[applause] to introduce myself. i'm candy carson and i approve this message. [applause] mr. carson: we have a little time for some q&a and we have someone with a microphone down here. who would like to ask the first question? >> what is your plan to stop the funding for planned parenthood? plan to stopy

funding planned parenthood. the plan is to put it to congress people who have a backbone, people who have a spine. that's the plan. [applause] you know, i think this barbarism that is going on in our country, this is not who we are as people. i spent my entire professional ineer trying to save lives to create a better situation for young people. sometimes staying up all night long operating on little premature babies, even operating on babies while they were still in their mothers wombs. sometimes, i now get a chance to see those people as adults, as productive adults. there's no way you are convincing me that they are not worth anything. [applause]

>> doctor, your life story was butonly made for hollywood it was made for the white house. [applause] mr. carson: thank you, thank you. i will tell you i had an incredible life and i had a medical career that i cannot even explain. if someone sat me down in front of it can unit and said i want you to type out career you want have come could not up with a better scenario, but one of the things that i realized early on is that it was not me. it was god. i still recognize that. [applause] are you going to legalize

marijuana for medical reasons for cancer patients and epilepsy? mr. carson: i heard the last part. going to legalize marijuana for medical reasons for cancer patients and epilepsy y?ssia mr. carson: would i recommend medical marijuana? absolutely. andthat is very different legalizing it for recreational use. i would not do that under any circumstance. and -- [applause] you know, i take a hard line against drug abuse. a lot of the crime in our country is because of the heroin and stuff being brought across our southern borders and i think it's very easy for us to seal not only the southern border but all of our borders.

we have the ability to do it on our government has no will to do it. that will change. [applause] >> in 1976, the first manufacturing trade deficit in the united states. we've had trade deficits since then which has mounted to something like $6 trillion and millions and millions of jobs. we need to do something to make andelves industrial again we have to make ourselves such -- cannot can our change their borders. lowering exchange rates if the percent, lowering costs. germany did it by 35%. we need a way to bring jobs here.

it's there if we support american industry by exchange incentivesaxes, by for the right jobs and by most importantly the government deciding to have a fair economic policy so that incentives are made to invest yearly. look at 1948. how many good jobs there are today and look today. look at germany, japan, singapore, please tell me what -- mr. carson: ok, i think there aboutquestion in their how we look out for the american workers, how do we use our inhange rates, foreign trade

a positive way. let me tell you what my general philosophy is. you consider around and you can manipulate all kinds of things and sometimes it works and sometimes it backfires, but one thing that always works and does not ask fire is if we have policies that allow the innovation, ingenuity, and hard work of the american people to hold sway and not interfere by imposing all kinds of external rings. we have very creative people here and they will find a way to do it. [applause] is not get in do the way of that ingenuity and that hard work. a lot of the interference that we do at the government level with various types of subsidies and things help one group that

heard another. what i believe in is leading the strong survive. whoever is doing the best job, let them rise. if someone's doing a bad job, there's no such thing as too big to fail. will, fan do a better job and that's the way america is supposed to work. -- someone else will come forward and do a better job. >> hello, dr. carson. i want to know what you will do for education in terms of common core, standardized testing that is wearing my children thin and also the funding of our schools dependent upon by these and we pay so much on taxes. i hope there is a better way forward. education is the great divide in this country.

it does not matter where you came from, what your ethnicity is. you get a good education and you ticket.ur own therefore, it is absolutely essential that we recognize that but secondly the best education is the education closest to home . the people who have done the best have been the homeschoolers, private schoolers, charter schools. [applause] with public schools in general doing the worst -- not all but many of them are horrible places. what we have to do to fix that is to provide school choice. major thrust. school choice for everybody. [applause] that will force the public

school systems to improve and that's what we want. i don't necessarily want to want them them, but i to be high-quality. as far as common core -- out. we don't need anything like that. [applause] the other thing that i think is very important -- and i know the left-wing does not like this, -- i believe our department of education needs to be trimmed very significantly. one of the things that it can do is help to disseminate the kinds of technology that will help to close the gap we have with other with stemized nations programs. we have a lot of ways of doing that. we have the sophistication to do it. it simply just has not been made

available to the public. then i would also have the department of education monitor our education -- institutes of higher learning for extreme political bias and then i funding. montior for bias and deny funding. it in anyant to see direction right or left. people are supposed to be of differentts things. they are supposed to become educated. you cannot become educated when you're just being fed a line of propaganda. we need everything open to everybody. [applause] hello, dr. ben carson. i've wanted to be a doctor, a

heart surgeon or a brain surgeon. you have been inspiring me. i wrote you a letter. [laughter] i did and it was about you. mr. carson: thank you. >> can i give you my number? [laughter] can give it to that gentleman right there. write it down and give it to him, ok? [applause] >> hi, dr. carson. thank you for running. a foster to adopt mom, i've had many children in my doors, over 72. there are many times that the adoption process for these children takes three to five years. there are many who are turned

back in because they are too old to adopt or they run out of time to be in the system and at 18 they get a few hundred dollars and a path to know where. nowh i woulde like to see a new path and communities to help these children so we canr have a stronger america with our future. e. [applause] mr. carson: absolutely and thank you for your willingness to do that in thanks to everyone who is willing to get involved with our young people. one of the things that i think is so important in our country people, the we, the community, business, academia, wall street, churches, community all need to get involved and investing in people . you look at all of the babies being born out of wedlock.

there is no reason that we, the people, cannot form childcare that we staff and it gives us an opportunity to talk to these young women and it gives them an opportunity to go their ged, their associates degree, bachelor's degree, master's degree, learn how to take care of the elves and how to take care of their children, teach their children to take care of themselves so that we break the cycle of dependency that is crushing our society. [applause] >> one more question. has a police officer, one of my concerns is the violence directed towards law enforcement the last year and a half. tot do you think you can do

alleviate that so our job -- will never be easy, but making it a little easier for us? mr. carson: the best thing we can do is to seal the border so all of those drugs are not coming in here. you how impressed we were to see the stashes of drugs. there was so much heroin coming in now and in some of our cities you can buy a pack of heroine cheaper than a pack of cigarettes. everywhere it goes it carries along an enormous crime wave with it. that me tell you what i would do to stop it. definitely put structures along our borders. what i prefer is a double fence, a high-end double fence, with a road in between which allows

quick access to every part of it . more importantly, you have to have people there. you have to have border guards there. they are like 70 miles inland and it does not do any good. they need to be out of order. it's why they are called border guards. -- they need to be at the border. then we need to prosecute people who come in here illegally. right now we have a catch and release thing. some of the sheriffs say they are dealing with the same people a few weeks later who just try to come in through a different route. that does not work. arizona, they have prosecution of the first sense. and they have the double wall fence. and they have border guards there.

they reduced the illegal traffic by 97%. [applause] of course that will stop the drug traffic from coming in. where theyne area had cut through the fence -- and these are nothing. they would barely slow us down when i was a kid. it's just ridiculous. there's one place where they cut a big hole and the border patrol strung a few pieces of barbed wire across. to show how pervious it was camera crews with us they wanted to shoot from the other side so they just went through right there. they were not athletic people. this is just ridiculous. there were no border guards. it's just a free flow.

i would fix that not only at the southern border but all of our borders. we don't necessarily have to put pacific, the atlantic, the northern border, but we have methods of surveillance. we have electronic surveillance, motion detectors, drumones and people. it's not just the people from mexico and el salvador but the radical jihadists and they want to destroy us. we have to keep them out of here. absolutely. [applause] and also, if we turn off the spigot that dispenses the goodies there will not the reason for people to try to get in here. [applause]

mind, there will still be 11 million plus people here. what do we do with those people? i have said that i don't think you can round them all up. first of all, what makes you think they will be cooperative? it will jam the court system for years to come. it's just impractical. we have to be pragmatic. that's why the things you learn as a surgeon. there's lots of things you would like to do but you will do what's pragmatic. for people with a pristine acord -- if you don't have pristine record, you are a criminal and a scumbag and you are out of here. [applause] record, ie a pristine would give people an opportunity to become a guest worker. they have to get registered within a certain timeframe.

they have to pay it back tax penalty. they have to pay taxes going forward. if they are willing to work in a certain segment -- and it has to be a segment that americans .on't want to work in i've spoken to some of the biggest farmers in the country and they tell me that they cannot hire americans to do the farm work. they'd try even at $11 per hour. i understand the practicality of that. if we do not have those people, it will create a big problem. but i don't necessarily want guestworkers working in areas like construction in places where we have a lot of americans looking for those jobs. we have to be wise in the way that we do it so that it becomes a win for everybody. the other thing to keep in mind -- we always have to look at the

big picture. it in cameroon right now there are american companies help to millions of acres of very fertile land and getting incredible crops and making big profits. at the same time developing the infrastructure of that country providing jobs for some of the people there and teaching them, more importantly, the agriculture businesses they can continue to do that in their own creating friends for us and not creating additional debt for us. tonot make any sense for us borrow from china, pay the interest, and give aid to foreign countries. and what we can do instead -- [applause] what we can do instead is use our american ingenuity to engage win-win situations. we can do the same thing in

weth and central america so help them develop themselves so they do not feel that they have to come here. creatingme time we are friends rather than resent on. that's the kind of thing we used to do. that's how we used to think. americans we are as -- people who care about others. we are compassionate about others. this country is the child of every other country and we have a risk on to ability to lead and not always follow. -- we have a responsibility to lead and not always follow. [applause] ♪ campaign long, c-span

takes you on the road to the white house. unfiltered access to the candidate at town hall meetings, news conferences, rallies and speeches. we are taking your comments on there, facebook, and by phone. every campaign event we cover is available on our website at c-span.org. today, i am a reporter. is this marion barry's place? i called him up. i said mr. mayor, i have just been to club 55. don't you realize that people are watching what you do and where you go? there was a pause on the phone. he says --it is nice isn't it? sharewood on the political corruption in d.c., aryl and, and virginia. 44 attorney generals from

around the country signed the letter saying that they agreed with governor mcdonnell. they said that what he did was politics and not bribery. he should have been reporting the gifts. wedding,or a child's $70,000 loan. beenroblem was that he had considered as a vice presidential candidate and he was in over his head. this is another case where you are a public figure, you let your messy private life combined together. >> sunday night at 8:00 p.m. eastern and pacific. white house spokesman josh earnest confirmed that president obama will meet with russian president who next week at the annual you and general assembly meeting. here is a portion of thursday's white house briefing. >> good afternoon everyone. thing tohave any

report so let's go straight to the questions. can you give us some context on what we can expect out of the meeting? does the president see it as a meeting that will result in an agreement? julie, president obama does look forward to meeting president putin at his request. president clinton's request next week. with presidents will be attending the u.n. -- the precise date of their meeting will be open -- we are hoping to resolve. >> the russians said monday. >> i will let you know if we can confirm that. when the president sits down with president putin, the top item on his agenda will be ukraine. will once again

use this occasion to reinforce to president putin the importance of russia keeping the commitments they have made in the context of the minsk agreement. presidentmessage that putin has heard from some of our european allies who have raised concerns with the way that combined russian separatists forces in the eastern ukraine have continued to destabilize that country. receivetinue to important military support from the russian government and that is a clear violation of the territorial integrity of that sovereign nation. the impact of the coordinated actions of the united states and a results on russia as of those activities are not insignificant. they have contributed to a significant weakening of the russian economy over the last couple of years. those that since those sanctions

were put into place. the russian economy is expected to contract about 3% this year. the russian economy in 2013 was measured at 18 the size of the the size of the u.s. economy. the 15th now just largest economy in the world. one rung below spain on the latter. , hasussian central-bank lost about $150 billion in reserves. and both the s&p and duties have downgraded russia's credit rating to junk status. it is clear that russia's international isolation and their continued refusal to abide international norms especially when it comes to these combined russian separatist forces has taken a

significant toll on their academy this will be at the top of the president's agenda when the two presidents it down. nor has president clinton been interred -- deterred. is that you do not know what he is doing there. when he meets with president , will there bely discussions about the russian cooperation with syria? the private message will be the same message you have heard him deliver publicly. president obama will make it clear that russia doubling down on its support for the assad regime is a losing bet and the likely consequence will be to deepen and expand the ongoing crisis in that country. that does not serve the interests of either the russian people or the american people.

president obama will encourage president putin to consider constructive contributions to the ongoing counter isil effort. there are more than 60 nations involved. and they are seeking to destroy isil. we would like to see the constructive a contribution to that effort. these kinds of concerns about russia's stepped up military involvement in syria are not at all inconsistent with some of the concern that i know prime minister netanyahu has had a chance to raise when he traveled to moscow earlier this week. worry or was it considered at all that i happening -- i'd having this that this contributes to the argument that you are

isolating president putin on the world stage? >> you do raise an important point about the link -- the length that there has been in the time between the president's meetings. there has been formal conversations -- the president last spoke to president putin in completioncuss the of the p5 plus one agreement with iran. in the context of that call, president obama rightfully knowledged the constructive way that russia had participated in those talks. they also spoke in june to discuss ukraine. and they had face-to-face interactions last fall, i believe at the g 20 and at the end of aipac. this will be the first opportunity that leaders will have to sit down in a formal way to discuss these issues.

president putin requested the meeting. i think at this point, considering the significant concerns that i have just raised, it makes sense for president obama to sit down with his counterpart and see if he can get some greater clarity about russian intentions inside of ukraine and whether or not they are going to begin to take steps to abide by the commitments they have made but they have not lived up to in the context of ukraine and whether leastre willing to at consider president obama's advice when it comes to reinforcing the military support for the assad regime. i assume it you will seek to weaken the isolation on the world stage. i chronicle the toll that russia's international isolation has taken on the domestic economy.

oft will not change because one in person conversation. a meeting like this does have the potential to give the united states greater insight into what exactly russia's intentions are. to bensight is not likely gleaned from one conversation but they can lay the groundwork, it can potentially lay the groundwork for better coordination. it remains to be seen but at least it is a proposition worth testing. >> you emphasized that president putinresident other the president made white house meetings. >> i will not chronicle other meetings that president putin has requested.

it is clear that president vladimir putin is interested in the intention of the leader of the united states of america. -- given thegth lengthy list of concerns that we have about russian conduct in these international hotspots, a face-to-face sit down seems appropriate at this juncture. a potential government shutdown. could you update us on efforts the white house has been making to prevent the shutdown. i cannot detail all of the conversations that may have taken place between the white house and capitol hill that i can confirm that there were -- that there have been conversations between white house officials and members of

congress on capitol hill to discuss the need to avoid a government shutdown and to the snowquester is not locked in. eventualthere is bipartisan agreement around an botht to adequately fund of our national security and economic priorities. wondering whether the white house is worried at all about the pope's visit overshadowing the chinese president's visit? >> i have not heard anyone raise that concern. i think the sense is that this is a week that we have long one filledas being with a lot of intentional diplomacy and that includes not

just welcoming the pope to the thee house, or hosting chinese president to a state dinner, but also the important dinner that will be done in new york next week in the context of the united nations general assembly. in each of those meetings, the president will be considering how the united states can continue to use our international influence to advance our interests around the globe. i am comfortable that we will have ample opportunity this tomorrow int also the context of the formal visit to discuss what interests the united states and china share in common, and how talks can be productive even on those issues -- that mighty be be characterized as having competition. on the chinese president's visit, there is a they are coming

together on cyber security. can you update us on that effort? istonight's dinner essentially the same kind of engagement that was planned when president obama visited china last fall. you will recall that china hosted aipac where nations from around the asia-pacific travel to beijing or a set of multilateral meetings. at the end of aipac, president obama remained in china for another day or two coup to engage in a series of meetings with his counterpart. ofkicked off that series bilateral meetings with a the chineseer that president hosted for him in beijing. presidentt the appreciates that personal interaction outside of the glare of the lights.

formalitiesm the and the pomp and circumstance. to be insightful. i think the president, despite the language barrier and some obvious stylistic differences, the president has touted to be a useful format to talk about issues that are important to both leaders in both countries. the idea is to reciprocate that -- that kind of invitation with one of his own. s will be having a dinner tonight at blair house. there will be some other senior, u.s. officials and chinese officials there. but not very many. anticipate feedback

tomorrow although they will do a press conference row. -- tomorrow. our hope is that this will be a good way to begin what will eventually be a daylong set of meetings to try to advance the interests of the united states. is the ultimate goal to have a bridge. discussnot prepared to anything at this point but we have made clear to the chinese both publicly and privately that issues related to cyber security and our concerns with china's willct in cyberspace feature prominently on the agenda. i think that will start tonight at the dinner. i think that it is clear, i have said this before, that the chinese president, a couple of weeks ago, dispatched a senior to travel toial the united states and meet with

a variety of u.s. officials including in law enforcement and the intelligence between 80 and at the white house to address the concerns that we have raised related to cyber security. madee chinese president some comments and seattle that -- ihinese government wonder what the president makes of these comments. does president obama trust that the chinese president will stick to an agreement? be a situation where we will pay particular attention to the chinese behavior. we put more stock in their actions than in their words. comments are at least consistent with what we have urged the chinese to do when it comes to their policies.

but again, it is certainly not going to eliminate the concerns that we have. it is certainly not going to reduce the priority that we progresstrying to make in the issues that are coming up in the next 36 hours. >> the next -- the refugee crisis. the unitedre that states can and should be doing to help europe in this crisis. at this point, there is no -- let's go back to what we said a couple of weeks ago. we made clear that the united states, based on a decision made president, is the prepared to accept 10,000 refugees in the next fiscal year. that reflects a significant scaling up of our response. you have heard announcements over the course of this week

from secretary kerry indicating that the overall level -- the overall number of refugees that we will try to move through the process and bring it in the united states will increase in the next fiscal year and the one after that. >> right now, it seems like the urgency is there. >> there is a sense of urgency and that is why earlier this week i announced that the united states would be committing more than $400 million additional humanitarian assistance to this ongoing effort. as long as we are talking about the most effective way to meet beefing up need, that humanitarian response is the most effective way to meet those needs in the near term. certainly, over the longer term, we are going to need to see a couple of things. first, a continued commitment on the part of the european nations to confront the challenges that

they faced together and not just rely on contributions and generosity from one or two coup countries on the continent. ultimately, the situation will only be resolved if we can affect political transition and site -- in syria. >> did the president get to see the pope's speech and remarks on capitol hill? he did have the opportunity to see at least part of pope francis is remarks to the congress today. i did not get to talk to him about his specific reaction. that he would have been messagey the kind of that pope francis had to deliver to the leaders of this country but to the citizens of this country also. pope francis made the appropriate observation that it is important for the united states to live up to the high standard that we have set for byselves and that was met

those who came before us. of people example like dr. king and president lincoln. for the role that they played in shaping our country and in the values that guide the leaders of our country. i think it was a powerful speech. >> back to china, is it the white house's sense that china is helping russia economically -- you listed a number of ways that u.s. economically has been able to sanction the russians for their misbehavior in places like ukraine but it seems like china may be girding them up? if that is so, what does that say about china --? on relationspert

between russia and china. i did make note in the last was an energyre contract between russia and china that would appeal to the significant economic benefit of russia. is anysense that there cooperation on going, and it does not seem to a been flawless. to the extent that there may have been efforts by the chinese to strengthen the russian economy based on the statistics i read earlier, it does not appear that their efforts were particularly successful. the fact is that russia is isolated and there are economy has taken a hit as a result of it. as julie pointed out, rightly, shown this on previous occasions, it has not resulted in the kind of behavior change that we would like to see from the russians who continue to offer support to the russian separatists forces inside eastern ukraine. that continues to be a concern

to the united states and to france and to germany. what we would like to see is russia live up to the commitment that they made in the context of the minsk agreement and the president has been quite clear since the first day that the sanctions were imposed that the united states would be prepared to offer relief from the sanctions as soon as there is evidence that russia had actually followed through on what they said they were going to do but we have not seen that so far. that is where the sanctions remain in place and that is contributing to the kind of economic weakness that we are seeing in russia right now. >> on the next washington journal, pope francis's visit to new york, the second video on his u.s. trickery than a review of the popes speech to congress. the tone, topics, religious significance, and political implications. washington journal is live every morning at 7:00 a.m. eastern on c-span and we welcome your calls, and comments on facebook and twitter.

>> the c-span network featuring weekends full of politics, nonfiction books, and american history. the pope's visit to the united states continues on saturday as he travels from your philadelphia. live coverage starts at four clock p.m. eastern as pope francis speaks at independence hall. at 7:30 p.m., the pontiff attends the festival of families which is part of the world meeting of families. evening at 6:35 p.m. evening as a harvard professor and presidential candidate lawrence lessig talks about his decision to run for president and his suggestions to change the political system. and on c-span2 comic book tv, saturday night at 10:00 p.m., ill o'reilly speaks with dave buchanan on his latest book -- killing reagan. an inside look at ronald reagan's career and the

challenges he faced following an assassination attempt. author and investor dave casey sits down at freedom fest to discuss his latest book on politics and economics. on american history tv on c-span3, saturday evening starting at 7:00 p.m. eastern, we live from gettysburg college to mark the 125th anniversary of president dwight d eisenhower's birth. discussing his military and political career with his grandchildren, susan, and, and mary eisenhower. sunday afternoon at four clock p.m. on railamerica, and archival film that committing the 1963 visit of the king and queen of afghanistan to the united dates which included a visit with president kennedy and a parade through washington, d.c. get our complete weekend schedule at c-span.org. toleaving the vatican wellington d.c. he headed to capitol hill thursday morning or a historic meeting.

the first pope to address congress. [cheering]

[cheers from crowd] [cheers from crowd] [cheers and applause] >> delivering the first-ever

papal address to congress, he encouraged health for the poor. washington was the first stop of three cities in the the united states.

sergeant at arms: mr. speaker, the pope of the holy see. [applause]

the speaker: members of congress, i have the high privilege and distinct honor of presenting to you, pope francis of the holy see. pope francis: mr. vice president, mr. speaker, all the members of congress, dear friends.

i am most grateful for your invitation to address this joint session of congress in "the land of the free and the home of the brave." [applause]

i would like to think that the reason for this is that i too am a son of this great continent, from which we have all received so much and toward which we share a common responsibility. each son or daughter of a given country has a mission, a personal and social responsibility. your own responsibility as members of congress is to enable this country, by your legislative activity, to grow as a nation. you are the face of its people, their representatives. you are called to defend and preserve the dignity of your fellow citizens in the tireless and demanding pursuit of the common good, for this is the

chief aim of all politics. a political society endures when it seeks, as a vocation, to satisfy common needs by stimulating the growth of all its members, especially those in situations of greater vulnerability or risk. legislative activity is always based on care for the people.

to this you have been invited, called and convened by those who elected you. yours is a work which makes me reflect in two ways on the figure of moses. on the one hand, the patriarch and lawgiver of the people of israel symbolizes the need of peoples to keep alive their sense of unity by means of just legislation. on the other, the figure of moses leads us directly to god and thus to the transcendent dignity of the human being. [applause]

moses provides us with a good synthesis of your work: you are asked to protect, by means of the law, the image and likeness fashioned by god on every human life. today i would like not only to address you, but through you the entire people of the united states. here, together with their representatives, i would like to take this opportunity to

dialogue with the many thousands of men and women who strive each day to do an honest day's work, to bring home their daily bread, to save money and one step at a time to build a better life for their families. these are men and women who are not concerned simply with paying their taxes, but in their own quiet way sustain the life of society. [applause] they generate solidarity by their actions, and they create organizations which offer a helping hand to those most in need.

i would also like to enter into dialogue with the many elderly persons who are a storehouse of wisdom forged by experience, and who seek in many ways, especially through volunteer work, to share their stories and their insights. i know that many of them are retired, but still active; they keep working to build up this land. i also want to dialogue with all those young people who are working to realize their great

and noble aspirations, who are not led astray by facile proposals, and who face difficult situations, often as a result of immaturity on the part of many adults. i wish to dialogue with all of you, and i would like to do so through the historical memory of your people. my visit takes place at a time when men and women of good will are marking the anniversaries of several great americans.

the complexities of history and the reality of human weakness notwithstanding, these men and women, for all their many differences and limitations, were able by hard work and self-sacrifice some at the cost of their lives to build a better future. they shaped fundamental values which endure forever in the spirit of the american people. a people with this spirit can live through many crises, tensions and conflicts, while always finding the resources to move forward, and to do so with

dignity. these men and women offer us a way of seeing and interpreting reality. in honoring their memory, we are inspired, even amid conflicts, and in the here and now of each day, to draw upon our deepest cultural reserves. i would like to mention four of thesamericans: abraham lincoln, martin luther king, dorothy day and thomas merton.

[applause] this year marks the one hundred -- this year marks the 150th anniversary of the assassination of president abraham lincoln, the guardian of liberty, who labored tirelessly that "this nation, under god, might have a new birth of freedom." building a future of freedom requires love of the common good and cooperation in a spirit of subsidiarity and solidarity.

all of us are quite aware and deeply worried by the disturbing social and political situation of the world today. our world is increasingly a place of violent conflict, hatred and brutal atrocities, committed even in the name of god and of religion. we know that no religion is immune from forms of individual delusion or ideological extremism. this means that we must be especially attentive to every type of fundamentalism, whether religious or of any other kind.

a delicate balance is required to combat violence perpetrated in the name of a religion, an ideology or an economic system, while also safeguarding religious freedom, intellectual freedom and individual freedoms. [applause] but there is another temptation which we must especially guard against: the simplistic reductionism which sees only good or evil; or, if you will,

the righteous and sinners. the contemporary world, with its open wounds which affect so many of our brothers and sisters, demands that we confront every form of polarization which would divide it into these two camps. we know that in the attempt to be freed of the enemy without, we can be tempted to feed the enemy within. to imitate the hatred and violence of tyrants and murderers is the best way to take their place.

that is something which you, as a people, reject. [applause] our response must instead be one of hope and healing, of peace and justice. we are asked to summon the courage and the intelligence to resolve today's many geopolitical and economic crises. even in the developed world, the effects of unjust structures and actions are all too apparent.

our efforts must aim at restoring hope, righting wrongs, maintaining commitments, and thus promoting the well-being of individuals and of peoples. we must move forward together, as one, in a renewed spirit of fraternity and solidarity, cooperating generously for the common good. [applause] the challenges facing us today call for a renewal of that spirit of cooperation, which has

accomplished so much good throughout the history of the united states. the complexity, the gravity and the urgency of these challenges demand that we pool our resources and talents, and resolve to support one another, with respect for our differences and our convictions of conscience. [applause] in this land, the various religious denominations have greatly contributed to building and strengthening society.

it is important that today, as in the past, the voice of faith continue to be heard, for it is a voice of fraternity and love, which tries to bring out the best in each person and in each society. such cooperation is a powerful resource in the battle to eliminate new global forms of slavery, born of grave injustices which can be overcome only through new policies and new forms of social consensus.

politics is instead an expression of our compelling need to live as one in order to build as one the greatest common good, that of community which sacrifices particular interest in order to share in justice and peace, its goods, its interests, its social life. i do not underestimate the difficulty that this involves. but i encourage you in this effort. [applause]

here too i think of the march which martin luther king led from selma to montgomery 50 years ago as part of the campaign to fulfill his dream of full civil and political rights for african americans. [applause] that dream continues to inspire us all. i am happy that america continues to be, for many, a land of dreams.

[applause] dreams which lead to action, to participation, to commitment. dreams which awaken what is deepest and truest in the life of a people. in recent centuries, millions of people came to this land to pursue their dream of building a future in freedom. we, the people of this

continent, are not fearful of foreigners, because most of us - [applause] because most of us were once foreigners. [applause] i say this to you as the son of immigrants, knowing that so many of you are also descended from immigrants. [applause] tragically, the rights of those who were here long before us

were not always respected. for those peoples and their nations, from the heart of american democracy, i wish to reaffirm my highest esteem and appreciation. those first contacts were often turbulent and violent, but it is difficult to judge the past by the criteria of the present. [applause] nonetheless, when the stranger in our midst appeals to us, we must not repeat the sins and the

errors of the past. [applause] we must resolve now to live as nobly and as justly as possible, as we educate new generations not to turn their back on our neighbors and everything around us. building a nation calls us to recognize that we must constantly relate to others, rejecting a mind-set of hostility in order to adopt one of reciprocal subsidiarity, in a constant effort to do our best.

i am confident that we can do this. our world is facing a refugee crisis of a magnitude not seen since the second world war. this presents us with great challenges and many hard decisions. on this continent, too, thousands of persons are led to travel north in search of a better life for themselves and for their loved ones, in search of greater opportunities. is this not what we want for our

own children? [applause] we must not be taken aback by their numbers, but rather view them as persons, seeing their faces and listening to their stories, trying to respond as best we can to their situation. to respond in a way which is always humane, just and fraternal. we need to avoid a common temptation nowadays, to discard whatever proves troublesome. let us remember the golden rule,

do unto others as you would have - [applause] do unto others as you would have them do unto you. this rule points us in a clear direction. let us treat others with the same passion and compassion with which we want to be treated. let us seek for others the same possibilities which we seek for ourselves.

let us help others to grow, as we would like to be helped ourselves. in a word, if we want security, let us give security. [applause] if we want life, let us give life. if we want opportunities, let us provide opportunities. the yardstick we use for others will be the yardstick which time will use for us. [applause]

the golden rule also reminds us of our responsibility to protect and defend human life at every stage of its development. this conviction has led me from the beginning of my ministry, to advocate at different levels for the global abolition of the death penalty. [applause]

i am convinced that this way is the best, since every life is sacred, every human person is endowed with an inalienable dignity, and society can only benefit from the rehabilitation of those convicted of crimes. recently my brother bishops here in the united states renewed their call for the abolition of the death penalty. [applause] not only do i support them, but i also offer encouragement to

all those who are convinced that a just and necessary punishment must never exclude the dimension of hope and the goal of rehabilitation. [applause] in these times when social concerns are so important, i cannot fail to mention the servant of god, dorothy day, who founded the catholic worker movement. her social activism, her passion for justice and for the cause of the oppressed, were inspired by the gospel, her faith, and the

example of the saints. how much progress has been made in this area in so many parts of the world. how much has been done in these first years of the third millennium to raise people out of extreme poverty. i know that you share my conviction that much more still needs to be done, and that in times of crisis and economic

hardship a spirit of global solidarity must not be lost. at the same time i would encourage you to keep in mind all those people around us who are trapped in a cycle of poverty. they too need to be given hope. the fight against poverty and hunger must be fought constantly and on many fronts, especially in its causes. i know that many americans today, as in the past, are working to deal with this problem. it goes without saying that part of this great effort is the creation and distribution of wealth. the right use of natural

resources, the proper application of technology and the harnessing of the spirit of enterprise are essential elements of an economy which seeks to be modern, inclusive and sustainable. [applause] business is a noble vocation, directed to producing wealth and improving the world. it can be a fruitful source of prosperity for the area in which it operates, especially if it sees the creation of jobs as an essential part of its service to

the common good. [applause] this common good also includes the earth, a central theme of the encyclical which i recently wrote in order to enter into dialogue with all people about our common home. we need a conversation which includes everyone, since the environmental challenge we are undergoing, and its human roots, concern and affect us all. [applause]

in laudato si', i call for a courageous and responsible effort to redirect our steps, and to avert the most serious effects of the environmental deterioration caused by human activity. i am convinced that we can make a difference, i'm sure -- [applause]

and i have no doubt that the united states, and this congress, have an important role to play. now is the time for courageous actions and strategies, aimed at implementing a culture of care and an integrated approach to combating poverty, restoring dignity to the excluded, and at the same time protecting nature. [applause] we have the freedom needed to limit and direct technology, to devise intelligent ways of

developing and limiting our power, and to put technology at the service of another type of progress, one which is healthier, more human, more social, more integral. in this regard, i am confident that america's outstanding academic and research institutions can make a vital contribution in the years ahead. [applause] a century ago, at the beginning of the great war, which pope

benedict xv termed a pointless slaughter, another notable american was born, the cistercian monk thomas merton. he remains a source of spiritual inspiration and a guide for many people. in his autobiography he wrote, i came into the world. free by nature, in the image of god. i was nevertheless the prisoner of my own violence and my own selfishness, in the image of the world into which i was born.

that world was the picture of hell, full of men like myself, loving god, and yet hating him. born to love him, living instead in fear of hopeless self-contradictory hungers. merton was above all a man of prayer, a thinker who challenged the certitudes of his time and opened new horizons for souls and for the church. he was also a man of dialogue, a peoples and religions.

from this perspective of dialogue, i would like to recognize the efforts made in recent months to help overcome historic differences linked to painful episodes of the past. it is my duty to build bridges and to help all men and women, in any way possible, to do the same. when countries which have been at odds resume the path of dialogue a dialogue which may have been interrupted for the most legitimate of reasons new

opportunities open up for all. [applause] this has required, and requires, courage and daring, which is not the same as responsibility. a good political leader is one who, with the interests of all in mind, seizes the moment in a spirit of openness and pragmatism. a good political leader always opts to initiate processes rather than possessing spaces. [applause]

being at the service of dialogue and peace also means being truly determined to minimize and, in the long term, to end the many armed conflicts throughout our world. [applause] here we have to ask ourselves: why are deadly weapons being sold to those who plan to inflict untold suffering on individuals and society? sadly, the answer, as we all

know, is simply for money: money that is drenched in blood, often innocent blood. in the face of this shameful and culpable silence, it is our duty to confront the problem and to stop the arms trade. [applause] three sons and a daughter of this land.

four individuals and four dreams. lincoln, liberty; martin luther king, liberty in plurality and non-exclusion; dorothy day, social justice and the rights of persons; and thomas merton, the capacity for dialogue and openness to god. four representatives of the american people. i will end my visit to your country in philadelphia, where i will take part in the world meeting of families. it is my wish that throughout my

visit, the family should be a recurrent theme. how essential the family has been to the building of this country. [applause] and how worthy it remains of our support and encouragement. yet i cannot hide my concern for the family, which is threatened, perhaps as never before, from within and without. fundamental relations have been

called into question, as is the very basis of marriage and the family. i can only reiterate the importance and, above all, the richness and the beauty of family life. [applause] in particular, i would like to call attention to those family members who are the most vulnerable, the young. for many of them, a future filled with countless possibilities beckons, yet so many others seem disoriented and

aimless, trapped in a hopeless maze of violence, abuse and despair. their problems are our problems. [applause] we cannot avoid them. we need to face them together, to talk about them and to seek effective solutions rather than getting bogged down in discussions. at the risk of oversimplifying, we might say that we live in a culture which pressures young

people not to start a family, because they lack possibilities for the future. yet this same culture presents others with so many options that they too are dissuaded from starting a family. [applause] a nation can be considered great when it defends liberty as lincoln did, when it fosters a culture which enables people to "dream" of full rights for all brothers and sisters, as martin do.er king saud to

ought to do. when it strives for justice and the cause of the oppressed, as dorothy day did by her tireless work, the fruit of her faith, which becomes dialogue and sows peace in the contemplative style of thomas merton. in these remarks i have sought to present some of the richness of your cultural heritage, of the spirit of the american people. it is my desire that this spirit continue to develop and grow, so that as many young people as possible can inherit and dwell in a land which has inspired so many people to dream.

god bless america! [applause] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

>> pope francis has left washington and traveled to new york city. today he will address the united nation's general assembly, following his human speech, he will attend a service at the 9/11 museum. our coverage of pope francis in new york begins at 10:00 eastern on c-span3. >> the c-span network features weekends full of american history. the pope's visit to the united states continues saturday, as he travels from new york to philadelphia. 4:30coverage begins at p.m. eastern. at 7:30, the pontiff attend the festival of families which is a part of the world meeting of families. moving to our road to white house coverage, join us sunday

evening at 6:35 as harvard professor and presidential candidate lawrence lessig talks about his decision to run for president. book tv, said night at 10:00 p.m., bill o'reilly buchanan on his latest book, killing ronald reagan. on sunday afternoon at 1:00, doug casey sits down with book tv at freedom fest and las vegas to discuss his latest book on politics and economics. on american history tv on c-span3, saturday evening, starting at seven easton, we are live from gettysburg college to atk the 125th college -- one the 25th anniversary of dwight d. eisenhower's birth. sunday afternoon at 4:00 on real

america, and archival film documenting the 1963 visit of the king and queen of afghanistan to the united states which included a meeting with president john f. kennedy. get our complete schedule at c-span.org. >> following his remarks, pope francis headed to the balcony congressional leaders and made brief remarks. [cheering]

[applause] [cheering and applause]

[chanting] [crowd noise] [cheering and applause] i am grateful for your appearance here. [cheering and applause] the most important ones here, children.

[applause] i will ask god to bless them. all, bless each of them. bless the families. bless them all. and i ask you all please to pray .or me

if there are among you who do , or cannot pray, i ask you please to send good wishes my way -- [cheering and applause] thank you very much. god bless america. [cheering and applause]

>> pope francis has left went to new york city. he will attend a service at the 9/11 memorial and museum. our coverage of pope francis begins at 10:00 easton on c-span3 -- 10 cut eastern on c-span3. capital,leaving the pope francis spoke to st. patrick's church to 200 catholic

charities in downtown washington, dc. [crowd noise]