couple hours away. we're going to spend christmas with them and got to spend christmas eve with our neighbors. it's nice to be able to spend time together. >> peter, we hope this will be an annual tradition. peter shenk man, sarah ashleigh and indiana jones. happy holidays and thank to all the viewers who joined us here on "legal view." on "legal view." have a great day, everyone. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com welcome everyone to "around the world" this christmas day. i'm michael holmes. thanks for your company. it is wednesday. it is december 25th. the day that more than 2 billion christians around the world celebrate the birth of jesus. [ speaking foreign language ] >> here's the exact spot that the bible says it happened. bethlehem. in what is now the west bank. pilgrims, of course, gather there every year at midnight for a special mass. sadly, there is no peace in the

occupied territories, just a day earlier, the israeli military responded to a sniper attacking with air strikes and tank fire into gaza. ♪ this is how christians in bangladesh welcomed the arrival of christmas day in churches with prayers for peace. and if you have to endure the elements on christmas day, this is the proper way to do it. take it from me, the australian way. bon die beach right near the city of sydney decorating the tree with flip-flops. santa came ashore on a surf board as he does every year and pass the out treats for the kids. it is the only way to spend christma christmas. and now polar opposite scene if you like baghdad, christians

there cautiously celebrating christmas day. militant groups have used the holiday to target christian churches. a car bomb went off outside a church a few hours ago. at least 38 people were killed, a second bomb going off in an open air market in a christian neighborhood, as well. history though the in the making at the vatican this morning, that's where pope francis presided over his first christmas celebration as pontiff. his message both simple and in keeping with his basic values. erin mclaughlin was there. >> reporter: as you can see, they're streaming into st. peter's square, people from all over the world, pilgrims and atheists, men women and children of a multitude of religions flooding the square to hear what the pope has to say to the world on christmas day. >> translator: god is peace.

let us ask him to help us to be peacemakers each day. >> what did you think of the pope's message? >> i think it was wonderful. it was beautiful. very touching. and i felt even like crying. he's very humble person. >> i really don't know the if humanity will listen. but he's strong to say this. >> his message delivered in italian, and even though not everyone here understands exactly what he is saying, they're here to see him and to experience history. >> it was wonderful to be in such a large crowd. people were nice. we were trying to communicate with each other but we were all from many different countries. people were happy to be here and calm about it. >> it was a great moment just to see him speak to all the people.

a lovely day here in rome. great experience. >> reporter: his message to the world one of peace. he asked for prayers in places like syria and south sudan. the excitement and energy was palpab palpable. an illustration of the power of pope francis. erin mclaughlin, cnn, the vatican. >> this week a new cnn poll confirmed just how popular this new pope is. 88% of american catholics approve of how the pope is handling his role. among all americans, the majority of whom, of course, are not catholic, 72% approve of him. "time" magazine named pope francis the person of the year. calling him the people's pope. so why is pope francis so popular? our senior vatican analyst john allen has written extensively about this. he joins me now live from rome. ever since, john, this

argentinean born pope took power nine months ago, he has been a crowd employeeser. we saw again today this humbleness, this humility of his and looking out for the poor and vulnerable. it really is the way he does business, isn't it? >> it absolutely is, michael. let me give you another couple indices of francis' appeal. time was not the first publication to pull the trigger on declaring him person of the year. that was the italian edition you have "vanity fair" back in june which included a tribute from the well-known vatican expert elton john who described francis as a miracle of humility in an era of vanity. then i followed francis when he traveled to brazill in july. not only did he draw more than 3 million people twice to rio's copacabana beach break agattend tense record head by the rolling stones but there was a delicious moment when he was outside the cathedral downtown in rio where

he was rushed by a gaggle of latin american nuns screaming like they were teenage girls at a justin bieber concert. there simply is something about this man that excites people. it's precisely what you said. this is a man who has risen to the pinnacle of spiritual power and yet somehow still seems to radiate simplicity, human millity, a love for ordinary people and genuine concern for the poor. those are qualities generally that play to almost universal admiration. >> one thing that strikes me about him too and we saw it again today is the inclusiveness with this pope, reaching out to not just noncatholics but nonchristians and according to some going off script today and reaching out to atheists. >> yeah, that's right. michael, there was a portion of his message this morning where he was talking about the desirability of having not just catholics but followers of other religions come together to pray and to work for peace. in the middle of that, he threw

in a reference even to nonbelievers. of course, an outreach to nonbelievers into the sort of secular world has become one of the hallmarks of his papacy. we saw him at that again today. he said over and over that he wants the church to get out of the sack christie and into the street. part of that means meeting people and working with them from a broad variety of walks of life including people who don't share the spiritual or philosophical convictions of christianity. >> it's not 100% approval rating. who perhaps is not all that will happy with this pontiff so far? there are women who say he's not done enough for them. >> yeah, that's right. there would be some liberal voices inside and outside the catholic church that would say that the razzle-dazzle from the pope is terrific. but he has twice now said a form no to ordaining women as priests and also indicated while he

wants to reach out to gays, he's not able to change church teaching on homosexuality. there might be a conservative chorus inside and outside the church, but some of hiscrittism of capitalism almost flirts with markism that will finds some of his is statements confusing. he's famously said god is not catholic. let's not lose sight of the big picture. the big picture is overwhelming grass-roots. >> plenty of politicians would like an 88% approval rating. john, we will be talking again later this hour. why? well, in less than 30 minutes, we're going to be taking a look at the pope's journey to the vatican, his rise to fame, the impact he's had and perhaps if big changes might be in store for the church in 2014. stick around for that. u.s. embassy in kabul, afghanistan, came under attack today. this happened early before 7:00 a.m. local time in kabul.

two rounds of what the embassy calls indirect fire hit the building. that normally refers to things like mortar attacks. nobody was hurt. the taliban though posted on a website that they did it. and the u.s. military is still on stand by to evacuate all americans from the troubled new nation of south sudan. hundreds of people have been killed in a rebel uprising and ethic fighting put that number in the thousands now. right now, u.s. marines getting into position to help get americans out in case the situation does get worse. our barbara starr is at the pentagon. that's very different to the u.n. force who are going in to try to stop the fighting. where are these marines going and what happens when they get there in. >> well, at the moment, you know, earlier this week, the pentagon sent about 150 marines from their base in the mediterranean to the horn of africa to djibouti. and then yesterday they took

about 50 of those marines and put them closer to south sudan, if you look at the map, those 50 marines are now in uganda. that will put them very close to south sudan if they get the orders to go in. there are two possible missions if they go in would be to revacuate americans as you said or provide more security even for the u.s. embassy there if it tries to stay open amid the growing violence. they have no orders to go yet, but what you're really looking at michael, is the military lesson of benghazi. that if americans are going to get into trouble because run into trouble given outbreaks of violence, you need to have military force close enough to go get them and that's what we're seeing here. getting ready just in case. >> yeah, and barbara, of course, the attempt to go in and help out last weekend some u.s. troops were hurt when their aircraft was fired upon. have you new information on

them? >> indeed. those three u.s. military aircraft fired upon four u.s. navy s.e.a.l.s badly hurt. a couple of days ago, three of them were able to be evacuated where they were in a hospital in kenya to the military hospital at landstuhl. one young man left behind was so badly hurt he needed more surgery, more care. theed into news is we've now heard today he too is on his way to landstuhl hospital in germany via a u.s. military medical air evac flight. that will put him, of course, back closer to home, closer to his family. they believe he is stable and he will fully recover, but this young s.e.a.l.'s had a very rough go of it. >> barbara starr, good to see you working this christmas day, as well there at the -- in washington. let's turn to united nations officials now worried that all au-out civil war could break out in south sudan. fred pleitgen is in new york covering this for us. he says the main reason for those fears or one of the main

reasons for this conflict is oil. >> hey, michael the latest we're hearing is the fighting in south sudan is both escalating as well as spreading. the latest is there is fighting in one of the northern states of south sudan call the upper nile state which is in the oil producing region of south sudan. oil is the main revenue source of that country by far. the fighting is apparently centering around the main town of malaka and pitted the rebel forces against the government forces. all of those divide along ethnic and tribal lines. there's been fighting in the town of bor. the government says so far it has taken that town back in an offensive it launched last night. of course, all of this is leading to many people having to flee their homes. the u.n. estimates as many as 80,000 have been forced to flee. some of them have gone to neighboring countries but many are going on to u.n. bases, and the u.n. is having a lot of trouble protecting those bases

from attacks by militant forces that are roaming that country. so one of the things that the u.n. did last night as you know is they passed a resolution to drastically increase the peacekeeping force on the ground. some 6,000 additional personnel, both troops as well as police forces to go on the ground there and their main mission and their only mission is to protect civilians. at the same time, both the u.n. and the united states and the international community is calling on the warring factions to get to the table to talk this out and stop the fighting currently going on because there is a real fear on the ground there that this could descend into all-out 0 civil war and this could tear the country apart. the word genocide is being used. the human rights chief of the united nations na have i pill lay has said there are reports of other mass graves around the juba region not confirmed yet but certainly they do say there

is real concern for human rights on the ground. michael? >> fred, thanks so much. fred pleitgen there in new york. still to come here on "around the world" on the run but on the air. we'll tell you why fugitive american edward snowden addressed british television viewers from moscow today. [ sniffles, coughs ] shhhh! i have a cold with this annoying runny nose. [ sniffles ] i better take something. [ male announcer ] dayquil cold and flu doesn't treat all that. it doesn't? [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus fights your worst cold symptoms plus has a fast-acting antihistamine. oh, what a relief it is! female announcer: get beautyrest, posturepedic,

female announcer: even tempur-pedic mattress sets, at low clearance prices.

save even more on floor samples, demonstrators and closeout inventory. the year end clearance sale is on now at sleep train. ♪ your ticket to a better night's sleep ♪

welcome back. edward snowden has a message for the people of great britain and a tv network gave him a couple of minutes of air time to deliver it. >> a child born today will grow up with no conception of privacy at all. they'll never know what it means to have a private moment to themselves. an unreported un andlized thought. and that's a problem because privacy matters. privacy is what allows us to determine who we are and who we want to be. >> snowden, of course, who is under russian protection at the moment is wanted by the u.s. government for spying. he did make those remarks from moscow. the uk's channel 4, they do this every year airing what they call an alternative christmas message after they run the queen's christmas message. sometimes it's goofy.

sometimes it's more controversial. this year it is edward snowden. elise labott is our foreign affairs reporter. elyse, the u.s. government can't be happy about this, channel 4 giving edward snowden air time. any reaction there? >> not today on this holiday, michael. kind of staying quiet about it, obviously the government keeps referring to edward snowden as a fugitive and that he should come home. you might note that he joins the ranks of mahmoud ahmadinejad the former president of iran in delivering this alternative alternative message. they would say he's in that kind of company. over the last year, you've noticed edward snowden started as just leaking this information but now in becoming more of a provocateur speaking out and this christmas message he urged people in britain and obviously around the world are also paying attention to rally against this mass government surveillance that we've seen. let's take another listen to what he said, another part of

it. >> the conversation occurring today will determine the amount of trust we can place both in the technology that surrounds us and the government that the regulates it. together, we can find a better balance, end mass surveillance. and remind the government that if it really wants to know how we feel, asking is always cheaper than spying. for everyone out there listening, thank you and merry christmas. >> and michael, if you remember the or well's novel "1984" and the big brother spying, he says that's nothing compared to what's going on today. >> making salient can points about privacy which a lot of people say is over these days. did he say anything he hasn't said or written already though? anything new out of this? >> i don't think there's anything new about it, but again, he's speaking out a lot more, kind of making people think a lot more about you

didn't see a real mass outrage in terms of the type of programs. i think a lot of americans in particular and possibly british and other europeans weren't that surprised that this kind of spying was going on. he's saying really need to think about this. we need to have more of a dialogue. and so -- and you've seen in this country in particular there's a lot of review now about the nsa and a lot of feeling they're overreaching. and recently in an interview he said mission accomplished. i think he's trying to get the word out a lot more. >> elyse, thanks so much. elise labott there in washington. coming up, a budding superpower provoking its neighbors a little and also are icy relations with iran beginning to thaw. ? the stories you should keep an eye on in 2014.

so you can see like right here i can just... you know, check my policy here, add a car, ah speak to customer service, check on a claim...you know, all with the ah, tap of my geico app. oh, that's so cool. well, i would disagree with you but, ah, that would make me a liar. no dude, you're on the jumbotron! whoa. ah...yeah, pretty much walked into that one. geico anywhere anytime. just a tap away on the geico app.

happening now just off antarctica, racing crews racing to a stranded ship that is stuck in ice. 74 people apparently are on board this russian flagged vessel. some of them are scientists and explorers. the australian maritime safety

authority heading up the rescue that covers that part of the world. a statement from that group today says it will take at least two days for help to arrive. of course, 2013 was a big year for international news from syria's chemical weapons attack and the jn going war there to the election of pope francis. but by the looks of it, 2014 is promising to be perhaps even more interesting for good and bad. i spoke with former u.s. ambassador nick burns about his picks for the biggest stories going into the new year. >> ambassador, really appreciate your time. let's start if we're going to look at the big stories of 2013 and going into 2014, you have to start with syria and what a mess that is. your thoughts on that going into the new year. >> i think you do have to focus on syria. and first and foremost, the incredible human toll from that will civil war. 9 million syrians out of 22 million syrians are now

homeless, either inside the country or they're refugees outside the country. and the united nations fears that that refugee toll may grow as the syrian civil war continues. that's a huge crisis in the middle east. of course, michael, the chance that that civil war might spread internationally to lebanon or to iraq or jordan a widening of the war, i think that's the number one humanitarian disaster in the world today. >> let's move on though. i want to hit on a few stories, iran a lot of people, we see congress talking about increasing sanctions but a lot of people particularly outside the u.s. are saying this is good news, isn't it? >> it is good news. the united states and iran have not talked to each other in any meaningful way for 34 years. now we're not only at the negotiating table with the europeans but have actually had an interim agreement and negotiating hopefully in 2014 a final agreement that would leave iran well short of a nuclear weapon and leave us in a situation of peace with iran. that's the vision, michael.

we're not there yet but it has to rank as one of the positive stories of 2013. >> africa has been massive and forgive me if i say underreported in the u.s. central african republic, south sudan, both places with crises unfolding. and implications internationally, too. across borders. >> well, they are. the developments in central african republic are deeply disturbing and the widening of that war has been -- has victimized its own citizens. the french have had to go in to see if they can help help stabilize things. south sudan is tragic. newest country in the world. it began with all that hope several years ago. now it's locked in what looks to be a civil war where innocent people are being killed and victimized. there's a lot of reason to be concerned about these con flingts in africa. >> the u.s. has to care and has to be involved why? >> well, because you know, we have a responsibility as the strongest country in the world to help people in need.

it makes economic sense and political sense. but humanitarian sense it's the right thing to do. we don't want to see these countries destabilized. you certainly want to see people given a chance to live a healthy productive life. that's not happening in mali, not in the south sudan or central african republic. we have to be engages. >> the economic side of things. the u.s. is seeing china taking the lead in africa generally. a budding superpower not playing nice with neighbors. how do you see that going into the new year? >> there's concern that china is flexing muscles both in the south china sea against vietnam and the philippines but also right now against japan and the east china sea over the senkaku islands and the neighbors and air forces of japan and china are literally up against each other right now. it's not a good thing. there's got to be some effort early in 2014 to try to separate those two forces and frankly,

for the chinese government and beijing to get control of the people's liberation army and make sure that china is acting with restraint. >> let's end on positive news if we can. pope francis is shakesing things up, isn't he? >> he sure is. i think in the united states, he was voted -- he was named by "time" magazine as the person of the year. i think a lot of americans felt that was the right choice because he has a completely new attitude about the church and the role of the church. he's humble. he's someone who is directly speaking to the core base of the religion, which is trying to alleviate poverty, trying to help the less fortunate. i think he's literally a breath of fresh air for a lot of people both members of the church and people just observing what's happening in the vatican. >> walking the walk. nicholas burns, thanks so much. and pope francis, of course, hugely popular around the world. in a minute we're going to take perhaps why not everyone in the church thinks that is a good thing.

papal history at the vatican this morning. pope francis making his first christmas address. an estimated 150,000 pilgrims filled st. peter's square for the christmas message which is entitled to the city and the world. the city being rome.

hours earlier in his first christmas mass, in st. peter's basilica, the pope hand delivered a statue of the infant jesus to the front of the altar as you see there. the immense popularity of pope francis as we discussed a little bit earlier has some people likening him to a bit of a rock star of sorts. and becky anderson reports for us now that makes some people a little uncomfortable. >> [ speaking foreign language ] >> reporter: his papacy is being hailed by many as a fresh start for a troubled catholic church. so much so that "time" magazine named him person of the year for 2013. >> there is a kind of rock star quality to this man, a sense of a new day dawning you know wherever he goes.

>> his demeanor, style and words have garnered attention the world over. >> if a person is gay and accepts the lord and has good will, who am i to judge them? >> people listening and looking are seeing a different atmosphere, a different attitude here. >> reporter: just months into his tenure as the 2866th pontiff, pope francis is is he the man to galvanize hundreds of millions of catholics? >> i have no doubt he as the ability to get it done. >> he's leareaching out. but there are those not entirely sold on the pope. >> there are some saying i want a pope who acts like a pope. >> it's history in the making as we look at pope francis, a man of many firsts. >> the curtains are open. the cross bearer is coming out.

and there he is. good morning from rome. the world has a new pope. >> word first came of a new pope in the form of the white smoke rising from the chimney of the sistine chapel. >> reporter: it's less than a year since cardinal jorge say mario bergoglio stepped on the balcony of st. peter's basilica in rome to face the world as a new pope. >> he looked scared. he looked for bidding. my first thought was, we've got someone who's going to stand there and going to preside and we're supposed to bow down in front of him. >> christopher bellito is associate professor of history and department chair at keen university in new jersey. >> but if you looked very closely, it's as if his eyes began to blink very rapidly behind those glasses as if he came into the moment. this is what christians call grace. translet us pray in silence your prayer to me.

>> and then he did something very traditional which is he said i ask for your prayers. but then he bowed. he made a physical act of humility to the people, and in that moment i think he bound himself to the people. i think people said wow, we need him. he needs us. we're in this together. >> in addition then what francis did was he referred to himself not as pontiff max mus the supreme pontiff, not as pope but the simpler title bishop of rome. >> john allen is cnn's senior vatican analyst. >> everything you needed to know about the kind you have man jorge mario ber goalie was and the kind of pope francis was going to be was revealed in that debut on that balcony. >> pope francis has also revealed he's not afraid to weigh in on matters of global

conflict. in september, the pope spoke out on syria, writing a letter to russian president vladimir putin as the g-20 summit got under way in st. petersburg. he said "to the leaders present to each and every one, i make a heartfelt appeal for them to help find ways to overcome the conflicting positions and to lay aside the futile pursuit of a military solution." one of the ironies about pope francis when he was in argentina, most people would say he wasn't a very active political player, but i think what he recognizes is the stakes are different now. he's no longer an archbishop of a major city. he's the pope of the entire catholic church. >> reporter: the pope also amazed people around the world when he embraced a disfigured man at the vatican. prns. >> translator: when he embraced me, i quivered. i felt a great warmth. >> reporter: and getting close

to his flock is natural for pope francis. in his first international trip to bra zale as open, he captivated millions. and also sent shock waves around the world. >> well, one of the most controversial issues in the catholic church has of course, been homosexuality. up next, we're going to look at pope francis's comments that have divided the faithful.

we're aig. and we're here. to help secure retirements and protect financial futures. to help communities recover and rebuild. for companies going from garage to global. on the ground, in the air, even into space. we repaid every dollar america lent us. and gave america back a profit. we're here to keep our promises. to help you realize a better tomorrow. from the families of aig, happy holidays. i've got a big date, but my sinuses are acting up. it's time for advil cold and sinus. [ male announcer ] truth is that won't relieve all your symptoms. new alka seltzer plus-d relieves more symptoms than any other behind the counter liquid gel. oh what a relief it is.

one of the many and biggest challenges for pope francis has been the issue of homosexuality and the church. and the pope's stance has cool caused some controversy. here's becky anderson again. >> if a person is gay and accepts the lord and has good will, who am i to judge them? >> reporter: remarks that reverberated around the world.

>> i think that it was very important sign that he was truly going to be in a position of tolerance and understanding and attempting to come into dialogue with people who were homosexually oriented without prejudging them. >> also stunning, his use of the word "gay" when church officials previously had used the word homosexual. >> this is how the people on the prifr periphery look at life and describe life. that's the way he is, he wants to talk to them in their own language. this is pope francis. you love everybody. >> the pope's comments drew a mixture of praise and criticism among catholics. crit sicks thought francis didn't go far enough. church doctrine remains the same, engaging in homosexuality is a sin and intrins i cannily disorder. his predecessors both talked

tough on the gay issue. here's benedict xvi. >> father, mother, child essential elements of the experience of being human are lost. >> benedict had a certain charisma, but it was the charisma of a university professor that you respected whereas francis is the uncle you want to run up to and hug. francis is the kind of pope we need at this moment. someone who's gentler, somebody who's more open. he's not going to change doctrine but he's going to preach it differently. >> so as we've been saying, this is a pope who talks the talk and walks the walk in many ways but is he going to change the church substantially? that question moving forward, senior vatican analyst john allen joins me again. john, just last month, the pope made what many saw as an unprecedented move. he sent out surveys to catholic parrishs around the world asking for their opinions on a variety

of controversial topics that the church has been grappling with and they included questions on same-sex marriage, gay adoption, divorce, cohabitation and the like. one of the questions was this. i want to quote it here "what pastoral attention can be given to people who have chosen to live their lives in other types of union ""? what do you see is the point of sending that survey? we've discussed in the past, you and i, that he's not touching on doctrine, not yet anyway but why ask that question if it's not on the cards? >> well, michael, i'm going to come to the question in a moment. let me just say i was on an that papal flight when the pope gabe us that line who am i to judge. food was bad. the seats were uncomfortable. the inflight entertainment was spectacular because it truly was the shot heard around the world. look, i think the purpose of the survey isn't so much to prepare

the groundwork for changing catholic teaching. but francis is very much a pope of mercy. he wants the church to be compassionate and tolerant to all. i think the purpose is to figure out how the church can put together this teaching that some people perceive to be fairly harsh with a spirit of outreach and inclusion to these folks so they don't feel excluded from the family of the faith. i think that's where he's going. >> let's listen to two comments the upon thetive made about homosexuality and also women that got people talking about what many saw as his liberal views. let's have a listen. >> translator: if a person is gay and seeks god and has good will, who am i to judge him? we cannot limit the role of women in the church to altar girls or the president of a charity. there must be more. >> all right. that famous flight again. i mean, you get to hang out with

the coolest people. i'm curious about this. when we talk doctrine, john, is doctrine untouchable? certainly not by definition, but do you see this as someone who might go down that road in some areas? >> yeah, michael. first of all in terms of hanging out with cool people, let me say i've spent today in real space with pope francis and in virtual space with michael holmes. if that's not the ultimate double plate of cool i'm not sure what is. look, he has clearly taken some things off the table. a firm no to women priests. he's said he's the son of the church when it comes to teaching on homosexuality. there are other areas where he's indicated openness to change. one for example would be a very painful question in the church which is whether divorced catholics can receive communion. for millions of people it's a real cross to bear.

francis has indicated he's open to a more generous inflexible policy. that's part of what might come out of this meeting of bishops here in rome next october. so i think the basic thing is, this is a pope who wants to stress compassion wherever possible. he's not going to throw the baby out with the baggett water and turn church teaching on its ear but he's looking for the most generous reading that have teaching that he can possibly find. >> yeah, indeed. john allen, again our thanks to you. we will talk again soon. i do envy you. you know very cool people and good restaurants too, i have to say in rome. he's a man of the city there, mr. allen. all right. we'll talk again soon. as you just heard there, pope francis could be the leader who really shakes up the catholic church and not just with words either. but to find out how the and why, one only really needs to look at his past. we're going to take a look at the pope's road to the vatican when we come back. this is the quicksilver cash back card from capital one.

it's not the "limit the cash i earn every month" card. it's not the "i only earn decent rewards at the gas station" card. it's the no-games, no-signing up, everyday-rewarding, kung-fu-fighting, silver-lightning-in-a-bottle, bringing-home-the-bacon cash back card. this is the quicksilver card from capital one. unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase, everywhere, every single day. so ask yourself, what's in your wallet?

the energy in one gallon of gas is also enough to keep your smartphone running for how long? 30 days? 300 days? 3,000 days? the answer is... 3,000 days. because of gasoline's high energy density, your car doesn't have to carry as much fuel compared to other energy sources. take the energy quiz. energy lives here. every weekend worked, every idea sold... ♪ ...you deserve a cadillac, the fastest growing full-line luxury brand in the united states. including the all new 2014 cadillac cts, motor trend's 2014 car of the year. get the best offers of the season on our award winning products. like a 2014 ats and srx. hurry in, offers end january 2nd. ♪

how do you explain the feeling of this place? of driving into beautiful. running hard down roads of your own making. and declaring, "i...am...alive." you don't explain it. you just experience it. los cabos. live it to believe it. pope francis did deliver a

message of peace to some 150,000 people in st. peter's square. this is francis' first christmas as leader of the world's catholics. becky anderson has a special look now at the path he took to get here. >> reporter: francis' journey to the papacy goes back to 1969 when he was ordained as a jesuit priest in argentina where he was born. he became archbishop in 199 and ultimately pope. his service was hallmark and humility. three years later in 2001, pope john paul ii appointed him a cardinal. and after more than a decade on march 13th it, 2013, he was elected to lead the world's estimated 1.2 billion catholics and installed as pope six days later.

>> and this is the greatest of the man i think that he is, that he knows who he is. he knows what his responsibility is. >> cardinal theodore mccarrick is the former archbishop of washington, d.c. a church insider who says that francis is handling his job well. >> it doesn't because he's knows he's going to carry it with jesus and he knows the people are out there and his job is to help them. >> becoming pope was only one of many significant firsts for the new pontiff. >> he is the first pope from latin america, the first pope from outside europe in 1300 years. and, of course, he is the first pope to utter the word "gay." >> we have the first jesuit pope. it seems kind of strange that a pope would be a jesuit because the jesuits take a vow to do what the pope tells them. >> but even more stunning to many was the name he chose.

a writer for the u.s. catholic be magazine common wheel. >> first pope to be named after francis of assisi. so francis of assisi was a rebel. francis of assisi was somebody deeply committed to the poor and to prayer and to a kind you have radical vision of living out christianity. this is a first pope to take that name and it's not an accident. >> and it is perhaps after jesus and peter and maybe mary the most iconic name in the catholic imagination because it used to be believed na no pope could take the name francis because there was only one francis. and the fact that this pope did it told me two things about the man right away. one, that this was going to be a maverick pope, a guy who was not going to be shackled by convention. and two, it told me that this was going to be a very franciscan pope in the literal sense of the word meaning somebody who before all else was going to embrace lady poverty,

the lover of st. francis. >> and the pope being touted as a man of many firsts. coming up, what the future might look like for pope francis and the catholic church. i'm nathan and i quit smoking with chantix. when my son was born, i remember, you know, picking him up and holding him against me. it wasn't just about me anymore. i had to quit. [ male announcer ] along with support, chantix (varenicline) is proven to help people quit smoking. it reduces the urge to smoke. chantix didn't have nicotine in it, and that was important to me. [ male announcer ] some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. if you notice any of these, stop chantix and call your doctor right away. tell your doctor about any history of mental health problems, which could get worse while taking chantix. don't take chantix if you've had a serious allergic or skin reaction to it. if you develop these, stop chantix and see your doctor right away, as some could be life threatening. tell your doctor if you have a history of heart or blood vessel problems, or if you develop new or worse symptoms. get medical help right away if you have symptoms of a heart attack or stroke.

use caution when driving or operating machinery. common side effects include nausea, trouble sleeping and unusual dreams. i had to quit smoking to keep up with this guy. [ male announcer ] ask your doctor if chantix is right for you.

have. pope francis delivering a sermon of acceptance and forgiveness a short time ago at the vatican, speaking to the poor and vulnerable as he always does. this has been his message since his election of pope back in march. becky anderson again looking at what lies ahead for the leader of the catholic church. >> as the first non-european latin american jesuit pope, what does the future look like for pope francis? well, i think he has a hard job ahead of him. i'm inspired by how happy he is because i know if i were in that job, i would be awfully worried about a number of things but i think he is going to lead us into the future that is more simple, that is less emphasizing details and more emphasizing the heart of the faith. that's what i see as the future with pope francis. >> as people who are a lot smarter than i am have said,

he's changed the narrative of catholicism from being dour and glum to being exciting. and full of victim and vigor. >> he didn't carry a definition with him into this job. he was able to set the definition for himself. and i think the consensus is over the early months of his papacy, he's done a masterful job with it. >> reporter: and if he can turn things around in essence rebrand the catholic church, he may become a man of many more firsts. and perhaps a pope talked about and remembered for centuries to come. so what can we expect from this popular pope francis heading into 2014? joining me once again, senior vatican analyst john allen. we promise to let you go home soon. as you've said many times, the

pope has already started something of a revolution, if you like, by simply having a different way of thinking about gays, divorce, the poor and the like and communicating that importantly. pull out the crystal ball. what do you expect from the pope as we head into the 2014? >> well, michael, on the internal church side of it is, trying to reform and rejuvenate the life of the catholic church. he's got a lot of heavy lifting to do. i mean, he's created a commission to deal with the child sexual abuse scandal. he's got the ongoing reform, a tough clean-up operation at the vatican bank and so on. on the externalernal front, a highly anticipated trip to israel and the palestinian territories in may. as he indicated this morning, he wants to continue to be engaged on the syria crisis and so on. but look, i think the big

picture is this. i think what pope francis has already accomplished in nine months is that he has become a point of reference not just for the 1.2 billion catholics around the world, he's become one of the towering moral authorities on the world stage period. in a way, he's become almost the new nelson mandela. he's amazed an enormous amount of political capital, good will and moral credibility. i think the dramatic of 2014 in going forward is how does he choose to spend that to try to make a difference particularly on behalf of those people he loves so much, the poor and those at the margins. >> yeah. i think that's an important word, credibility. he certainly does have that touch, that knack of connecting with people all around the world. john, we're going to leave it there. i do appreciate it. john allen in rome. we're going to give you the rest of the night off. been a long day there in rome. always a pleasure. all right. and thanks for watching "around the world" today. i appreciate your company on

this christmas day. if you're celebrating, our best wishes go out to you it cnn wishes go out to you it cnn newsroom starts right now. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com right now, merry christmas messages from across the globe. president obama and the first lady among the world leaders sending their best wishes. we'll tell you what they are saying and what's being left out. and u.p.s. is apologizing for a christmas nightmare. presents sitting in warehouses instead of under christmas trees. they're basically saying you sent too many gifts. and he's the man that senators turn to for advice and they got an earful from him during the government shutdown. we'll introduce you to senate chaplain barry black. hi