to help me buy those building materials. amex helped me buy the inventory i needed. our amex helped us fill the orders. just like that. another step on the journey. will you be ready when growth presents itself? realize your buying power at open.com good morning, everyone. welcome to "weekends with alex wi witt." here is also what's ahead for you this hour. new reaction today from bill clinton to hillary clinton's private e-mail controversy. fresh squabbles among gop candidates in the race for the white house. and how significant is president obama's first face-to-face meeting with vl vladimir putin in a long time? well, pope francis wraps up his visit in the u.s. today with yet another busy schedule in

philadelphia. it includes a papal mass expected to draw at least 1 million people. last night tens of thousands lined a parade route to get a glimpse of the pope as he made his way to the festival of families, and during that star-studded celebration featuring arena franklin and andrea bocelli, the pope interjected a bit of humor as he spoke about the importance of family. >> translator: families have the difficulti difficulties. families, we quarrel. and sometimes plates can fly. and children bring headaches. i won't speak about mother-in-laws.

>> charming. well, in the afternoon pope francis delivered a speech at independence hall about religious freedom and immigration inspiring thousands with family ties to other countries. >> i'm first generation. my mom is from colombia and my dad is from cuba and i feel like all their stories kind of were highlighted by what the pope is saying which is really great because he's somebody that everybody in the catholic face looks up to, and i really felt like it was true what he said about not forgetting where we come from. >> the one thing i heard was when he was talking about loving one another. we're all human. just because i was born somewhere else doesn't make me less of a human than you are. >> well, let's go now to claudia in philadelphia. what can you tell us about the pope's full schedule today? >> alex, he's going to start with in about an hour with a meeting with 300 bishops in the seminary where he's stated.

he visited the young seminary there yesterday. he got a pretty warm reception there from there with cheers and selfies and pictures and all the things that seminaries will do when they see the pope now. he's the second pope that visits that seminary after john paul ii in 1979. today is going to be a more tranquil and calm situation there with a meeting with the bishops. later on he moves on to do what he does best. he meets the marginalized in a prison, the largest prison here in philadelphia. now, this is a prison with more than 2,000 inmates among which are people charged with murder, assault, rape, and all kinds -- he's going to meet about 100 of them. now, he's made it a bit of a tradition to visit prisons where ever he goes. in bolivia he met inmates in the most violent prison in santa cruz. while in italy now he's made it a tradition, a ritual every holy

thursday before easter he washes the feet of fris er prisoners. then he moves on later on to hold the great mass here in philadelphia, the biggest gat r gathering we have seen so far probably in his trip to the u.s. with more than a million people expected to gather here for his sendoff, his great sendoff. that wasn't the only funny moment last night when he talked about the family. he also said, well, i'll -- when he was about to leave, he said, well, i'll see you tomorrow at mass and then he turned to his assistant and said what time is it again? clearly the pope is getting a little tired as well after this amazingly busy schedule. how can you judge him for that. >> i don't think we do. i think we all actually marvel at the way he is able to keep up that schedule, but claudio, you bring up a point, how often does this pope go off script? because things are very beautifully prepared.

he knows the intent of every word and the meaning of it, and yet the charm that he displayed going off script, he had everybody laughing. he just seems like the average regular guy. >> reporter: well, i will say he almost always does that. apart from maybe the homilies at masses when he's in the public events like that he almost goes off script. it creates headaches for all of us journalists who receive these embargoed speeches and we research and study two hours before and he completely goes off script. in particular in spanish. so we'll have to polish our spanish as well. >> i like his style. thank you so much, claudio, in philadelphia. a lion's share of the responsibility fof keeping the pope and the people of philadelphia safe is falling on the city's police force. let's bring in the city's police commissioner, charles ramsey. with a welcome to you, what has been your biggest challenge so

far? >> actually it's gone remarkably well. we had a significant crowd of people last night during the parade. also at independence hall, but we've had nothing occur that was out of the ordinary or certainly nothing that we didn't expect. and we've been able to maintain calm out in the neighborhoods at the same time. so we're very pleased. >> so to what, sir, do you attribute that success? you have essentially doubled the population of philadelphia in the last couple of days. how do you do that? >> well, i mean, careful planning. the mayor has been involved in this for several months now along with a lot of other people that really have devoted a good deal of time toward planning and all the different agencies involved and so forth, and even though a plan never goes 100% according to plan, this one came pretty close, and we've been able to so far maintain a lot of

peace and calm in the city. >> well, despite the positive spiritual nature of this important guest to the city, it has certainly affected the residents and their daily life. any grumblings or complications you have heard about? >> nothing of any consequence. certainly it's an inconvenience to a few people but i think people understand the significance of the holy father visiting philadelphia. i mean, this is for a weekend, but it's a weekend that none of us will ever forget, and i'm very, very proud of philadelphians that have really, you know, stepped up and understood exactly what's taking place here and have been very, very cooperative. >> you know, commissioner, we understand the secret service is the lead agency that's tasked with protecting pope francis but this certainly means a lot of coordination between your department and federal officials. any challenges that way? how smoothly has that gone? >> it's gone very smoothly. you know, we have been doing this now as i mentioned before for several months.

this is a national special security event which does place the secret service in charge. this is the sixth one that i have personally been involved in. and you come together and you iron out any issues that you have, but on game day you just get the job done, and this has gone very, very well. there have been no problems at all. >> may i ask how you plan to get everybody out safely? >> slowly because you're talking about a lot of people. and it's going to take a couple days for the city to fully recover in terms of opening up all the streets and so forth, but i have no reason to believe that it will be anything other than just an orderly exit, people that really are filled with the spirit that the holy father has left behind, and this is just something that i'll certainly never forget. >> let's hope it slowly and what serenely as everyone exits. commissioner charles ramsey, thank you, sir, and congratulations on a job well done. >> thank you. >> let's go to philadelphia's

grandest boulevard where the mass of the masses is happening this afternoon and msnbc's kasie hunt is right there on the benjamin franklin parkway, and this is where we're expecting to see the hope's largest crowds in the u.s., right? >> reporter: that's right, alex. and we're back here after what was a pretty momentous night on the parkway. i think you can take a look. we have a photo of some of the people who were watching the pope as he spoke here. you also heard from some celebrities, arena franklin sinning "amazing grace," mark wahlberg, among others. many of the people involved were really touched by the events. take a listen to one man who had a chance to hold the microphone for the pope. >> i got to bear the microphone for the pope. >> reporter: what was that like for you? >> for me hearing his words showed me what kind of a man he was. he's very sincere and very humble. the pope greeted us to begin very cordially. we got to shake his hand. >> reporter: you shook the pope's hand? >> it was a really neat experience. i'm in a daze. it's something i will never

forget for the rest of my life but at the same time i have a lot of joy and it inspires me. >> reporter: so obviously a very moving moment for him. now, of course, the focus shifts to what is really the center piece of the pope's entire visit to the united states, and that's the mass that he's going to hold at the conclusion of this world meeting of families. and behind me already i think we'll pan a little bit so you can take a look. these crowds have been gathering here since as early as 6:00 this morning and they will be waiting over eight hours for mass at 4:00. of course, between that time the pope is also going to be visiting a prison, one of the largest prison systems in the philadelphia area. so that is something that, of course, is a trademark for him. he spent a lot of time focusing on the poor, the destitute, and that's been a focus of his speeches and his action this is the united states, alex. >> there was a long wait which means we'll come back and see you again several times with updates. thank you so much, msnbc's kasie hunt. pope francis' legacy as the

first pontiff from latin america takes on a special significance. during his independence mall address on saturday he celebrated america's history as a nation founded by immigrants in pursuit of religious freedom and spoke directly to the newest americans. >> translator: do not be discouraged by whatever challenges and hardships you face. i ask you not to forget like those who came here before you, you bring many gifts to this nation. please don't ever be ashamed of your traditions. >> joining me now from philadelphia is catholic journalist and commentator austin ivory. austin is the author of "the great reformer: francis and the making of a radical pope."

austin, with a welcome to you, i know you were there yesterday for a speech and i notice you tweeted afterwards that you expect to see his words flying on banners for years to come. austin, what specific words and what spoke most to you? >> alex, i thought this was an extraordinary speech in fact which may well come to be considered one of the defining speeches of this remarkable visit. what he did was he stood in the iconic place, of course, of american liberty and affirmed the very things which make america great, that struggle for the vindication of rights and so on. then linked that to religious liberty which is the key liberty, if you like, underpinning all other liberties, and then very definitely moved that onto the question of my migrants' rights. he was really saying to the migrant people of the united states, many of whom, 11 million of whom are undocumented in the case of hispanics, you need the right to be able to serve your society, to belong. and really, therefore, he was saying in words which are very

easily being interpreted directly politically that we need to turn strangers into citizens in order that they can fulfill the very things that america stands for. that's where i think the brilliance of the speech was. >> owe so austin, how do you expect these words to turn into action and real policy? you say there was a political underpinning to them. >> look, there's a political underpinning to in a way almost everything the pope has done ever since he arrived in havana a week ago, but remember that the distinction is that the church isn't about getting involved at specific policy debates. what the church is really trying to do is frame the values which underpin the discussion, and the whole question of immigration, the specific policies of how many people you let in and border control policy the church won't get into, but what they want the policymakers to understand is these are human beings with faces, with stories,

american no and what he was doing, he was holding up to people in this case migrants their innate, god-given, inalienable dignity and rights as human beings, and then inviting them to, as it were, to become what he was offering them. and i was there watching this speech surrounded by hispanic families with banners like we are all immigrants, and coy just see the delight on their faces. this was a phenomenal affirmation. that's where you have the power to change. it's by -- this is typical pope francis. he's giving to the people the dignity, the power for them to change their own situation. that's what i think the power of it. >> austin, almost every person we have spoken with this week who has met pope francis has said he asked them to pray for him. he said pray for me. what does he say with that message? what's the request about? >> you know, long before he became pope, this was in a way

his signature. everybody remembers the cardinal saying to them pay for me. there's two ways of looking at it. he generally does believe in a humble way he needs people's prayers because he's a sinner and an ordinary human being like everybody else who needs the grace of god, but it's also a clever way of ending things. you always know when he says pray for me, that's it, that's the end of the discussion, he's moving on. it's a beautiful payoff line. >> your biography, it focuses a lot on his life before he was pope francis. before evers cardinal, too. what molded this reformer pope francis into the man he is today? >> i think what emerges from his life story is a man with an almost total focus on the gospels, on god's will, and in a way a desire to purge the church of everything that gets in the way of that. and i think it is that single-handed -- single-minded focus, almost relentless. every day getting up at 4:00, spending at least two hours with the gospels, really, really just

absorbing the life of jesus and that incredible docility to what he regards as god's will and the holy spirit. that what shapes him. he's a warm man who loves people. what you see is what you get in the case of pope francis but there's a part of him you don't see, which is the very private man, the very austere man, the man who is an actual introvert but whose openness to god's gift always seems to gives him what he needs for the occasion. did he it twice in cuba, just ignoring the written speech. he's in a spontaneous gathering and he wants to speak heart to heart. it is genuinely unscripted. of course, he's saying things he's said before and yet he always says them in a different way because he really does rely on the holy spirit on those occasions and i think that's really what defines the man. i would say cuourage, resolutio, docility to the holy spirit. >> your insights are appreciated

a. thank you so much. we have other news, including president obama's meeting with russian president vladimir putin. later we will hear from some of the people blessed by the pope, even those who couldn't see him in person felt like they were part of the excitement. >> we actually get chills not even being there. i don't know what we'd do if we were there, but he's a very, very special person and a holy, holy soul. >> yes, that's him. he loves to be with the children, and he sees someone and he hugs, he kisses. he has this beautiful way of relating with the people.

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general assembly meeting. it will be the first face-to-face meeting in nearly a year. nbc's kristin welker is at the white house for us. what is on the agenda for this meeting? >> reporter: good morning to you. based on my conversations with administration officials, the view inside the white house is that president putin called this meeting so president obama wants to know why and what putin plans to offer in terms of dealing with those crises you mentioned, ukraine and syria. this meeting comes as russia has escalated its presence in ukraine and its military buildup in syria which russia says is aimed at defeating isis but u.s. officials believe is russia's way to fain a foothold in syria in case that country collapses. in a statement one u.s. official said, quote, given the situations in ukraine and syria, despite our profound differences with moscow, the president leaves it would be irresponsible not to test whether we can make progress through high level engagement with the russians. so, alex, you can expect president obama to press putin on both of those issues. he's going to urge him to

de-escalate texts tensions in u and stop propping up bashar al assad. russian could be slapped with more sanctions. just a little bit of a broader context here, foreign policy experts say that the relationship between the u.s. and russia is at one of its lowest points since the colder war due in large part to the annexation of crimea and the harboring of snowden. the last meeting didn't yield a lot of fruit. there's a lot of skepticism about whether this meeting will. >> this tenor of whom asked whom to the meeting, "the new york times" said it's like who asked who to the prom. it's somewhat -- i don't want to say juvenile, but super sensitive. >> it's super sensitive and it underscores the fact, alex, that the relationship between these

two leaders has always been very frosty and it has only gotten chillier over time over these issues that we've been discussing, and the white house says their big question is does president putin actually want to sit down and talk about these issues and try to get some progress on the issue of syria and ukraine or does he want it to look like he is trying to do that for the broader international world stage. so that's the question for the white house, for this president moving forward, but you're absolutely right, alex. the way this meeting came about underscores the fact that these two sides are still very polarized. >> kristin welker at the white house, thanks. it's a moment she'll never forget. coming up a 12-year-old girl will talk to me about what it was like to get a blessing from pope francis.

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pope francis' visit to the u.s. a historic national event, but for the people who have crossed his path, it's also been an incredibly personally

experience they will not soon forget. >> we got to shake his hand -- >> you shook the pope's hand? >> it was a really, really neat experience. >> we actually from pakistan. we are catholic, and he's our catholic leader so we're glad to see him and we are so happy to see him, especially we came from too far to see him. >> upon the pope's arrival at jfk on thursday, i approached a group of students waiting to greet him. it was the moment of a lifetime for julia, 12-year-old girl from brooklyn and julia is here in studio along with her father enrico. with a welcome to you, i have not seen you stop smiling since when i saw you get off the elevator here. you must have been so happy having spoken with the pope. tell me what happened when you were behind the barricade. how did all this come about? >> well, we were waiting for the pope and he was coming towards us and we were all screaming and, i don't know, something just comes over you and you

start hysterically crying. when he came over to me, it was so precious. i kissed his ring and he put his hands on my head and looking at him was like looking at the face of god. his face was so innocent and just so pure and it was really so precious and magical, and he gave me -- he did give me a blessing. he put his hands on my -- his hands on my head and then he put it on my face. >> and how did that make you feel afterwards? i know you're saying you were so emotional but i have heard people say it's almost as if they can feel something change. >> yeah. i felt -- after that i felt the holy spirit within me. i felt -- it just confirmed to me that i will walk again and that a miracle will happen if i just have faith in god and pray every day like i do. >> that's pretty special. how about for you, evnrico.

look at the tears in your eyes just listening to this. what does this mean to you? >> it was surreal. it was surreal. we've been through a lot in the past four months, and this was just an experience to kind of lift our spirits and give us hope. >> yeah. did you go to jfk expecting that the hope would bless you? >> no. we were told that he probably would not. that he would most likely just bless the crowd, that we shouldn't expect him to approach us. that's what made it even more special. >> yeah. >> we were totally not expecting -- >> yeah. and i know you're here with your beautiful family, julia's mother, your wife and your other daughter and two sons. this is something that must have extended to the whole family because living with julia and her development and having to be in a wheelchair the last four or five months, it's affected everybody. >> everybody. >> so does his blessing also extend to the family? >> absolutely. we were all present for it. it's special. it was special for all of us.

it did something for all of us. it helped us see that there's -- there could be more to this and it gave us hope and, you know, since the blessing there's been an overwhelming amount of people reaching out to us, trying to help us, giving us advice, and i just hope it takes us somewhere where we could find julia a cure and get her better, see her dance again, see her play sports. >> you're a dancer. that we must get you back on your feet to do that. that's for sure. julia, you said that it was almost like you looked into the face of god. what do you mean by that? >> well, when i was looking at him, when he was putting his hands on my face, it was just -- his face, i can't even explain it, the face that he was making was so pure and so kind. he was so peaceful, and it just reminded me of the face of god that -- what we talk about in my religion class at school, how

peaceful it is and how miracles happen, and i just feel like that's what he gave me. >> so this happened on thursday. did you go back to school on friday? >> well, currently i'm not in school because it's not wheelchair accessible, but we're working on home school. >> okay. do you have friends that you shared this with? >> yes, i do. everybody at st. bernadette's school have been by my side through this entire time. they have been making group chats called pray for julia, posting videos. i have two best friends that actually came over yesterday and have been supporting me throughout this whole time. my principal, she's the one who made this happen. she made this possible for me. this is why i'm here today. just so lucky to have -- to be in the best school in the world and have the best principal in the world. they've been by my side throughout this whole entire

time. >> that's extraordinary and i think you have pretty extraordinary parents as well. how lucky are you to have this one in your family? >> i'm very lucky. she does a lot for me. she gives me hope. you know, she consoles me, but we will get through it. we're going to get julia better hopefully sooner than later. >> well, certainly you have our thoughts and prayers with you and thank you for sharing your story. you're inspiring so many by you. i'm so grateful you had this experience. it's wonderful. >> thank you. >> what the pope represents to leaders of other faiths. a rabbi and an imam talk about their experiences with the pontiff. but sometimes grains that do, get mixed in. so we took them out! which means now, cheerios can be enjoyed by everyone! just original cheerios? honey nut cheerios too, buzz.

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hey babe, last one home cooks? ♪ ♪ ♪ another tie. order in? next time i drive. the right-sized nissan rogue. ♪ welcome back to "weekends with alex witt." what you're looking at is the chapel of st. martin's where the pope will be addressing a number of seminarians.

he will be delivering an address of family to bishops, seminarians and the like there. it's a private service, if you will, within the catholic faith and then he will go from this to the other end of the spectrum with over a million people expected on the benjamin franklin parkway to hear his final mass before he heads back to italy this evening. joining me to discuss the pope's historic journey through the united states is bishop robert behren. with a welcome to you, i was talking with you yesterday and back again today, i want to ask about the moment that we all witnessed yesterday when the pope blessed a philadelphia police officer who was injured in the line of duty. these blessings have become commonplace over the last few days. of course to every individual it's anything but common, but do you think these kinds of moments bring onlookers, whether catholic or not, closer to their faith? >> absolutely. i'll tell you that little girl from brooklyn, i was watching that report with great interest.

she's a great theologian when she said looking in the face of pope was like looking into the face of god. we refer to the pope as the vicar of christ. he's the representative of christ. that's his ministry, to be jesus for the world. what you're seeing in these gestures and he's most eloquent when it comes to gestures, you're seeing someone operating in the very person of jesus. so she's absolutely right, that little girl, looking into his face is looking into the face of christ and looking into the face of christ is looking into the face of the father. that's the power of the pope's visit, and it goes beyond the particular political issues he raises and he raises things on both left and right and we can talk about that, but the most important, the most abiding thing is exactly what that little girl said. that's why these blessings have such a powerful effect on all of us. >> you're talking about julia and her father enrico. if you're watching the interview as you obviously were, they were so moved by this pope to the

point of even tears some three days later here in the studio just talking, reflecting on it. i want to ask you about that, how long do you expect this special feeling to stay with people and will it translate into action? >> that's the hope. and we hope it stays for a while. i think this pope has such a powerful quality of witness that i hope it does have a long-term effect. now, you know, i'm somewhat cynical about human nature. we tend to go bad and we might forget this moment, but i don't know. i'm hopeful that the powerful, emotional and spiritual effect will last. you saw the same thing in congress as congress people were wiping tears from their eyes. you saw it at the united nations. this man in his quiet way, he's not really a dramatic personality. in his quiet way he's able to speak this great truth about christ to the world. so i hope, i hope this francis effect lasts for a long time. >> you mentioned congress. i suppose given how much we

cover politics here that was a veiled question of do you think congress will keep this spiritual experience if you will and come together as the pope has suggested he'd like for people to do, to cast aside differences, to find common ground. >> yeah. i certainly hope so. i think what i took away from that talk to congress was this idea of politics as a noble vocation, and that's part of catholic social teaching. to be a politician is not just to be a cynical, you know, operative. it's to be someone who is trying to affect the common good. that's a very high calling. the pope i think called all the members of congress to that sense of vocation, of real religious purpose in what they do because to seek the common good is to seek the will of god finally we would say. we would say in catholic social teaching that all good law is grounded finally in the law of god, and so i hope that stay this is the minds and hearts of our politicians, that they have a very noble and high calling.

>> how about the mass today? more than a million expected. what do you expect to hear from the pope? >> i think at mass tonight he'll just speak of jesus christ. he's come finally as an evangelist here. we've heard him on a number of issues from immigration to capital punishment to abortion to euthanasia, et cetera. a whole series of issues, great, and that's good. it's coming out of the catholic social teaching tradition. i think tonight we'll hear him aspastor, and the hope is a great parish priest. when i hear him speak i hear the tone and style of a parish priest talking to his beloved community at 7:00 on a tuesday morning. so i expect that to come through very much in his homily tonight. >> does that include his candor and his humor? is that part and parcel for a parish priest? >> i think so. he is very funny and almost a dark, somewhat edgy way, which i

appreciate. and it's what a parish priest would do at 7:00 on tuesday morning with people that he knows very well, that he feels comfortable with. i get that sense with francis, that he stands up in front of a million people but it's as though he's the parish pastor, and, yes, he does use humor in an interesting way and he's got a gift for the memorable image, doesn't he? the one that stays in the minds of a lot of priests and bishops is we have to smell like our sheep. he said that very early on. but time again, last night was don't be afraid to let the plates fly with married couples and i won't even talk about mothers-in-law. he's got a great gift for the memorable, folksy image. >> i should let you know, beneficiary shoch and our viewers as well, we're told the priest -- the pope -- the ultimate parish priest, but the pope will be making an appearance shortly. he's expected to walk down this hallway that we are showing everybody. it's been lined with seminarians

and bishops and the like and he will be having a -- you can call it a private service, if you will, for them for those that follow the catholic faith so intently. it is being called an address of family. bishops, 150 seminarians. it will be in a chapel. he's going to make his remarks in spanish, everyone. perhaps we will have an english translation as we've been doing for you on msnbc, but talk about the significance of this, will you, bishop? it's probably went to inspire those who are working or the catholic church. >> quite right. he's operating on a different level on this trip. in some setting he's doing high octane catholicism, so the full thing. with other audiences, think of the united nations, think of the congress, he's addressing a much more mixed audience or these grand crowds here, catholics, noncatholics, believers, nonbelievers. the pope uses different type of rhetoric in these different environments. i think you're right, in this talk he's going to try to fire

up the people who are in the front lines of the church's ministry. remember family is the focus of this whole trip. he's here because of this world meeting of families in philadelphia and the pope has said very strong things, said them yesterday, too, about the integrity of the family. so i think you're right. he's going to try to fire up the troops who are involved in the front lines of this ministry. >> yeah. bishop, i want to let you know we're inviting into the conversation elizabeth, a historian, professor, art historian, you name it, she's done it. as i welcome you to the proft, what do you expect to hear from the pope? >> i think this audience, this is a rallying cry. this is a moment where i think there's been a lot of embattlement. there's been a lot of difficulty, especially for the bishops, and he's going to try to bring this together. we, the people who are the marsha marshals. the bishops are the marshals of these troops.

the bishops are in charge of the diocese. the diocese are parishes and the parishes are families. it's part of this large, organic program, and eahe's going to spk to them like a father, but speak to them to give them strength and go forward in what are increasingly difficult times. >> with that explanation, to what extent if he has almost a paternal influence on those he'll be speaking to, to what extent are their expectations that they follow his style or his teachings or his words or is it just meant to inspire and then you go and interpret it and do it your way? >> well, a little bit of both. we all have our distinctive style approach and personality. catholics take their cues from the pope. we don't follow in a slavish manner like we just say exactly what he says in the way he says it, but i think we take our basic orientation from him. i have heard a lot of bishops and priests who use very

franciscan language talking about simplicity, poverty, going to the margins, the church that goes out from itself. i have seen priests and bishops now in simpler, smaller cars. i think that's good. we take our cues from our father. he's our holy father, and we're his children in that sense. so quite right, even though we all do it in our own distinctive way, we do take a leaf from him. a deep conviction of ours is that the pope is not elected simply as a result of the political machinations going on in the sistine chapel, but somehow the holy spirit is involved. the holy spirit has given us this man at this moment, and so we take that very seriously, indeed. >> bishop, you have been an official within the catholic church for some time now, so compare this pope to the previous pope and the different tenor, if you will. pope benedict was known to be such an intellect.

did he reach the hearts and minds of those who work within the catholic church to the extent we're presuming pope francis does? >> well, you're right in saying they're very different in style, temperament, personality. pope benedict is a very retiring man a scholar, a great writer and not just operating at the highest levels, he could do that, i think a very graceful writer. i loved readings his sermons, books, homilies, essays, and i think he will have a very long-lasting effect on the church. we talk about the fathers of a church, those ancient teachers whose writings are still read. i think benedict was a bit like a father of the church. now, our current pope, as i say, is like the parish priest of the world. so he's able to speak in a way that appeals immediately to the imagination and to the heart and that has a powerful effect. each one is going to have a long-term effect in a different way and that's part of the genius of the holy spirit in giving us these two men back to

back. >> elizabeth, with your experience, you have this pope, the predecessor we've just spoken about and pope john paul ii. it has been suggested that pope francis and pope john paul ii have, if you will, that public sis a advice a visage, that personality, that they get the adoring millions and it was a little different with pope benedict. just different styles. do you think that's pretty accurate assessment? >> i think there's been a dramatic change this is style but at the same time a tremendous con tin ewity. there's an underlying message so it's a kind of music that is the percussion that holds everything together and that's been constant but in a way it's the symphony. you have the moment when the symphony starts with all the instruments playing, there's john paul ii waking everybody

up, and then you move into the adagio and you hear the sort of gentle flow of the rhythm as you begin to contemplate what it means to be involved in the symphony and then this magnificent flourish of francis where you get up and you're cheering and you're ready to join into the music yourself. it's been a beautiful flow, really like music. >> what's interesting to me, your description of francis yesterday that you shared on this broadcast when you talked about his introverted nature and the fact that there was nothing in his life and in argentina that would suggest he would be ascending to the papacy and that he would be this type of a leader. how do you reconcile that? his ability to almost on a dime have turned in his personality. >> i was thinking about that when you were asking are the priests going to be expected to behave as francis did? but francis didn't behave as francis did until he became francis. it's an amazing thing where we really have to start to put together the common denominator of all these amazing appearances.

what does he always say at the end? pray for me, pray for me. this is a man who has understood he has to respond to all of these difference situations and if i can pull in a little bit of art history, there was a bishop in the 16th century, and he was talking to artists and he was saying you have to be thacit preachers to the people. you have to talk to everybody. taking from st. paul's method of ivan je evangelization, you are one thing to one people and one to another. francis' grace fueled by the prayers he's asking for is he can make the message and face fit together for all these different places. >> it nbc's claudio is able to join us. on the heels of what elizabeth has just said, talk about the faces that you've seen. you have been out there in the crowds every day since this pope arrived here, including the time

in cuba as well. what is that like to see people's faces just light up with some sort of an inner rapture. >> well, you know, alex, the people's faces there just light up when they see the pope. they wait hours and hours and hours there in line under the scorching sun like in cuba or here. i have seen them yesterday waiting since 4:00 in the morning for five or six hours but they don't care. they know this is one of the only chances they're going to have to see their idol in a way, the pope, pope francis. and when they see him, they all light up, they all erupt in enormous expressions of joy. they scream pope, pope, pope, and they just -- they're just so happy. and i've followed the pope to so many places around the world, and it's all the same. there is one thing that is common among all the people all over the world, no matter what

ethnicity you are, where you're from, they just react in the same way. they just light up. they smile. even if they catch that little glimpse of him. he just passes by quite quickly with the popemobile, but they are just so, so happy, alex. >> and when they leave, i mine, they're dealing with crowds and the heat and you see them take this sense with them? >> yes, they do. they actually stay there a lot longer than they should. he's passed by, they know he's not coming back, but they just mingle there. they don't just leave right away. it's like they just want to savor that moment. this thank is where they experienced a one in a lifetime opportunity and they just stay there for hours sometimes to enjoy that moment, alex. >> claudio, thank you for that. we are waiting for the pope to come down this hallway.

he is approaching the chapel st. martin where he will give something of a private blessing and sermon to a group of bishops, seminarians there in the chapel. he's calling it an address of family and it will be following that. he's expected to speak in spanish. we hope to have english translation to you as well. i want to welcome an imam from the islamic center at nyu university, you're the chair of that, the head of that. we talk about all this from the christian perspective, from the catholic perspective, this experience with pope francis. talk about what has meant to people of your faith. >> you know, the feeling i have gotten from the muslim community has been remarkable. i was actually privileged to be a part of the 9/11 memorial that took place on friday and sat next to pope francis, and i think it created an opportunity for me to even hear that many more voices from the muslim community just speaking praise of the pope.

the message he's putting out there that is very unique as i think a religious figure that isn't impacting only his own primary constituents but is able to transcend and really hit up so many different people from different walks of life. >> so talk about that, his ability to transcend that. you don't follow the catholic faith but yet we have heard people who are catholics, we have heard christians, i have spoken with jews that have been so inspired by him. what is it about this man that is able to transcend the differences and speak in this unity voice? >> i think you really feed off of his sense of compassion, his commitment to selflessness, and you can really feel a genuine sincerity and love that comes from him. it's really remarkable not just the rhetoric that he espouses but the actions that are tied to the words that he's putting out there. you can't help but just really fall behind him on everything that he's saying.

i think in the muslim community especially at times when, you know, the population is very vilified, marginalized through prevalent rhetoric that equates -- you have a world figure who comes and goes off script when he's speaking to a cathedral full of catholics and the very first thing that he does is pray for 700 muslims and 900 muslims who are respectively killed and injured while performing pilgrimage to mecca. that speaks to who he is. there's no reason for him to do that other than he feels compelled to, feels it's the right thing to do. >> bishop, i want to ask you about that. here we are speaking with an imam. you, of course, practice the catholic faith. is that something you expect to be inspired by the pope, his ability to speak with a union fiing voice and is that something that you were ever called upon to do there in the

los angeles archdiocese? >> well, i'm brand new in l.a. so i haven't been called to do it yet, but it's think it's part and parcel of christian ministry. what i mean there is it belongs to the heart of our faith to reach out in love. god is love, and love is willing the good of the other, no matter who the other is, another religion, someone on the margins, someone forgotten, someone poor. to love is to will the good of the other. we say that's what god is, god is love. so, of course, we reach out to people of other faiths. of course we reach out to those who suffer. that's how we witness to god, how we bring god to bear. i think that's absolutely right. that's a key part of christian ministry but that by its very nature is inclusive and unifying. >> i have also with me in studio rabbi elliott cosgrove. you're sitting next to the imam who sat next to the pope during

the 9/11 commemorative ceremonies at the ground -- >> we actually had the pope in between us. >> i was about to say i was told you were on the other side, so talk about that and what you took away from sitting next to this pope, listening to his words. do you agree with these -- all of these men and women with elizabeth who are expressing difference in your personal views and how you interpret a god or whomever your god is and yet there's common ground largely thanks to what this man says. >> right. there was such a humanity and humility to being in his presence, and i think that his message and his demeanor is one that reminds us that no matter what faith tradition we may be, we're all created equally and in the infinite dignity of god and when you look at the world that way, when you look at our faith traditions that way, you realize whatever may divide us, far more important is our common humanity and i think it's that message

that he really brought to bear, especially at the 9/11 memorial, a place that's associated where religion has been leveraged towards acts of violence. this reminded us that our faith traditions can actually serve as an instrument to peace. >> and so i'm wondering how long this stays with both of you. how are you able to take what you have experienced and express it to your congregations, if you will, your groups of people with whom you preach and you speak and you inspire. how can you do that? >> look, i think the model of pope francis' ministry is something i hope to take into my own community, into the jewish community and certainly the sentiment and the spirit of interfaith dialogue. this is a historic year for the catholic church, the 50th anniversary of -- i think the spirit of dialogue should continue strongly. >> it's just getting people to understand that the moment has to inform other moments. they start to bring that into

their home, their dinner tables and really celebrate together. >> well, we hear some celebration. let's listen as the pope makes his way into the chapel down this hallway. [ applause ] [ applause ] [ applause ]

[ applause ] >> so we are watching the pope do what he does so well and that is deal one-on-one despite being within crowds and really touching the lives of people both en masse and individually. he's speaking coming up in just a short bit to seminarians and bishops there. he will be delivers what he's calling an address of family and inspire them no doubt to go out in the world and help to follow his teachings. he will be speaking in the chapel st. martin. we will bring this broadcast to you. in the meantime will step aside and make way for rich louie and i'll see you back here at 11:00

a.m. eastern time. ♪ [ applause ] [ applause ]