and then to be avoided when it is not a true pandora's box is opened, releasing uncontrollable forces, which gravely harm defenseless populations. the cultural and even the

biological environment. the preamble in the first article of the charter of the united nations set forth the foundations of the international duritical framework. peace, the solution of disputes and the development of friendly relations between nations. now strongly opposed to such statements and in practice, denying them is the constant tendency to the proliferation of arms. especially weapons of mass destruction, such as nuclear weapons, unethics and the law

based on the threat of mutual destruction and possibly the destruction of all man kind are self contradictory, and represent an affront to the entire framework of the united nations, which would end up as a nation's united by fear and distrust. [ applause ] >> there is urgent need to work for a world free of nuclear weapons in full application, of the non-proliferation treaty in letter and spirit towards the goal of a complete prohibition of these weapons. [ applause ]

>> the recent agreement reached on the nuclear question in a sensitive region of asia and the middle east is proof of the potential of political goodwill and of law exercised can sincerity, patience, and constantsy. i express my hope that this agreement will be lasting, efficacious, and bring forth the desired fruits with the cooperation of all of the parties involved. [ applause ] >> in the sense hard evidence is not lacking of the negative effects of military and political interventions, which are not coordinated between

members of the international community. for this reason, while regretting to have to do so, i must bring you my repeated appeals regarding the painful situation of the entire middle east, north africa, and other african countries, where christians together with other cultural or ethnic groups and even members of the majority religion who have no desire to be caught up in hatred and follie have been forced to witness the destruction of the places of worship, their cultural and religious heritage,

houses and property, and have faced the alternative either for fleeing or paying by their own lives or by enslavement. [ applause ] >> these realities should serve as a grave summons to an examination of conscious on the part of those charged with the conduct of international affairs. and not only in cases of religious or cultural persecution, but in every situation of conflict, as in ukraine, syria, iraq, libya, south sudan, and the great lakes region. real human beings take precedence over partisan interests, however legitimate

the latter may be. in wars and conflicts there are individual persons, our brothers and sisters, men and women, young and old, boys and girls, who weep, suffer, and die. human beings who are easily discarded when our only response is to draw up lists of problems, strategies, and disagreements. as i wrote in my letter to the secretary general of the united nations, on the 9th of august, 2014, the most basic understanding of human dignity compels the international community, particularly through the norms and mechanisms of

international law, to do all that it can to stop and to prevent further systematic violence against ethnic and religious minorities. and to protect innocent peoples. [ applause ] >> along the same lines, i would mention another kind of conflict, which is not always so open, yet is silently killing millions of people. another kind of war experienced by many of our societies as a

result of the narcotics trade. a war, which is taken for granted, drug trafficking is by its very nature accompanied by trafficking in persons, money laundering, the arms trade, child exploitation, and other forms of corruption. a corruption which has penetrated to the different levels of social, political, military, artistic and religious life, and in many cases has given rise to a parallel structure which threatens the credibility of our institutions. [ applause ]

>> i began this speech recalling the visits of my predecessors. and now i would hope that my wores will be taken above all as a continuation of the final words of the address of pope paul vi, spoken almost exactly 50 years ago, but they remain ever timely. and i quote, the hour has come and a pause, a moment of recollection, reflection, even of prayer. it's absolutely needed so we may

think back over our common origin, our history, our common destiny, the appeal to the moral conscious of man has never been as necessary as it is today. for the danger comes knighter from progress nor from science, if these are used well, they can help to solve a great number of the serious problems besetting man kind. among other things, human genius well applied will surely help to meet the great challenges of ecological deterioration and exclusion. and i continue in quoting pope pall vi, the real danger comes from man who has at his disposal ever more powerful instruments that are as well fitted to bring about ruin as they are to achieve lofty contests.

that is what pope paul vi said. the common home of all men must continue to rise on the foundations of a right understanding of universal fraternity, and respect for the sacredness of every human life, of every man, and every woman, the poor, the elderly, children, the infirm, the unborn, the unemployed, the abandoned, and those considered disposable because they are only considered as part of one or other statistic. this common home of all men and women must also be built on the

understanding of a certain sacredness of created nature. now such understanding and respect called for a higher degree of wisdom, one which accepts transcendence and rejects the creation of an all powerful elite, and recognizes that the full meaning of individual collective life is found in the selfless service to others, and in the sage and respectful use of creation for the common good. to repeat the words of pope paul vi, the edifice of modern civillization has to be built on spiritual principals, for they

are the only one capable, not only of supporting it, but also shedding light on it. [ inaudible ] a classic of literature in my -- in my native land sings brothers should stand by each other because this is the first law. keep a true bond between you always at every time, because if you fight amongst yourselves, you'll be devoured by those outside. [ applause ] >> the contemporary world so apparently connected is experiencing a growing and

steady fragmentation which places at risk the foundations of social life, and consequently leads to battles between ourselves to defend our conflicting interests. the present time invites us to give priority to actions which generate new processes in society justify fruit in significant and positive historical events. we cannot permit ourselves to postpone certain agendas for the future. the future demands of us, critical and global decisions in the face of worldwide conflicts which increase the number of the excluded, and those in need. the praise-worthy international

der it call framework of the international organization, and all of its activities, can be improved, yet it remains necessary. at the same time it can be the pledge of a secure and happy future for future generations. and so it will if the representatives of the state can set aside partisan and i dee logical interests, and sincerely strive to serve the common good. i pray to all mighty god that this will be the case, and easy sure you of my support and my prayers and the support and prayers of all of the faithful of the catholic church that this institution, all its member states, and each of its

officials will always render an effective service to man kind, a service respectable -- respectful of diversity and capable of bringing about for the sake of a common good the best in each people and in every individual. [ applause ] >> upon all of you, may god bless you all. [ applause ] >> the papal address to the u.n. general assembly, concluding after 45 minutes with the pope coming full circle to the theme we have heard in recent days about the common good. he now desends from the podium, the lectern there and returns to his seat. some major themes that popped up in this speech that we have heard over and over again. among them, the morality of climate change. i want to head out to john

terrett, who is at the united nations. john what were some of the other highlights of the pope's address. >> well, you know, stephanie in the end this was a very different speech from the one we saw yesterday in the house. yesterday it was in english, it was easier for him to pick sound bielts to be use this was an academic speech spoken from a father who came here to tell the rest of the world his thoughts on how it should move forward in the future. the moment baneky moon approached, right out of the bank he called on financial agencies around not to come up with or allow oppressive kengding for developing nations.

right there he is going after the security council, the international monetary fund, the world bank, and even wall street just on the other side of this island. on the environment, a key theme, we always knew it would be. he said that any harm done to the environment is harm to humanity. he said man kind is not authorized to abuse the environment let alone destroy it. on economic exclusion, such things are a grave offense against human rights, and he called on governments to work hard to end human trafficking, organ trading, the slave trade, drugs and weapons trade, which lead, he said to terrorism, creating a kind of parallel state underneath the legitimate organizations of the world. on the 2030 development goals, which i will remind you the main reason he came to the u.n. because the u.n. is about to

launch 17 [ inaudible ] 169 ambitions to try to improvement development issues in the world by the year 2030, they had some, which they more or less -- it wasn't a bad job, but now they have another set running up through 2030. he said he saw this as an important sign of hope, also referring to the paris conference on climate change coming up in december, and a couple of more key points, stephanie, if i may. regarding the development goals. we talked about the right of education for girls in particular who are often excluded. it's important for people to be able to live in dignity and support their families, in other words lodging, labor, and land. people should have access to housing, water, and food. we talked about avoiding war. he talked about the deal between iran and the five members of the security council plus germany that has recently been signed, and he said it is what can

happen when people come together. and finally regarding the refugee crisis, he called on world leaders that this moment should be a great summons for them, those who were charged with the conduct of international affairs, so as predicted, stephanie, it was a wordy, academic speech, he talked on all of the subjects that we expected, but he offended no one. >> john terrett thank you. i want to bring in miguel diaz, the former use ambassador to the holy see. thank you for joining us. i know you have reviewed these comments that pope francis made. what struck out to you? >> well, this is a classic speech by pope francis and he follows his main themes. once again, three main themes,

rejecting human indifference, the culture of waste, this came up in the speech at several points in terms of a number of ways that we human being, both economically and in other ways have embraced the waste away kind of mentality. number two, big in terms of his central themes the option for the personamerican -- marginali persons and earth, so the impoverished earth. c, is the care of the earth because we are part of this care. he con stanley uses the word instra gral, an integral approach to life, an integral ecology, which means that all life is connected and we must look after all life forms and

defend its dignity and inherent value. and number 3 is the message of mercy. this is his invitation to embrace a culture of encounter, encountering our neighbors, and others. we heard it again and again throughout his u.s. trip. we heard it in congress yesterday in terms of the golden rule, and now we heard it in different ways implicitly and more explicit waits. >> i also noted that there was some no so thinly veiled criticism in the united nations and the way it functions. he talked about you can draw up lists and good proposals or consider the answer to all challenges which is focusing on justice and human rights, and at several points he emailed to mention that although this united nations ideal is a lofty one, the enforcement of the united nations ideal has fallen

by the wayside specifically in the last 15 years, is that the closest we'll get to hearing somebody like pope francis criticize? >> well, it's again, maybe the -- to use criticism with pope francis may be a bit strong, because this is really a pope who prefers to engage, to enter in conversation, invite dialogue, and proclaim mercy. but i think you are right in the sense this is also a pope who is very much into practical solutions and does not want to remain at the level of ideas, so if all we have is a body that creates ideas, but does not actually yield good things for all the people of the earth in terms of inclusion, in terms of just laws, in terms of combatting violence and avoiding peace, clearly the pope is going to say this is not something

that we ought to strive for, we ought to strive to make this body really, really effective, as the international body that deals with various challenges that affect us today. >> ambassador as somebody who has represented the holy see in the past, talk about the significance of this speech and how it compares to other pontiffs who have represented this body. >> sure. let me just clarify, i represent the united states to the holy see. but we saw other popes, and he mentions those at the beginning, and if something were to stand out with this particular pope, is this focus that he has made part of his papacy is the care

of the planet, the care of the earth, because he sees that as something that all of us have to be very mindful and turn our attention not only to protect, not only the planet, but ourselves. and that's when he constantly returns to the theme that our planet is at risk, and all of us are at risk, and especially the poor, the marginalized, the ones who have the least in our nations, those are the ones that suffer the most from the degradation and the kinds of things we're doing to our planet. >> thank you so much for your incite. those live pictures you were looking at, showed the pope continuing to do some photo ops there with the secretary general, and in the background you are hearing the u.n. singers. he is a little bit ahead of

sells -- schedule, but just about five minutes ahead of schedule. we'll then will headed to lower manhattan and the site of the 9/11 memorial and museum. he concluded his address to the u.n. general assembly about ten minutes ago, and i want to bring in patrick hornbeck, we were annotating this speak as we went along. it was a dense text. it was wordy, and it was very different than what we heard from congress. it seemed to me that the big headline out of it, was his view of the environment as a human right, that people have the right to sort of ecological harmony as human beings. >> absolutely. this was a different text than the one we heard yesterday. it was certainly couched in the

language of diplomacy, which is the language of indirection and subtly, but when it came to the environment he went so far as to say a true right of the environment exists, putting the environment on par with civil rights, human rights and all of the other ways that we are used to. i hear we have one bit of that available as a sound bite. let's listen in. >> translator: is the negateion of all rights and a dramatic assault on the environment. if we want true, integral human development for all, we must work tirelessly to avoid war between nations and between peoples. >> yeah, so -- so really as we said, there's a new paradigm in which to look at the environment. he seems conscious of the fact

that in december there is a major treaty conference in paris in which the world is trying to come to agreement once and for all after many of these summits in the past. what are some of the other issues that he addressed? >> the pope clearly connected the environment to war. and let's not lose sight of the historical context. 50 years ago, pope paul vi was the first pope to address the united nations, and he said never again war, never again war. so it has been part of the long-term relationship between the popes and the united nations. pope francis is framing that sense of world peace within this context, the motion that every single piece of the world affects every other piece, so we can't just talk about war, or climate change, or poverty, but

all of these things are somehow all pieces of one puzzle that he sums up in words like sustainability and human dignity. now we have breaking news from washington. speaker john boehner will resign and give up his house speech. mike, now we're hearing we may not hear from speaker boehner, but what else can you tell us? >> reporter: this has been building, and it is significant for many reasons. whether you hate john boehner or love john boehner or indifferent to john boehner, it is significant for this, the future of the republican party as they head into a crucial presidential

election year. no more evidence that you need that the republican party is split. a conservative group has tried on several occasions to mount -- what essentially mounts to a cue among party republicans, to oust who is the senior republican in the nation. he has been in congress since about 1993 if memory serves correctly. he hosted the -- the -- he hosted pope francis yesterday, a devout and lifelong catholic, he himself from an irish catholic family. he is one of 12 children of that family, raised in a very devout family. one of the highlights of his career was yesterday, having pope francis address a joint member of congress. he has been trying for quite

sometime to do that. he had his first grandchild born not recently. he has two daughters. he is basically -- i think what we'll conclude -- and we do not expect to hear from john boehner on camera today. the earliest we expect to here with him is sunday in a live interview he has scheduled. did he jump or was he pushed? my sense is he was tired of it. he didn't need it anymore. the republican conference or caucus, the 240-odd republicans who form the majority in the house of representatives have become ungovernable. there is a shutdown looming. yet another showdown at the end of next week, as the new fiscal year begins. mitch mcconnell his counterpart, has been struggling to bring enough votes together on the republican side to keep the

government open. without the defunding of planned parenthood, that conservatives had insisted upon, this time conservatives look at the presidential trail, they see donald trump and ben carson, and carly fiorina, outsiders leading the pack, they say no reason why they should be going along with the establish republicans who still lead the party in the person of mitch mcconnell and john boehner, and so the revolution, if you will, the coup is gaining steam an open question of whether or not they could have pulled it off, but we have a shutdown looming at the end of the month, john boehner announcing he is going to be resigning effective the end of next month. so the question turns to who is going to take his place, and leading the united states congress as the speaker of the house, and basically stephanie who would want the job at this point. >> yeah, let's get to libby

casey our congressional correspondent. have we heard any reaction yet? >> from capitol hill. >> yeah. i just got this in from nancy pelosi, the minority leader in this the house, quote, this designation as significant as it is, and as seismic for the house, does not undermine or diminish the after glow of the pope's visit yesterday. i think that's the only reaction i have seen so far. and everyone is trying to choice down speaker boehner to see what he is doing. >> we have not heard from him. we probably won't hear from him today. although you really never know, because this is sort of rewriting how things unfold. we did just hear from the top democrat in the house, nancy pelosi, and, you know, she's focused on what is happening next week, which is this looming government shutdown deadline of september 30th.

she said that time will tell how the speaker's resignation will effect those negotiations, and he said this is potentially a distraction to what is happening. these two have worked together for many years. let's take a listen to leader pelosi. >> this resignation as significant as it is, and it's seismic for the house, does not undermine or diminish the after glow of his holiness pope francis's visit to the congress yesterday. >> now leader pelosi is catholic as is speaker boehner, and as we heard mike viqueira say, yesterday was a momentous moment in speaker boehner's life. so the timing is certainly significant. you saw so much emotion on his face. he is known for someone who is

not really able to hide his emotions, and you have to wonder what was going through his head as he heard what the pope talked about in terms of putting aside bickering and getting along. this speaker could have been successfully challenged for his leadership. but it may have just not been worth it to him anymore. he did an interview a couple of weeks ago in which he said garbagemen get used to the smell of garbage, prisoners get used to being prisoners, in reference to trying to lead this caucus, he compared it to basically being a garbageman. and republicans are starting to react and we are catching comments from members of

congress as they walk the halls here. people like representative huls camp who said people were shocked and stunned. paul ryan someone who folks think will eventually rise to ranks in the house, he says we will miss john, i'm confident our conference will elect leaders who are capable of meeting the challenge our nation faces. and marco rubio announced this to a standing ovation, basically saying the time has come to turn the page. republican presidential candidates are some who will be pushing house and senate leadership in the next week to take things to the brink. >> and libby news is moving fast. so i'll just tell you this, that

representative paul ryan who you mentioned as a potential replacement in answer to a question to boehner's stunning resignation, said, no, he will not be running to succeed boehner. an aid to boehner has issued this statement, saying, quote, the speaker's plan was to serve only through the end of last year, leader cantor's loss in his primary changed that calculation. [ overlapping speakers ] >> let me just continue to read this statement for a second. >> pardon me. >> so continue there, libby, remind us of what happened to cantor, and how that affected boehner's ability to resign at the time he wanted to. >> eric cantor who was the number two in the house was primary, he was beat in a shocking turn of events by a

conservative in his own virginia district. that was totally unexpected, and so when the writing was on the wall that -- that he would not be returning to congress; that he would have no -- no future there for the time being, really shook things up, and changed the succession and game plan, so speaker boehner stuck around longer than planned, because he no longer has eric cantor to turn things over to. so the speaker may have hung in there. he has gone through a lot of intention battles in his five years as speaker, including a previous government shutdown fight in which he tried to convince his caucus, let's not do this, and they wanted to do it anyway, lead by people like ted cruz. i'm so sorry to interrupt you earlier, but as fe look at who

might vie to rise, paul ryan has indicated he does not want this job right now, which may be savvy move by him. this is going to be a very tough job. you may see some conservatives try to get into the mix, we're all wondering what kevin mccarthy may do. he is sort of staying mum at the moment. he wouldn't answer reporter's questions as he walked by today about what his intennings are. whoever leads this caucus will have a very challenging -- challenging group of individuals to try to rally together for unity, stephanie. >> another person in the mix of course is the majority steve scalise from louisiana. he just issued a statement, so let me read a portion of that, in response to speaker boehner

resigning, quote, i'm eternally grateful for the leadership he has provided and for the friendship and mentorship he has given me, there is no speaker who has done more to defend life, and defend a conservative gove governing position. joining us by phone is jeanie a professor of campaign management at new york university. your reaction to speaker boehner's announcement? >> hi, stephanie, you know, i heard it, and was absolutely shocked. he had famously wanted for so long the pope to come and speak, and by some accounts yesterday after he left -- after he left the house, he told reporters that he had nothing left to accomplished, and they jokingly meant if that meant he was resigning and he laughed and

didn't respond, and all of that said, to hear that he was resigning now, i -- i was stunned and i think many people in the meeting this morning, the republicans were. the reports are there was stunned silence when he made the announcement. the number two in the house said he learned moments or seconds before the speaker gave the news to the conference, and they said there was a lot of applause, some tears and a lot of stunned silence. i think i join everybody in saying this is a huge moment for the house and a huge moment for republicans and for all of us, not only is he third in line to the presidency, it shows how deeply fractured the republican party is, and how are they going to proceed, not only through a really contentious fight with no obvious successor to the speaker ship, but how are they going to move forward policy wise? what does this do to president obama's last year in office?

there are so many questions to be asked. >> jeanie will you hold on with me for a minute. because i want to get to the other live coverage we are covering, and that is pope francis visit to new york city. and he has arrived to the 9/11 memorial now. he is a little bit ahead of schedule, but this is a really meaningful event that we expect him to be participating in. this is an interfaith prayer service and vigil, he will also be meeting with survivors of 9/11, with first responders, and we see him walking with a large security detail, as well as his papal entourage. let me bring in patrick hornbeck for a quick analysis. i apologize we're pin ponging between a lot of stories, but

this is an important moment. the pope specific requested to visit what was ground zero. >> absolutely. and we're told the pope will spending quite a bit of time in the museums afterwards. it is a meeting of different religious leaders, each of whom will pray in their own way. we may remember the last time a pope was in the u.s., the only other papal visit after the tragedies of 9/11. pope ben -- benedict 16 visited. >> you can see him speaking to a police officer in a wheelchair. we can only imagine why. but that is something we have seen consistently with this pope

that he makes time for those that have been physically or mentally incapacitated. and now we see him approaching the 9/11 memorial. this is one of two fountains where the two twin towers stood. and let's just take a moment to absorb this.

>> pope francis you see there praying at the 9/11 memorial. etched on the sides of where he is, are the names of all of the 3,000 people that died on 9/11. there are family members of victims thatre among the people receiving the pope here. and then this moment, putting a flower. and we expect also a note as well. so what we expect to follow

after this, he meets again with family members and first responders. he eventually will make his way underground to the 9/11 museum. but right now you see him greeting former new york mayor, michael bloomberg. >> patrick what other comments do you have about seeing this moment. pope benedict visited 9/11 memorial when he visited. >> absolute lit. pope francis is going to use literally the same words of pope benedict when benedict was here in 2008. this pope is one who spends time with people. we don't know if we'll be able to see publicly or not this meeting with the families of those who lost their lives on

9/11. certainly if he keeps to the pattern that he has established, he'll spend even more time with them. but i want to go back to this moment of him praying at the reflecting pool. we like to think of him as someone who has a message. fundamentally this pope is a man of prayer. he saw him pause for maybe 30 seconds. maybe a minute, calling to mind before god these folks who lost their lives and the situation that came about on that very, very terrible day. it has been interesting, throughout the trip we have seen the pope pause for moments of prayer. often before the most significant events. whether that be in the cathed l cathedral, or last night, he has been a priest for over 40 years.

he is someone who prays as part of his being. and at a moment like this, i think it's only natural for him to go back to that place of prayer that is such a comfort and solace for him and so many people all over the world. >> if you look at the agenda, just an hour and a half ago he was delivering a major address to the united nations general assembly, and throughout his schedule we see this dichotomy of the big political and then this, the more spiritual side of the pope, the pope as pastor. >> absolutely. it has gone back and forth. each day we have seen a major address. whether it be with the president, the congress, the u.n., followed by those -- as jesus said the least among us. yesterday with the homeless at catholic charities in d.c.

as said goes on, he's going to go even further out to the frontiers, taking the church out of itself and going to visit a school in harlem, our lady queen of angels, and then go through central park and greet ordinary new yorkers. 40,000 tickets were given out. and he is going to be leading an event in a few moments. the vatican has been making it very clear it is not a prayer service, and that's because there is quite a controversial and interesting history about the hope praying with people who are not catholic. conservatives in the vatican are concerned when the pope puts himself in a situation that might put catholicism on par with other religions. when pope john paul ii lead the

first service, the vatican wanted to make it very clear that the vatican did not believe all religions are equal. and if you are an orthodox christian, protestant, or buddhist, the notion that you would allow the pope, you know who is not your leader to lead you, can also be difficult. the pope was rather indirect in some of the criticisms that he offered at the united nations. here at ground zero a space hollowed by people of all religions and of course of no religion, the pope is being very careful not to give offense, because he wants his attention to be focused on those who lost their lives and what the world community needs to do to bring about peace. >> this is a very intimate moment we're watching. i saw the previous family show him some type of photo.

i don't know what that photo was. i can guess that it might have been a photo of a victim. >> absolutely. >> because we do know he is greeting ten, 9/11 families here. you can see his translator by his side, and they are talking and having conversations. the fellow on the right has some sort of token or gift he is also destowing on his families. he is, if you are just joining us at the site of the 9/11 memorial. where the twin towers once stood. the worst attack on this country on u.s. soil, and he insisted that he be here for this event. as we see the pope greet and talk to these people. patrick has been talking about the interreligious faith ceremony that we expect to follow. how has this pope been in sort

of ecumism, as you call it? >> absolutely. last night he began his remarks by offering good wishes to the muslim community during the holiday of eid today, but also condolences for this absolute tragedy that took place yesterday at the hajj in saudi arabia. for a pope to acknowledge that suffering of the muslim community in the context of a christian prayer service is something that i think many of us welcomed. we're so used to hearing signs of encouragement from this pope towards jews and muslims and others, that it wasn't that long ago where the catholic church officially was a little ambiguous on whether people of other faiths could be saved,

could make it into heaven. this pope has been very close to the jewish community for most of his life. there is a rabbi from argentina who went with the pope to jerusalem and palestine when he travelled there about a year ago. and he also brought with him on that trip an iman. so certainly someone who is doing a great deal of pastoral outreach, just as we see him here at the 9/11 site, spending time, not just a few seconds, but a decent amount of time, a minute, a few minutes with each of these families. giving them what appears to be a rosy which he has blessed and gives them to take away with them. >> he did mention the wars in the middle east, and the iraq

war started here on 9/11, when the bush administration decided to invade iraq, and we now know it was false intelligence that lead to that war, but a lot of the fallout we have seen people blame on that war, so there is a narrative thread, and also just the point that so many people of different faiths and nationalities died in this spot at the world trade center complex. so what we are watching now is it looks like the pope is continuing to greet those that have come. there is new york city mayor, cardinal dolen, the governor of new york, i believe, and so you have, sort of the dignitaries of new york city all gathered around this very symbolic spot of hurt but also healing for

this city. continuing on, you know, the conversation about some of the major themes that the pope has addressed today, you know, there was an interesting moment during his u.n. general assembly where he referred to girl's education. you and i have talked about the pope not quite having a handle on women's issues. i just want to play a sound bite from that. >> >> translator: -- the right to education, also for girls who are excluded in certain places. [ applause ] >> translator: the right to education which is ensured first and foremost by respecting and reinforcing the primary right of the family to educate its children. >> and there you saw a cut-away of mall la la yousafzai, the

pakistani schoolgirl who was shot in the face by the taliban. we didn't know she was going to be there, but there she was. the pope had other comments as well about women, and their place in the world, some of which were confusing to me. >> stephanie, the pope -- many times people think of the pope as a progressive, in many ways that is because he doesn't talk about sex issues like his predecessor did. but he said at one point that, quote, we must recognize a moral law written into human nature itself, one which includes the natural difference between a man and woman. >> what does that mean? just stop there? what does that mean the natural difference between man and woman? >> so we might think about this as vatican code language. what he is alluding to is a

notion of pope john paul ii, in which pope john paul ii referred to what he called the theology of the body, the notion that god created human bodies, male and female, we read that in the book of genesis, and that god also designated certain roles for men and women. and pope john paul ii was criticized by many phenomenon -- feminists. john paul ii referred to what he called the feminine spirit, referring to the notion that there are certain things that women do better than men. modern day feminists, activists in the lbgt movement, people who want to push back on that -- >> would find that offensive.

>> yes, but he talks about the natural difference between man and woman, and goes on to absolute respect for life in all of its states and dimensions, a reference to abortion. so this is a pope who accepts those traditional teachings of the catholic church. when he is asked about them, he says i am a son of the church, i believe what the church teaches. bare in mind that was one sentence out of a very long address. >> but it matters, doesn't it, because when you talk about women's bodies and the differences, you also talking to developing countries where the issue of contraception has come up, where in the philippines they want to make contraceptives more available, and the vatican continues to resist that, because doctrinely, the church is the same on contraception as it always has been. >> absolutely.

the vatican opposed moves at the u.n. to pass ordinances regarding lbgt folks. >> some people might criticize in the sense that some has said he has focused so much on poverty, and yet when you talk about contraception, you are talking about how do we reign in poverty? we want to go back to the 9/11 memorial site where our correspondent bisi onile-ere is. tell us what you are seeing and what the tone is. >> reporter: down on the street i can hear quite a lot of applause. a lot of people waiting for the pope's arrival here at the 9/11 memorial. when he comes here, he'll be meeting with survivors as well as the families of victims who passed away 14 years ago.

he'll also be meeting with first responders who were called to duty that faithful day. during his papacy he has stressed the importance of preserving the memory of those who have passed. and his visit here is very, very significant to so many people, because many are hoping that it brings a sense of hope and also healing to people who are still suffering from what happened that day. stephanie? >> what page are we on? bisi tell me why the pope has decided as one of his events to hold an interfaith service. >> yeah, the interfaith service will be taking place shortly after the pope's arrival, and it's really the pope's way of focusing and trying to bring religious groups from all over the world together and united, those -- many of these religious

backgrounds have people who have been divided for quite sometime. this service is titled a witness to peace, involves as i mentioned religious faiths from all over, jews, muslims, and buddhists will all be involved. we all know that this is a very popular pope, that he has a way with people. a pastor went into detail on why this pope is so popular. >> the pope is a moral leader, and people whether that are catholic or non-catholic, even non-believers, that the pope speaks a message that transcends any kind of denominational belief. he speaks to the aspirations of

the human spirit. >> reporter: we have been here hearing it over and over again that many are able to connect with pope francis. as i mentioned he is expected here any minute now, and we will follow up with you shortly, stephanie. >> all right. bisi onile-ere live for us there at the 9/11 memorial. bisi thank you. i want to bring back patrick hornbeck. patrick, we have talked a little bit about, you know, the different faiths that have been brought together by this pope. that's something we have seen with prior pontiffs as well. what is his credibility like with other religious leaders? >> this pope has gone out of his way to build relationships with many leaders. the one he has been closest to

is the leader of the 300 million greek orthodox christians around the world. they were together in jerusalem about a year and a half ago. they refer to each other as beloved brothers. the greek and latin orthodox churches split. that still remains a wound, but they have done a lot of work together. he has brought jewish and muslim leaders with him. when he went to jerusalem he brought with him an old friend, a rabbi as well as an iman. this pope has been very warmly received by other religious leaders. he spent more time with other

leaderings, than with eastern religious leaders, like hindus or buddhists. this pope has found in the evangelical movement a great deal of enthusiasm. we know a substantial minority of christians in this country have found a lot in common with this pope. >> patrick thank you. i want to go back to our live pictures now. this is foundation hall, and what you see there is the slurry wall. this is a massive remnant of the original world trade center. you can see that the audience is seated and waiting for him on

that stage. we're going to take a quick break here and continue our live coverage of pope francis's visit to the united states. ♪

>> okay. patrick tell us what we're looking at. >> this is an interreligious event that is happening inside the 9/11 museum. we just heard play the song -- a traditional american song that was also played at the canonization, a quaker song called "simple gifts," and he is

sample, humble man. we have just watched him for maybe 20 minutes, greeting the families of 9/11, first responders, families of those who lost their lives on that day. and we know that this pope specifically requested to take time to visit the museum that is there, and that we know as the day goes on, he may spend quite a bit of time in the museum, learning a little bit more about those events that rocked our city almost 15 years ago. >> some of the guests that he is greeting on stage there, including the executive director and chaplain of the islamic center at new york university, a greek orthodox, hindu, buddhist,

and sikh religious leaders, and you're hearing cardinal dolen introducing pope francis. we said before the break that behind him in the backdrop is the slurry wall which is part of the original world trade center. let's just listen in for a bit. [ applause ] >> now i can tell you pappa francesca, we in new york are sinners. we are sinners. we have many flaws. we make many mistakes, but one of the things we do very well is sincere and fruitful interreligious friendship.

our ancestors came here for religious freedom, and they found in new york city an atmosphere of respect and appreciation for religious diversity about which you just spoke at the united nations. we who have the honor of pastoring our people, we work together, we pray together, we meet together, we talk to one another, and we try to serve as one the city we are proud to call our earthly home, while awaiting our true and - -- eternal residence in heaven. your prayer and presence and wores this morning inspire us, so thank you for being here. [ applause ]

>> these are live pictures from this multi-faith event taking place in the 9/11 museum. i want to get some incites here. joining us is rabbi jason miller, and iman [ inaudible ]. thank you gentlemen both for being with us. rabbi miller let me start with you. what role can pope francis play in united people from different religious backgrounds, and how has he made an impact already? >> i think this pope is great at doing that. he is clearly a uniter. in a jewish community we consider him to be a wonderful gentlemen. we consider him to be a true role model of religious tolerance, of unity, and we believe it's important to look at the things that unite us. the things that we can agree

upon. he has done tremendous work when it comes to the role of religious leadership with homelessness, with those who are hungry, with those who are in need, and i think i believe we need to accent wait the positive, rather than dwell on what divides us. >> thank you. iman what about you, what impact has pope francis been to you as either a moral or a religious figure? >> you know, from the very first moment when he became the pope, he gave me hope. the very name francis, those were of history know that st. francis is the one known for the prayer for peace. so since he became the pope, he became a begone of hope, a beacon of dialogue, and a moral voice for the poor, a moral

voice for peace and justice, a moral voice for our environment, for our mother earth, and for me i look up to him, and so many muslim leaders around the world see in him the voice we needed to hear not only within islam, but also within the catholic church, christianity and around the world. this is a pope that showed us how religion can become relevant, and how religion could make a difference when understood in the right way. >> rabbi miller, the pope talked about in the u.n. general assembly how religions, are being attacked, do you feel like religion in general is under attack in a way it hasn't been, at least in a long time. >> i wouldn't say religion is under attack. i think that's a drastic

statement. i think the believers of the world need to unite, we need to see the strengths and harmony, and we need to be strong against the role of evil in this world. i stand firmly with this pope against terrorism and violence. i believe he is a beacon of hope in this world. it's a world that i am very optimistic about in terms of the future, the future for my children and grandchildren. i'm living in a time when jews and christians, specifically catholics have had grade reallay shunships. it has been 50 years since vatican two, which means we have enjoyed partnership. we find a common ground. we try to agree on things. the things we don't agree on, we try to work around, and again, we focus on what it means to be

coreligionists, in a world that needs faith and hope in our effort towards peace. >> iman i want to get your comment on the fact that pope francis decided to speak and hold this interreligious event at what was ground zero. at the 9/11 memorial museum. how did faith help to heal this city following the attacks? >> you know, faith is what faith does. and religion, is what religion does. religion has done wonderful work in the world. faith has done wonders in the world that we need to celebrate. and at the same time it is some people who have followed different religions who decided to use religion for their own political agendas. so it is what we make of religion and faith that really

matters. in this case, i stand with the pope, united with jews, christians, muslims, buddhists, hin hindus, every religious community, we speak against violence. violence has no name. violence has no name, and terrorism has no religion. we speak against all forms of violence in the name of every religion, believing that religion has to be used and mobilized to unite us to do good to unite us to become a voice for those who have lost voice, and therefore for me having him standing up in new york, he's not only speaking for the catholic church, he is also speaking for me as a muslim. and i say that because people say islam was behind the attacks of september 11th. i say it is not islam. it's rather extreme group of

terrorists. >> iman hindi, i apologize to have to put you off there, but pope francis is reading, we do want to listen in now. >> yes, your are goodness to give eternal life and peace to all who died here, the heroic responders, our firefighters, our police officers, emergency service workers, port authority personnel, with all the innocent men and women who are victims of this tragedy simply because they work or service them here on

september 11th. we ask you for your compassion to bring healing to those who because of their presence here 14 years ago continue to suffer from injuries and illness. heel to the pain of the families who lost loved ones in this tragedy. give them strength to continue their lives with courage and hope. we are mindful as well of those who suffered death, injury, and loss on the same day

[ inaudible ]. our hearts with one with theirs, as our prayer embrace their pain and suffering. out of peace, bring your peace to our violent world. peace in the hearts of all men and women, and peace among the nations of the heart. turn to your way of love those whose hearts and minds are consumed with hatred and justify killing in the name of religion.

god of understanding, [ inaudible ] by the managers of this tragedy, we seek your light and guidance as we confront such terrible heavens, grant [ inaudible ] who's lives were spared my live so that the lives lost here may not have been lost in vane. comfort and console us, and give us the wisdom and courage to walk tirelessly our world for true peace and love in the nations and in the hearts of all.

>> announcer: ladies and gentlemen, kindly take your seats. ♪ >> so we are continuing to hear different leaders of the faith community. this clearly a representative of the hindu faith, and they are all giving prayers at this interreligious ceremony that we are seeing. this is at the 9/11 museum, the pope just read a prayer. >> the pope just read a prayer that we believe was written by his predecessor.

the pope wanted to use the same words to signify the solidarity of the catholic leadership. what is going on right now is there's a series of prayers from the different religions. the vatican is describing this as an interreligious encounter. the pope has been referring for the need for encounter and dialogue between people. he may come back to some remarks, but he talks about a personal sort of engagement, not an engagement at the level of doctorate, where the religions fight about how many gods there are. but encounter for this pope means getting to know people in their concreteness, so it's no surprise that he has asked to spending a significant amount of

time, not just in this interreligious encounter, but in meeting with the victims, the families of 9/11, spending time in the memorial museum as well. we'll see a series of different religious leaders here. >> what is the common thread among these leaders, i guess you could say peace? >> absolutely. peace and the majority of the world's great religions have some version of the golden rule, do unto others as you would have want them to do unto you. and people taking care of each other. and i think we'll see that here. >> let's listen in for a little

bit. >> -- may all beings be happy and secure. may all beings have happy mines, peace. [ bell rings ] ♪ [ speaking foreign ] >> translator: god judges us according to our deeds, not the

coat that we wear; that truth is above everything, and the highest deed is truthful living know that we attain god when we love, and only that victory endures, in consequence of which no one is defeated. [ bell rings ] ♪ >> the reading is from the original greek text of the gospel according to matthew. [ speaking foreign ]

>> translator: blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs the kingdom of heaven. blessed are those who mourn, for

they shall be comforted. blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see god. blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of god. blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. [ bell rings ] ♪

[ singing in foreign language ] >> oh, alah, you are peace, and all peace is to you, and all peace returns to you. ♪

>> grant us to live with the salutation of peace and lead us to your abode of peace. you are blessed, our lord, the exalted, oh owner of magnificence and honor. [ bell rings ] >> announcer: ladies and gentlemen, please stand for a prayer for the fallen.

[ singing in foreign language ]

[ singing in foreign language ]

>> let's check in with our correspondent bisi onile-ere at the 9/11 museum. bisi tell us what we have been seeing and what else is going on there at the memorial? >> reporter: well, shortly -- a short time ago we heard from a number of different religious leaders from very diverse backgrounds and for a moment there, the pope did take the stand. he offered his blessings and a prayer to those still afflicted by the events that happened on september 11th. we are expecting to hear from the pope in full length pretty soon, stephanie. >> bisi why did the pope ultimately choose to hold an interfaith ceremony at the 9/11

memorial? >> reporter: well, the pope is very big on interfaith initiatives that have spanned decades. he is really focused today at this event here, because he really has a passion for preserving the lives for those who have passed, and we really wants to see all of these faiths come together and become united because there has been so much division over many, many years. stephanie? >> as we look at these live pictures stay with me bisi. what we just heard was a prayer in honor of the deceased. we expect pope francis will be neck up at the podium and make comments. how does the pope believe the world can united states people of different faiths. >> reporter: i believe events like this one is showing it's a start. he is able to come here at 9/11. a place that strikes a lot of

sad emotions and anger through a lot of people, so for him to come here and get all of these different religions, different backgrounds together shows that there is hope that there possibly one day can be a unified front among everyone, stephanie. >> okay. bisi onile-ere reporting live for us. let's go back to the event, pope francis approaching the podium, and will make remarks. >> dear friends, excuse myself for not speaking in english. i cannot. [ laughter ]

>> translator: i have many different feelings. i am moved. by being here at ground zero. where thousands of lives were taken in a senseless act of violence and destruction. you can feel the pain here, it's palpable. the water that we see running towards the empty center reminds us of all of these lives who left under the power of those who believed that destruction is the only way to solve conflicts. that silent cry of those who suffered in their own skin and logical silence of hate, of

revenge. the logic that could only cause pain and suffering, destruction and tears. water falling also symbolizes our tears. the tears shed for destruction of yesterday, who are joined by so much destruction today. this is a place where we cry. we cry the pain that the powerlessness makes us feel when we see injustice krit sighs the

ability to solve a different [ inaudible ] through dialogue. this place -- in this place, we cry the unjust, death of the innocent because we were not able to find solutions for the common good. it is water that reminds us yesterday's tears and today's te tears. a few minutes ago, i met some families of the first responder that fell while performing a service, and in this meeting, i once again was able to see how destruction is never impersonal. it's never abstract.

it's not about things. above all destruction has a face and has a history. it is specific. it has names. the family members show us the face of pain, pain that leaves us speechless, but that screams to heaven. but at the same time they were able to show me the other face of this attack, the other side of their pain. the power of love and remembrance, the memory that does not leave us empty on behalf of so many loved ones. these names are written here in

the bases of these towers, so we can see them and touch them, and we will never forget them. among this pain, we can also feel the capacity of heroic goodness that the human being is also capable of, the hid enforce that we must always appeal to. at times of greatest pain and suffering, you were witness, the greatest acts of giving of yourselves and help, a stretched out hand, lives were given in this metropolis that may seem

impersonal, anonymous, and people were able to show the powerful solidarity of mutual help, of love and self sacrifice. at that time it wasn't about blood or origin or neighborhood or religion or political views. it was a matter of solidarity. emergency brotherhood. it was a matter of humanity. new york firemen and women came into the towers that were crumbling without much thinking about their own lives. many fell. in their duty and with their

sacrifi sacrifice, they allowed for so many others to survive. this place of death also is transformed in a place for life, saved lives, a song that leads us to affirm that life will always triumph over the profits of destruction, over death, and good will always win over bad reconciliation and unity will prevail over hate and division. in this place of pain and remembrance, i am fulll of hope

because of the opportunity of joining the leaders representing so many religions that enrich the life of this great city. i hope our presence here sends a powerful sign of our wish to share and reaffirm the wish to be the forces of reconciliation, forces of peace, of justice in this community and throughout the whole world. in differences and discrepancies, it is possible to live in the world of peace. in the face of any attempt to make us all similar, it is

possible, and it is necessary to meet together with our different tongues, different cultures, religions, and raise our voice against anyone who would like to prevent that, because together today we have been invited to say no to any attempt to make us all the same and to say yes to our differences, accepting a conciliation. for this, we need to throw away these feelings of hate and revenge, and we know this is only possible through a gift of heaven here in this place of

remembrance. each one of us in their way, but togeth together. i propose a moment of silence and prayer. let us ask of the lord the gift of joining the case of peace. peace in our homes, in our families, in our schools, in our communities. peace in all of the places in which war seems to be endless. peace in the faces of the people who have only seen pain. peace in this wide world that

god has given us as our home -- as a home for our souls and for all, only peace. let us pray in silence. in this way, the life of those

we love will not be alive, they will be forgotten, but it will be present each time we try to be the profits of construction and reconciliation, the profits of peace. >> popfrancis concluding his solemn and poignant remarks here at the 9/11 memorial museum and taking a seat here. i want to bring in patrick hornbeck the chair of theology at fordham university. dare i say this is a humanist pope. we heard him talk about the human acknowledgment of the causing of suffering, and what we saw on 9/11 were the

sacrifices of humans for humans. no mention of a higher power. >> absolutely. he is talking here in a way that is appropriate for an interreligious event. we were speaking about how difficult it can be for a pope, to speak at an event where all religions are represented. we are now hearing a song called "let there be peace." >> yeah, let's listen to this. this is the young people's chorus of new york. ♪

>> let there be peace of earth, and that is how this interfate ceremony is concluding at the 9/11 memorial museum. i want to bring in patrick hornbeck on this event. there is sort of this logical ark in him ending the visit -- at least until this afternoon at the 9/11 memorial

museum. he talked about the wars in the world, and he talks about peace, and there is this poetry in him being there. >> it was a beautiful speech he just made. one line really stood out to me. this place of death became a place of life, a hymn to the triumph of life. we just heard that beautiful choir sing, celebrate, and reflect. it has been a really, really beautiful morning with the moment. >> patrick hornbeck thank you so much. we'll continue our coverage throughout the day, but we want to get to the white house. and mike viqueira is out there standing by, the president seeing with xi jinping. >> reporter: they have been meeting this morning, and this is an official state visit,

really meant as a gesture of frie friendsh friendship. there has been a great deal of controversy, stephanie, nobody needs to be reminded about the cyber breaches, many attributed to china, although these administration has been careful not to name them publicly, privately so much reticent. the office of personnel management here in the united states, and just this week hearing the fingerprints of federal employees may have been involved in that breach as well. there are other security breaches on the table here, a borderline crisis, really, in the south china sea, as china continues to build up a military base on a reef in the south china sea that is a hot spot as it is in the east china sea with

the japanese. so a number of issues on the table here, among them -- and we are expected to get an announcement at this press conference, about new climate change goals. the last time these two leaders met, the chinese made a commitment to reduce their carbon emissions. we expect an announcement by china on a cap and trade plan that they were expected to unveil, and that is going to be greeted with praise by president obama. there's no question about it whatsoever. you may be able to hear through my microphone, i'm going to look through the fence, competing groups, some who are supporting president xi, and others with tibet an flags, so competing protests here. a lot of emotion around this visit as these two leaders now prepare to meet the press in the rose garden of the white house.

>> yes, and let's just listen in. >> announcer: president of the people's republic of china. >> good afternoon, everybody, please have a seat. i want to once again welcome president xi back to the white house. we first hosted him here three years ago when he was vice president, so this is our sixth meeting. as a result of our efforts our two nations are working together more closely across a broader range of critical issues, and our cooperation is differing results. since i took office american exports to china have nearly doubled. chinese investment in the united states helps support jobs across our country. we partner to address global challenges, whether it's

promoting nuclear security, combatting piracy off of the horn of africa, reconciliation in afghanistan, and helping to end the ebola epidemic ine west africa. and as a member of the p5-plus-1, china was critical to both the sanctions regime that brought iran to the negotiating table, and to the talks that produced the comprehensive deal that prevent iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. greater prosperity and greater security. that's what our cooperation can deliver. and that's why i want to say again, the united states welcomes the rise of a china that is peaceful, stable, prosperous, and a responsible player in global affairs, and i'm committed to expanding our cooperation even as we address

disagreements candidly and constructively. that's what president xi and i have done during this visit. first with respect to our economic relationship, we agreed to step up our work towards a bilateral investment treaty, we have committed ourselves to a set of principals for trade and information technologies, including protection of innovation and inth intellectual property. president xi discussed his commitment to accelerate market reforms, avoid devaluing china's currency, and have china play a greater role in the global economy, all of which are steps we very much support. i raised our very serious concerns about growing cyber threats to american companies and american citizens. i indicated that it it has to stop. the united states government does not engage in cyber

economic espionage for commercial gain, and today i can announce that our two countries have reached a common understanding on the way forward. we have agreed that neither the u.s. nor the u.s. government will conduct or knowingly support cyber threat of international monetary fund property including trade secrets or other information. in addition we'll work together and with other nations to promote international rules of the road for appropriate conduct in cyberspace. so this is progress, but i have to insist that our work is not yet done. i believe we can expand our cooperation in this area, even as the united states will continue to use all of the tools at our disposal to protect american companies, citizens, and interests. second, i'm pleased that we're building on last year's climate commitments. last month i issued our clean power plan to help reduce america's carbon emissions. today i want to come mend china

for announcing that it will begin a national market-based cap and trade system to limit emissions. last year i announced our pledge of $3 billion to the green climate fund to help developing nations deal with climate change, today i welcome china's commitment of finance for the most vulnerable countries as well. we're putting for our common vision for the ambitious climate change visions that we seek in paris. when the world's two largest economies come together like this, then there's no reason for other countries whether developed or developing to not do so as well, so this is another major step towards the global agreement the world needs to reach in two month's time. third, with respect to security in the asia pacific, we agreed to new channels of communication to reduce the risk of miscalculations between our mill tears.

the united states and china have reaffirmed our commitment to the denuclear risation of the peninsula in a peaceful manner. we demand the implementation of the u.n. we had discussions on the east and south china seas, and i reiterated the right of all countries to freedom of commerce. as such i indicated the united states will continue to fly and sail anywhere that international allows. i conveyed our concerns of militarization of areas. and i encouraged a resolution between claimants in these areas. we are not a claimant, we just want to make sure that the rules of the road are upheld.

i reiterated my strong commitment as well to our one china policy, based on the three joint communiques and the taiwan relations act. fourth we have agreed to do more to promote international security. at the united nations in the coming days the u.s. and china will bring countries together to promote development in afghanistan and work with our partners to strengthen international peace keeping. we believe all parties including iran need to implement the nuclear deal and security council resolutions need to be enforced. the u.s. and china will also partn partner on in addition development. disaster response, agricultural development and food security, and given china's success in lifting hundreds of millions of people out of poverty which is one of the most remarkable achievements in human history,

we'll help rally the world this weekend, including our goal to end extreme poverty. fifth we had a frank discussion about human righting as we have in the fast, and i affirms america's unwavering support for the rights of all people including freedom of assembly and expreks, freedom of the press, and freedom of religion, and expressed our strong view that preventing journalists, lawyers, ngo's and civil society groups from operating freely or closing churches and denying ethnic minority people's treatment are all problematic in our view and prevent china and its people from realizing its full potential. obviously we recognize that there are real differences there, and president xi shared his views in terms of how he can move forward in a step by step way that preserves chinese unity, so we expect that we're going to continue to consult in

these areas. even as we recognize tibet has part of the people's republican of china, we encourage them to preserve the religious beliefs of the people. finally we're taking more steps to expand connections between our two peoples. we launch a new initiative to increase tourism. and as children across china learn english, we're encouraging 1 million american students to learn mandarin chinese in the next five years. vice president biden pointed out that two of his grandchildren are already on track. if our countries are going to do more together around the world then truly understanding each other is a good place to start. so overall we have had an extremely productive meeting. the particular work that has been done by our teams shows the

extraordinary progress that we can make when we're working together. the candid conversations between president xi and myself about areas of disagreement help us to understand each other better to avoid misunderstandings of miscalculations, and pave the way potentially for further progress in those areas. and president xi i want to thank you again for expanding your commitment to cooperation between our nations. i believe that it's another reminder that as we work to narrow our differences, we can continue to advance our mutual interest for the benefit not only of our two peoples but for the benefit of the world. thank you very much. >> translator: president obama, bear friends from the press, ladies and gentlemen, dear friends, good morning.

it's a great pleasure for me to meet with all of you together with president obama. let me begin by thanking, again, president obama and the u.s. government for the gracious hospitality and thoughtful arrangements and warm reception accorded to me and the chinese delegation. i also want to thank the american people for a warm welcome. yesterday and today, president obama and i have had in-depth discussions on our respective domestic and foreign policies, important topics international and regional situations. our meetings are constructive and productive, and we have reached extensive and important consensus. during the discussions, president obama shared with me the domestic agenda, and foreign policy priorities that he has been working on, and i

congratulated him on the progress that he has made in those areas. i appreciate president obama's reaffirmation to me that the united nations welcomes the rise of a peaceful, stable, and prosperous china. it supports china to play a bigger role in the international arena, and the united nations supports china's reform in opening up. i indicated to president obama that china is making all around efforts to deep and comprehensive reform to build law-based governance, to enforce strict party discipline so as to achieve the goal of building a society of initial prosperity in all respects. the reform of opening up china will not stop. china is firmly committed to the path of peaceful development, it is committed to growing friendship and cooperative relations with all countries in the world. to work with the united states

to build the new model of major country relationship, without conflicts, without confrontation, with mutual respect and win-win cooperation is a priority in china's foreign policy. we have spoken highly of the important progress made in china, u.s. relations, since the summit in 2013, and we have agreed to follow the consensus, expand the practical cooperation in various areas at the bilateral, regional, and global level. and manage differences on sensitive issues in constructive manner. and to advance the new model of major country relationship between china and the united states. we have agreed to deepen the practical cooperation in various areas at the bilateral scope. this includes we have agreed to

vigorously push forward the bilateral investment treaty negotiation, speed up the space of the work so as to achieve a high standard, and balanced agreement. we will expand the mutually beneficial cooperation in energy, technology, aviation, agricultural, health, and other areas. the two governments and relevant agencies have signed many cooperation agreements and our businesses have signed a series of commercial contracts. china and the united states are highly complimentary economically, and there is huge potential for product cooperation. for the united states to recognize china's market status and export control on civilian items it will help the

situation. we have had in-depth discussion on the current economic and financial situation. we have agreed to step up row economic policy, and jointly support economic growth and financial stability. to this end we have established the mechanism of economic affairs between china and the united states which will be lead by the vice premier of china, and ter -- treasury secretary lou. we will step up cooperation in other multi-lateral mechanisms. i appreciate the u.s. supporting -- including the rmb into the imf special drawing rights when certain standards of the imf are met, and i also

appreciate the u.s. commitment to implement the imf quota and government restructure reform plan adopted at the g-20 summit in 2010. we have fully affirmed the new progress made in the confidence-building mechanisms, between the two mill tears. we have agreed to step up exchanges in policy dialogues between the militaries at all levels, hold more exercise and training, we believe terrorism is the common enemy of man kind, and we have agreed to step up counter terrorism cooperation. we have decided to increase communication and cooperation on counter piracy, humanitarian assistance and disaster reduction and international peace-keeping operation and also anti-cooperation -- law enforcement cooperation to jointly fight against all kinds of national corruption and

crime. we have had in-depth discussion on the issue in the asia pacific. and we believe both countries should continue to deepen dialogue on regional affairs and work together to promote active interactions and inclusive cooperation in the asia pacific, and work with countries in the asia-pacific, to promote peace, stability, and prosperity in this region. china is committed to the path of peaceful development, and a neighboring foreign policy arrived by good [ inaudible ] partnership with our neighbors. islands in the south china sea since ancient times are china east territory. we have the right to uphold our own territorial sovereignty, and lawful and legitimate rights and interests. we are committed to naning peace and stability in the south china sea, managing differences, and disputes through dialogue, and

addressing disputes through negotiation, consultation and peaceful manner, and exploring ways to achieve mutual benefit through cooperation. we're committed to respecting and upholding the freedom of navigation that countries enjoy according to international law. relevant construction activities that china is undertaking in the islands do not target or impact any country, and china does not intend to pursue militarization. china and the united states have a lot of common interest. we both support peace and stability of the south china sea. countries directly involved should address their dispute through peaceful means, and we support freedom, navigation, and flight of countries according to international law, and the management of differences through dialogue and full and effective implementation of doc,

and an early conclusion of coc based on consensus building. we have agreed to maintain constructive communication on relative issues. china and the united states are two major cyber countries, and we should strengthen dialogue and cooperation. confrontation and friction are not the right choice for both sides. during my visit, the competent authorities of both countries have reached important consensus on joint fight against cyber crimes. both sides agree to step up crime cases investigation assistance, and information sharing, and both government would not be engaged in or support online theft of intellectual properties, and we will explore the formulation of appropriate state behavior norms of the cyber state -- of the

cyberspace, and we will establish a high-level joint dialogue mechanism on the fight against cyber crimes and related issues, and to establish hot line links. democracy and human rights are the common pursuit of man kind, but we must recognize that countries have different historical processes and realities; that we need to respect people of all countries in the rights to choose their own development path independently. the chinese people are seeking to realize the great renewal of the chinese nation. this process in essence is a process to achieve social equity in justice and advancing human rights. china stands ready to -- in the spirit of equality and mutual respect conduct human rights dialogue with the united states,

expand consensus, reduce differences, learn from each other, and progress together. we have decided to continue to work together to tackle global challenges, and provide more public goods for the international community. we, again, issued a joint announcement on climate change. we have agreed to expand by lateral practical cooperation, strengthen coordination in multi-lateral negotiation, and work together to push the paris climate change conference to produce important progress. we have signed china, u.s. development cooperation, and we have agreed to expand trilateral cooperation in asia, africa, and other regions in terms of food security, public health system establishment, and we will

maintain communication and coordination in implementing the 2015 development agenda, promote a more equitable and balanced global development partnership, and help developing countries to achieve common development. we have agreed to firmly uphold the international nuclear non-proliferation regime. president obama and i welcome the comprehensive joint plan of action reached by relevant parties regarding the iranian nuclear issue. we reaffirm that all relevant parties should undertake the agreement fully, and work together to implement all the security council resolutions. we reaffirm our commitment to realize the complete and verifiable denuclearization of the peninsula in peaceful way. and we oppose any action that might cause tension in the korean peninsula or violent u.n.

security council resolution. we believe the december 19th statement of the six-party talks, should be implemented in full. and all relevant parties should work together to firmly advance the denuclearization process of the korean peninsula and maintain peace and stability so as to achieve enduring peace and stability in northeast asia. the friendship between the two peoples is the most reliable foundation for long-term and stable development of china-u.s. relations, and we should endeavor to solidify this important foundation. we have decided to make 2016 a year of tourism for china and the united states. in the next three years we will fund a total of -- a total of 50,000 students to study in each other's countries. we also welcome the united states decision to expand

the 100,000 strong initiative from universities to elementary and secondary schools and by 2020, 1 million american students will learn mandarin. the door of friendship with china will continue to be open to the american people. i also hope that the chinese people could come to the united states for holidays or visits more easily and conveniently. mr. president, with 36 years of development, the interest of china and the united states are deeply connected and we have greater responsibilities for world peace and human progress. there are broader areas that the two sides should and can work together. the chinese side standings ready to work with the united states to uphold a spirit of perseverance and [ inaudible ] relations, to seek further progress to the better benefits of the chinese and american

people and the people in the world. thank you. [ applause ] >> okay. we're going to take a few questions. we'll start with margaret from bloomberg. >> reporter: thank you mr. president. president obama and president xi i would like to talk about cyber. if i am an american business being hacked by chinese pirates, what firm assurances can you give us today that things are going to get better and when? president obama are you satisfied enough about the steps that china is taking to hold off on imposing any new sanctions to this end. and president xi could we expect prosecutions of chinese people or organizes who are hacked american businesses? always what is your reaction to house speaker boehner's decision to resign? will this make life better or

worse for you? are you concerned it will make it more difficult to avoid a government shutdown? and do you think boehner could wave the rules and get immigration reform through before he leaves. >> i'll take them in order. with respect to cyber, this has been a serious discussion between myself and president xi since we first met. and the good news from my perspective is that in the lead up to and then finalized during our meetings here today, we have, i think, made significant progress in agreeing to how our law enforcement and investigators are going to work together, how we're going to exchange information, how we are going to go after individuals

orentities engaging in cyber crimes or cyber attacks, and we have jointly affirmed the principle that governments don't engage in cyber espionage for commercial gain against companies. that all i consider to be progress. what i said to president xi and what i would say to the american people is the question now is are words followed by actions? and we will be watching carefully to make an assessment as to whether progress has been made in this area. with respect to the various tools that we have to go after those who are attacking our companies or trying to extract trade secrets or data, we have

traditional law enforcement tools, but as i indicated a while back through executive action, i have also instituted the ability to impose sanctions on individuals or entities where we have proof that they have gone after u.s. companies or u.s. persons, and we did not at our level have specific discussions of specific cases, but i did indicate to president xi that we will apply those and whatever other tools we have in our tool kit to go after cyber criminals, either retrospectively or prospectively. those are tools generally that are not directed at governments, they are directed at entities or individuals that we can

identify. and they are not unique to china, those are tools that we're going to be using for cyber criminals around the world. and president xi indicated to me that with 1.3 billion people, he can't guarantee the behavior of every single person of chinese soil, which i completely understand, i can't guarantee the actions of every single american. what i can guarantee though, and what i'm hoping president xi will show me, is that we are not sponsoring these activities, and that when it comes to our attention that non-governmental entities or individuals are engaging in this stuff, that we take it seriously, and we're cooperating to enforce the law. last point i'll make on the

cyber issue, because this is a global problem, and because unlike some of the other areas of international cooperation, the rules in this area are not well developed. i think it's going to be very important for the united states and china working with other nations and the united nations and other -- and the private sector to start developing an architecture to govern behavior in cyberspace. that is enforceable and clear, it doesn't mean that we're going to prevent every cyber crime, but it does start to serve as a template whereby countries know what the rules are, they are held accountable and we're able to jointly go after these

criminals in this area. on john boehner, i just heard the news as i was coming out of the meeting here. so it caught me by surprise, and i took the time prior to this press conference to call john directly and talk to him. you know, john boehner is a good plan. he is a patriot. he cares deeply about the house, an institution in which he has served for a long time. he cares about his constituents, and he cares about america. we have obviously had a lot of disagreements, and politically we're at different ends of the spectrum. but he has always conducted himself with courtesy and civility with me. he has kept his word when he made a commitment. he is somebody who has been gracious and i think maybe most

important, he is somebody who understands that in government, in governance, you don't get 100% of what you want, but you have to work with people who you disagree with, sometimes strongly in order to do the people's business. i'm not going to prejudge who the next speaker will be. that's something that will have to be worked through in the house, and i will certainly reach out immediately to whoever is the new speaker to see what his or her ideas are, and how we can make progress on the important issues that america faces. the one thing i will say is that my hope is there's a recognition on the part of the next speaker, something i think john

understood even though at times it was challenging to bring his caucus along, that we can have significant differences on issues, but that doesn't mean you shut down the government, and that doesn't mean you risk the full faith and credit of the united states. you don't invite potential financial crises. you build roads and pass transportation bills, and you do the basic work of governance that ensures that our military is operating, that our national parks are open, that our kids are learning, and there's no weakness in that. there's -- that's what government is in our democracy, you don't get what you want a hundred percent of the time, so sometimes you take half a loaf, sometimes you take a quarter loaf, and that's certainly something i have learned here in

this office. so i'm looking forward to working with the next speaker, in the meantime, john is not going to leave for another 30 days, so hopefully he feels like getting as much stuff done as he -- he possibly can, and i'll certainly be looking forward to working with him on that. >> translator: madam reporter has raised the cyber security issue. indeed at current for the international community and china and the united states, this is an issue all attach great importance to. with president obama and i have on many occasions, and this is a long history, have exchanged views on this. i think it's fair to say we have reached a lot of consensus on cyber security, including some new consensus. overall, the united states is

the strongest country in terms of cyber strength. china is the world's biggest user. cooperation will benefit both, and confrontation will lead to losses on both sides. we are entirely able to carry out government department and expert levels of dialogue and exchanges to strengthen our cooperation in many respects. in turn the cyber security into a new growth source rather than point of confrontation between the two sides. china strongly opposes and combats the left the of commercial secrets and other kinds of hacking attacks. the u.s. side, has concerns in this respect and can express those concerns.

china will take seriously the u.s. expression of any provision. we have already and will in the future, through the law enforcement authorities maintain a communication and coordination of this manner, and appropriately address them. so all in all in we have brood common interests in the field of the cyber, but we need to strengthen cooperation and avoid leading to confrontation, and nor should we politicize this issue. during my current visit, i think it's fair to say the two sides concerning cyber crimes have reached a lot of consensus. going forward, we need to at an early date reach further agreement on them, and further put them on the ground. thank you. now -- now i would like to

propose for china's central television reporter to raise a question. thank you. i have a question for president obama. i have noticed last night during a meeting with president xi jinping, you have indicated that u.s. welcomed the rise of a peaceful, stable china, and supports china to play a bigger role on the international stage. would you please elaborate, so far what have you done to enable to reach this target. we're more interested for the remainder of your office what will you do to reach that goal? thank you. >> first of all i think the united states has provided a platform in the post world war

ii era, in which the asia region has been able to stabilize and the conditions in which china was able to grow so rapidly were maintained. and we're very proud of the work that we did after world war ii to help rebuild both asia and europe, to help establish the international norms and rules that facilitated growing global trade and connections and travel and interactions, and to help maintain the peace. since i have been president, my goal has