the church has done for 2000 years. he is reading new life into the fight into poverty. to lift thisce dialog to a higher level. and i hope he will ring the divisions between the so-called catholic left in the so-called catholic right so that all may be one in christ. it is a spiritually impoverished that need the most help. the tierney calls of relativism the spiritual poverty of our time and it affects rich countries worst of all, including our own. we have help the poor to help the whole person, not just the material merits but the spiritual ones, too. the government can't give this help. the law is blind. it treats everyone the same. even though we are all equal,

we are not all the same. we have different needs. only people can meet these needs. the people in government are hard-working but they can only do so much. they can't give us the personal attention we need. so we need to look for people outside of government and we will find them in our communities. the students here at benedictine, in our churches, our schools, our neighborhoods, our friends and families. academics call this mediating institutions. people.nd, it is just people working together to help other people. and government must not push them out. out society.rowd it must support them. it must show these groups that we are going to allow them to address our needs.

,hey must expand this a space the middle ground between the person and their government. on of the best examples of a partnership like this is the free enterprise system. free enterprise is an example of allowingnd principle, each person to contribute. it allows them to discover their talents and pursue their dreams is when they do, they add to the common good. create jobs. they save lives. they feed people. they add to the store of knowledge. and free enterprise gives us the resources to care for ourselves and others. it helps to ease human suffering. we know the power of free people working together. we see it when it is absent. i want to borrow an example from a father. go onto google earth and look at the satellite photo of the world at night. light across the

globe except in one part, the northern half of the korean peninsula. in north korea there is only .ne point of light, pyongyang there is no free enterprise in that country. people are not allowed to build or create and they suffer immensely because of it. they are trapped in darkness. why is there such resistance to free enterprise? it is the old problem of greed. critics say nothing good comes from congress. it is all pinstripes. moreenterprise makes stuff but it relies on greed and people pursuing self-interest. isn't the love of money the root of all evil? look, many people want a chance to get ahead.

to get ahead in a free economy they must serve the needs of society. at some level we ask ourselves, how can i make ends meet? be successful ask a better question, what is something people need? is an act ofhange good faith. it gives the buyer in exchange for something of equal value. it creates a culture of personal responsibility and goodwill. to attract customers you you have to be trustworthy. to attract workers you have to treat them with dignity. free enterprise helps the workers because work gives people a sense of pride. a sense of purpose. it makes them part of their communities. when we share our gifts with other people, we show solidarity with one another. if farmers do not harvest, people would go hungry. if doctors and nurses did not practice, the sick would go and treated.

we do not think of ourselves as greedy even though we are taking part in the economy. he shouldn't because we are working to help our families. we are putting food on the table and pay for our education, save for retirement. butust guard against greed you know what, greed is going -- is always going to be with us. our job is to limit its power. does not reward greed, it re-wards value. because competition checks read. greater opportunity in greed than government cronyism. greed knows how to exploit the pages of regulation. it knows how to navigate the halls of power. we should not give it more opportunities to grow. money is not everything. .ealth is a means to an end

and the and is not a full bank account. the end is a good life. one lived in accordance with god. , weive a truly good life must look beyond ourselves. we must miniature to be poor in the sick. we can't outsource that job. does notor the poor mandate -- does not demand faith in the government. if we continue to believe that the war on poverty is a government responsibility, we will continue to weaken our communities. we will drift further apart as a people. we know that happiness cannot be bought or sold. it can't be legislated. just rewards from achievement and hard work promotes human happiness. it brings fulfillment to yourself and others. in the happiness only

thrill of accomplishment. in the comfort of community and in communion with god. workss how solidarity together. they create a society that serves the poor. they build healthy relationships and on this ,hilosophy, from this beachhead we can fight back the growth of relativism. that is what good catholics must to do in this time. this is our charge. , thisthat is my take individual, that is my take on this aspect of catholic social teaching. as you can see, if it is not a step-by-step guide. it is a philosophy in certain principles. in a culture that stresses the "i," the church stretches the "we." .iscipline gets you freedom

in a world where relativism threatens the week, the church works to protect the poor and the powerless. these are the truths that anchor catholic social teaching. they offer you guidance as you discover god's plan for you. your task is to consider that guidance as you continue your search for wisdom. this is the advice i plan and giving my own kids. naturally, i hope they take my own point of view. that is how most parents feel. that you can't be secure in your beliefs until you know how they stack up against others. keep searching and questioning and make it stronger. and when you need a port of call, when you conference -- full circle, when you really know it, i hope you take comfort in the church just as i have. and when you do, you will know for certain you are there to stay. ,he reason i say it this way our catholic faith has endured

thousands of years for a reason. the world offers many challenges. you are entering into that. our legacy will endure if you can handle those challenges. if you're ready for it. , you're offdictine to a great start. i wish you continued success in your path. and whether you walk on the left side of the street or on the right side, or whether you walk the straight and narrow or if you take the scenic route, i hope you will always walk with god. and you very much. thank you very much. [applause]

[applause] >> the university of baltimore law school awards nancy pelosi an honor rare law degree. the california congresswoman is a baltimore native. her father and brother served as the city's mayor. his is just over 20 minutes. [applause] >> good afternoon.

what an honor, baltimore, my baltimore to be back here and see this magnificent class of graduates, to become a member of your class with this degree. thank you mr. president, thank you dean. i thank the entire leadership of the university of baltimore faculty and staff and thank you class of 2013 for adding me to your rank. for the graduates i offer you congratulations by what you have achieved by graduating and your opportunity to serve the public with a degree from this respected university. that was wonderful. jessica congratulations. how wonderful. we can applaud. [applause] what i would like to do now is have all of the students

ecognize, the parents, grandparents, the sacrifices that helped make today possible for so many of the graduates. let us all stand up, turn around and acknowledge all of those who made this possibly. thank you, families. [applause] what a proud day. it's a personal pleasure for me to be here. as a young girl, i came here on every wednesday night with my mother to hear the baltimore symphony. then on saturdays, i would come musicy classmates, we had appreciation. how proud we are that same musical institution is now led by a woman.

the first woman to head a major merican orchestra. it is made by the generosity by making the arts center such a magnificent venue. when it was mentioned i am from baltimore and rented san francisco and when she spoke about the super bowl. i thought i should share with you what it was like to be there with the whole family dressed in purple and my family was in red for the game. everyone was thrilled for the ravens. i thank him for giving us the ravens. everyone was thrilled and happy for baltimore when the ravens won. only one thing would have made me happier but you couldn't have both all season. i was rooting if are the ravens all season to go to the super

bowl, and i was rooting if san francisco to go to the super bowl, little i did i know they would both end up there. this has so many fond memories. outside looks different but the inside looks very much the same honoring the tradition as a symbol of baltimore and our commitment to the arts. because this is filled with so many fond memories for me and my family, it's a true honor to be here with you as a member of your class. it is a personal one to be with the class of 2013. this honor rare degree means a -- honorary o me degree means a great deal to me. on behalf of the people who made that possibly in the congress of the united states. it is a thrill to be here because my niece she graduated

last year in the class of 2012. her father graduated from the university of baltimore, much earlier. my nephew graduated, his wife graduated from here. my brother received an honorary degree and gave the address a number of years ago in 1997. the one thing that was really thrilling to me because when i was a little girl my mother used to say she wanted to be a lawyer. she started law skirl and she had seven children. four were sick at one time and she could never go back. she went to the university of baltimore. when my daughter became an attorney many years later in california my mother wrote to her you're living the dream. you're living the dream that so many women of us had at that time but it -- she went here in the 1930's.

now you young women and young men are in a completely different world be you have the beauty of the mix of everyone of the decision making. that's a great thing. it is, you know, an emotional for me. a member of my political family is a proud graduate of university of baltimore as well. in any case, i too want to join with the edging peter wonder fl support he has -- wonderful support he has given to the university. this is what this is about, honoring the opportunity that parents have given to us. as annie said what your calling is and what the president had said now much is expected to you to inspire others. others in the future. pick up the banner of honoring our constitution.

it's the oath we all take. protect and defend the constitution, that beautiful document. thank god they made it amendmentable, that is really important. standing before you today, i want to reference that this weekend on may 17, actually on friday, we observed the anniversary of the brown versus decision.of education may 17, 1954. i remember that day very well. i was in eighth grade. most of your parents weren't born yet. but i was in aceth grade. i remember it -- eighth grade. t was so transformative. my dad went on tv. he went on tv that night and he said this is the law of the

land. it will be enforced and honored in baltimore, maryland. that was really an important -- it was such a landmark and it meant so much to baltimore. it because baltimore lawyer, thurgood marshal who practiced law and graduated from this institution. think about what your possibilities are. thurgood marshal graduated right here. other lawyers participanted as well and he went on to be a justice of the supreme court as you know. was the city of baltimore headed by eli frank who had the courage and this is the word that makes all the difference in the world. they had the courage to make the city's school district the first south of the mason-dixon line to peacefully integrate its

schools. it was baltimore where we saw one of the most successful schools integration in the country. that includes the courageous young woman at southern high school. her son now is the president, the national president of the naacp. i'm so proud of our maryland's connection to freements in america. in -- freedom in america. i was taught with a noble calling and citizenship has its responsibilities. i think my mother wanted to be a lawyer because she thoughts it was an hanced way to -- enhanced role to exercise citizenship. when our common values of fairness and equality must not

only be restated but strengthened. we need your courage to face, confront, and outcome some of the challenges of our time, the challenges to our democracy. today, these challenges are being reflected over the meaning of our constitution. now i'm not going to go into every challenge we face. some that are currently on the front burner, a few before the court. gathered many of us with civil rights leaders and fellow members of congress on the steps of the supreme court to call on the justices to uphold the voting rights act. to protect and preserve the rights of every citizen to vote and ensure that every vote was counted as cast. joining us in that fight were the leaders of the campaign for women's rights, for