[cheers and applause] this is "nightline." tonight, meet the pope. from immigration to abortion. nothing's off limits on david muir's exclusive visit with pope francis ahead of his historic trip to america. his surprising message. >> thank you very much. plus, mass migration. they're arriving by the hundreds of thousands. desperate refugees enduring unbelievable hardship. hoping europe holds the answers. tonight we're there for the journey on the search for salvation. and, gone glamping. gwyneth paltrow isn't the only one who likes to go glamping.

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good evening. i'm rebecca jarvis. pope francis making headlines addressing a highly charged issue, abortion, declaring a departure from church doctrine, saying women who've had abortions can be forgiven.

david muir headed to the vatican for an exclusive interview with the people's people as he calls for mercy and makes history. >> reporter: on the eve of his historic trip to the united states, pope francis is making global headlines when it comes to forgiving women who've had an abortion. declaring he will allow priests in this upcoming year of mercy to absolve women. he says he is aware of many women who feel they had no choice. i am well aware of the pressure that led to this decision. today the vatican making it clear that the church does not condone it. it still considers it a grave sin. it comes just 24 hours after our visit to the vatican, our time with pope francis. we quietly waited outside this door. then our walk to the room where we're about to connect with hundreds of people across the country.

a virtual conference. he knows our cameras are in three cities he won't be able to visit. [ speaking in foreign language ] we tell him we are honored. and we begin. we are curious if you have a message before your visit to the united states. he tells us, a big greeting to the catholic community in the united states and to everyone, all citizens in the u.s. and when 19 year old marcus in los angeles asks the pope why his trip to the u.s. is so important. >> it's a great honor to meet you. >> reporter: the pope tells him, for me, it is very important to meet with you all, the citizens of the u.s., to have your joys, your sadness, like everyone else. there were questions and stories of adversity and survival, like that of rosemary, a single

mother in los angeles who just moved her two daughters out of a shelter and into their first appearance. >> thank you god for this day. >> reporter: her daughters struggled with life in the shelter, wishing for a life like other children. 11-year-old alissa sharing her story with the pope. >> i wished that i could be one of them and just have a father. >> it's hard for me to hear my daughter tell me these things. she wished that it was different, that we were a family, a mom and dad. and we had a house to stay. >> reporter: the pope responding with a personal message for them, praising rosemary for not choosing abortion, saying that she respected life in raising her daughters and that god would reward her for that. >> i'm leaving here today with some healing in my heart. that's for sure. >> reporter: the pope's words to rosemary came just before he would announce forgiveness for abortion.

but there is no change in church doctrine, the pope remaining firmly against it. his conversation with americans, a historic first for american television, the pope hearing from others like valerie, 17 from chicago who struggled with a rare skin disorder. >> music has always been something i was able to use to escape. all the bullying. >> reporter: after her tears, an unexpected request from the pope. and that request in english. >> i would like to have you sing. may i ask of you to sing a song for me? >> reporter: we were all unsure she would sing. >> be courageous. [ applause ]

[ singing in foreign language ] [cheers and applause] >> thank you very much. very kind of you. >> reporter: the pope also hearing stories from students dealing with immigration issues. >> they informed me that i wasn't able to attend the university of my dreams, because i wasn't a united states citizen. >> reporter: and then a surprise, publicly praising an american nun and saying of all nuns here in the u.s., i love you very much. [cheers and applause] >> reporter: we have never seen anything quite like it from the pope. but this pope, after all, is already breaking the mold. pope francis is the first latin-american pope in the church's history, the first jesuit.

an argentine yan priestan priest who became the archbishop. he often speaks of poverty and openness. >> i would say for me, pope francis is the pope of mercy, the pope of compassion and most of all, the pope of surprises. >> reporter: two years ago, pope francis making headlines worldwide when he said to reporters, if someone is gay and searches for the lord and has goodwill, who am i to judge? a statement that is a departure from pope benedict who wrote that homosexual was a strong tendency. >> the pope is a loving person, and having absolution allowed the priest to give absolution is extraordinary, but it's not, i'm not surprised at all. >> reporter: but many american

catholics point out today's decree is not as radical as it might seem. since in the united states, some priests already have the authority to forgive abortion as a sin. still, others say it is bold to send this global message to the church. >> there may be some catholics who feel that this is making abortion more permissible. this doesn't change the church's stance on abortion. it's basically being more merciful and compassionate. >> reporter: do you have a message for america before your visit? a parting message? the pope saying, i'm full of hope to meet you all, and that he's praying for all of the people of the united states. and then he asked americans to pray for him. >> gracias. >> reporter: for "nightline," i'm david muir. don't miss 2020's exclusive report, pope francis and the people, airing 10:00 on friday

right here on abc. next, an intimate look at the migrant crisis plaguing europe. and we'll hear one family's story of survival.ith type 2 diabetes are learning about long-acting levemir . as my diabetes changed, it got harder to control my blood sugar. today, i'm asking about levemir . vo: levemir is an injectable insulin that can give you blood sugar control for up to 24 hours. and levemir helps lower your a1c. levemir lasts 42 days without refrigeration. that's 50% longer than lantus , which lasts 28 days. levemir comes in flextouch , the latest in insulin pen technology from novo nordisk. levemir is a long-acting insulin used to control high blood sugar in adults and children with diabetes and is not recommended to treat diabetic ketoacidosis. do not use levemir if you are allergic to any of its ingredients. the most common side effect is low blood sugar, which may cause symptoms such as sweating, shakiness, confusion, and headache. severe low blood sugar can be serious

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we're about to take you inside a mass exodus. desperate refugees braving a life or death journey across international waters. abc's chief foreign correspondent terry moran is in greece tonight as they arrive by the boat load, many finding that the chaos isn't over even if they make it to land. can their prayers really be answered on european shores. >> reporter: the scenes coming out of europe are staggering. children crawling under razor wire. whole families who have nothing but what they can carry on the move. an exodus, the greatest mass migration here since the second world war. from hungary where today the main train station in budapest was evacuated, simply

overwhelmed by make rantigrants. to the macedonian border, to the grizzly discovery last week of 71 bodies in the back of the truck. the borders are bulging. more than 350,000 migrants have illegally entered so far this year. and every single person has a story story. meet fahad, a bold little character, happily bellowing at the world. traveling the long, hard road with all the others. we met fahad and his family in a dusty park in turkey. they'd been there for a week. they're syrian. there's fahad, his mom, his dad and two brothers and sisters. his father had a nice job and house.

he left the army to fight the regime of bashar al assad. then the rise of isis forced them to flee. but the mother tries to stay calm for her family. >> reporter: have you ever wanted to give up? that's it she remembered of a particular time. we were going to go back. she is 29 years old. this is a city where hundreds of thousands of migrants just like fahad and his family have come, because turkey has become the key to the entire exodus, a river of humanity, they come through turkey, then to groois,eece, macedonia, the balkans, then the rest of europe. so we came here to join them on that journey. so we're heading into the bus station, the main bus station here. this is a crucial point on the

refugees' journey as they arrive in ismir. you can tell them right away, their anxious faces, grimy clothes and massive packs. and most head right to the same place, the place to find the smugglers who can get you ahead to greece. everywhere you look, refugees, mostly syrian. some have been hear for days,re for days, others weeks. some are charging a life savings for man he. the risks in these open boats are unspeakable. local merchants are profrtiting on the desperation. this is a life preserver? it looks like a toy. the store owner didn't want us around after that. this year more than 2300 migrants have drowned in the

mediterranean trying to get a europe. back in ismir we find a middleman. and he spoke to us after collecting cash on the street on condition we didn't show his face. he claims he does not profit from this business. and then he startles us. >> reporter: would you put your children on one of these boats? you would? i have, he says. his 14 year old son is in huchk hungary. he's syrian. now part of the smuggling business. this is the staging area. people wait for a phone call from their smuggler, they get in a taxi and go to the beach. mohammed gets the call, and they go to the beach. the children play there as children will. but he is scared. the smugglers didn't want our cameras there, but this is what it's like on a beach south of here. another group sets out, wading into the surf, getting packed into that flimsy dinghy.

they're all headed to greece, the first stop in europe. we're taking the easy way to greece. we're on a ferry. that is turkey over there, 8 miles across the water is an island, that's greece. the channel right now on a summer's evening looks very calm. but it can be treacherous. and that's where the syrian refugees are desperate to get to. we land on the greek island, and there they are, mohammed and his they made it. i thought i was going to die, mohammed tells me. their cell phone videos show how packed that rubber boat was, the fear on the children's faces, and the seas got very rough later. the boat was so rough on the seas that all of your bags and all of your belongings went into the water? everything, he says. they're exhausted. no place to go. but they're in greece, only 1,000 miles or so to germany. ahead of them -- [ yelling ]

>> reporter: the chaos at borders, the 100-mile long razor wire fence, the police looking to get some control over this human tide and no idea if they will find that new life in germany, if they even make it there. but tonight as they waited to board a greek government ferry that will take them north, they were bright, eager, clear eyes, bold hearts. your family has been through so much hardship, difficulty, and yet i see your children, and i see you. and you're smiling. you're happy. how can you be so happy? we are looking to the future, a better future, he says. we say good-bye. and they are off. this one syrian family we have come to hope for, pray for, love. godspeed to them. to them all. for "nightline," i'm terry moran, on an island in greece.

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eliquis may increase your bleeding risk if you take certain medicines. tell your doctor about all planned medical or dental procedures. eliquis treats dvt & pe blood clots. plus had less major bleeding. both made switching to eliquis right for me. ask your doctor if it's right for you.

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if camping makes you think of uncomfortable sleeping bags and energy bars, maybe you're doing it all wrong. nobody's roughing it at the new glamping sites where they are setting the new gold standard. i got a look at what the famous and non-famous variety are getting for a hefty fee.

it looks like any luxury hotel room, spacious, well-appointed, right down to the robe and slippers. but their resort isn't in a big city. it's a tent in the middle of montana, on the shores of the blackfoot river, deep in the rocky mountains. the ranch says they set the standard for glamping, one of the reasons, assigning every guest a camping butler to take care of their every need. >> all you have to do is call a number here, and it goes straight to the camp butler phone. >> some of the tents are more than 1,000 square feet with numbering. gwyneth paltrow posts these foe photos. >> we're grilling up a little flank steak. >> but the activities come at a price. and that price usually works out to at least $10,000 a week. for a family of four. >> not really a camping type of