♪ ♪ ♪ coming up -- pope francis is about to visit turkey, the headquarters of eastern orthodox christianity. coming up -- pope francis is about to visit turkey, the headquarters of eastern orthodox christianity. can he and ecumenical patriarch bartholomew help overcome christianity's centuries of division? kim lawton has our special report from istanbul. also, correspondent dan lothian on why some young europeans and americans, men and women, try to join the most violent and radical islamist groups. and fred de sam lazaro reports from the shrine of our lady of guadalupe in mexico, the most visited pilgrimage site in the catholic world. ♪

major funding for "religion and ethics newsweekly" is provided by the lillian endowment, an indianapolis-based private family foundation, dedicated to its founders' interest in religion, community development and education. additional funding also provided by mutual of america, designing customized, individual and group retirement products. that's why we're your retirement company. >> welcome. i'm bob abernethy. it's good to have you with us. this week president obama announced he will take executive action that will protect up to 5 million undocumented immigrants from deportation and make many of them eligible for work permits. the new measures will not create a pathway to citizenship, nor create health benefits. for many months faith groups have been urging congress to pass a comprehensive immigration reform bill, which has been stalled in the house. the president's decision has

drawn sharp criticism from those who say he has overstepped his authority. amid protests in ferguson, missouri, local clergy and leaders from the national council of churches prayed for justice and peace in response to the shooting death of michael brown. they met ahead of a grand jury's decision on whether to indict darren wilson, the white police officer who shot brown, an unarmed black teenager. in jerusalem, thousands joined in mourning for the four men who were brutally killed by two palestinian attackers at a synagogue. three of the victims had dual israeli-u.s. citizenship, among them boston rabbi moshe twersky, who belonged to a distinguished line of rabbis. at the vatican, pope francis condemned the killings, appealing for israelis and palestinians to end the violence

and "make courageous decisions towards peace and reconciliation." in other news, blase cupich was formally installed as the catholic archbishop of chicago. in a ceremony before his installation, he knocked three times on the cathedral door, symbolizing his request to be admitted. he succeeds cardinal francis george, who is battling cancer. cupich is widely seen as a moderate in the style of pope francis, in contrast to the more conservative george. in cupich's homily, he pledged to do more to reach out to the victims of clergy sex abuse. >> working together to protect children, to bring healing to victim survivors and to rebuild the trust that has been shattered in our communities by our mishandling is our sacred duty. pope francis confirmed this week that he will make his first

visit as pope to the u.s. next september. he will visit philadelphia, where there will be a special church meeting on families. at the end of this month, francis will visit turkey, once the center of christianity. francis and ecumenical patriarch bartholomew have met before, but this coming visit has already produced speculation about whether these two church leaders can help heal one of christianity's oldest divisions the 1054 split between the eastern and western churches. kim lawton has our special report from istanbul. >> reporter: at the greek orthodox church of the archangels in istanbul, sunday morning worship unfolds as it has for centuries. christians here say the ancient liturgy and the images that fill the sanctuary help connect them to the roots of their faith. several books of the new testament were written in what is now turkey, and many

foundational christian doctrines were established here. >> so the presence of the christianity is from the very, very, very beginning. here the christianity starts and never ends. >> reporter: on this sunday, presiding over the service is ecumenical patriarch bartholomew, spiritual head of the world's more than 300 million eastern orthodox christians. istanbul, once known as constantinople, is the patriarch's headquarters. the christian church split between east and west in 1054, with constantinople being the center of eastern orthodox christianity and rome the center of the western church. leaders of the two churches had virtually no contact for nearly a millennium, but that has changed dramatically in recent years. ecumenical patriarch bartholomew and pope francis have met twice prior to this visit. >> the fact that already bartholomew and francis have greeted each other with great

love in jerusalem and in rome, this is simply a continuation of it but if you will, it's on the orthodox home turf. >> reporter: according to orthodox tradition, saint andrew, one of the original 12 disciples, brought christianity here shortly after the death and resurrection of jesus. the faith flourished. and in the year 330, when emperor constantine proclaimed constantinople the new capital of the roman empire, it became the capital of christianity as well. the muslim ottomans conquered constantinople in 1453, but the orthodox headquarters remained located here, in a small compound known as the ecumenical patriarchate. the patriarchate continues to be responsible for the preservation and outreach of the orthodox faith. from here, the ecumenical patriarch provides spiritual leadership to other self-governing eastern orthodox jurisdictions around the world. he is considered the first bishop among equals. the patriarchal church of st.

george contains magnificent reminders of the church's glorious past. off to one side are the relics of important church fathers, including the 4th century theologian st. john chrysostom. the relics were taken from constantinople during the fourth crusade, and finally returned by pope john paul the ii in 2004. metropolitan elpidophoros is a bishop in the greek orthodox church here. >> east and west are not contradictory to each other. they are part of the same body. and in the last years, thank god, we have extremely good relations. >> reporter: but some challenges to orthodox-catholic unity remain, primarily, disagreements over how much authority the pope should have other the rest of the church. indianapolis roman catholic archbishop joseph tobin leads ecumenical dialogue for the u.s. catholic bishops. >> how does the bishop of rome relate to the rest of the

christian churches? the orthodox have a very definite view on it as do the roman catholics. >> the only way we could accept the authority of the pope of rome in the whole christianity is the same way it was practiced in the first millennium. he is the authority of a bishop among equals, like it happens in the east. >> reporter: the local christian presence in predominantly muslim turkey has diminished greatly in recent decades. official statistics suggest there may be fewer than 5,000 greek orthodox christians here. they are free to worship, but face other restrictions. halki theological school, the only greek orthodox seminary in turkey, was closed by the government in 1971. and despite strong international lobbying, it has still not been allowed to reopen. >> it is a direct violation of

human rights and religious rights. if you do not open the school, then you violate one of my fundamental rights as a citizen, as a faithful, and as a clergyman. >> reporter: church members here hope the visit of francis will help bolster their community. many say the images of francis and bartholomew embracing one another and praying together will send a strong message. >> the message is love, unity, co-understanding and probably humility. because all of us, we are servants of god. we cannot speak about god without love. >> it's a big step toward eliminating the terrible scandal of division. you know, for non-christians, this is difficult to accept, that how people who hold the

same beliefs in the loving action of god in history can live with such a great wound of division. >> reporter: muslims involved in interfaith work here believe the pope's visit will advance their efforts. fatih ceran is with the journalists and writers foundation, a nongovernmental organization that promotes peaceful co-existence. >> it is important that prominent leaders set examples for their communities. so coming together of pope francis and patriarch bartholomew is basically the ultimate meeting in this regard, in terms of interfaith dialogue. >> reporter: he says given the situation in much of the world, especially surrounding turkey, that message is needed now more than ever. >> we're living at times of conflict, unfortunately, that is, some say, stemming from the religion.

i don't agree. religions could be contextualized and should be contextualized, actually, to promote peace. >> reporter: christians are hoping the visit will encourage those who have been victimized by the rise of extremist violence. >> both orthodox and latin or western christians are suffering greatly, just terrible massacres in syria and parts of iraq and in great pressure in lebanon and other eastern countries. so this sort of solidarity with the national or international leaders with the suffering people will be i think very important. >> reporter: and for the church here, a visit by the bishop of rome to the bishop of constantinople, will be a profound sign of the continuity of christianity in this ancient land. a continuity they hope will never end. i'm kim lawton in istanbul.

there was widespread condemnation of the videotaped beheading by isis of american aid worker peter abdul-rahman kassig. kassig had been captured in syria in october of last year, and is the 5th western hostage that isis claims to have beheaded since august. the council for american islamic relations, cair, denounced the killing as "anti-islamic." kassig's parents said their son had begun a sincere conversion to islam prior to his abduction, and they asked for prayers. last week here we ran a report on what u.s. muslims are doing to try to prevent anyone in this country from joining violent, radical islamist groups. today, why some people men and women, all over the world do

want to go help islamist fighters in the middle east. correspondent dan lothian says part of the lure is what volunteers are promised. part of it, too, he says, is social media, taking the islamists' messages everywhere. >> reporter: hanif qadir knows first-hand how easily radicals can claim young hearts and minds. 12 years ago he traveled from britain to afghanistan to help women and children caught up in war, but was reeled in by the taliban. >> i wanted to do something positive, but by getting involved with them i was slowly drawn into radical thinking, radical views, and then slowly being sucked into looking at other options of doing positive work, and that even meant violence. >> reporter: the depth of that violence is on display across the internet. extremist groups like isis spew disturbing rhetoric and proudly carry out beheadings. it's often done in the name of

religion. >> people have tended to focus very much on, okay, this has to do with islam, but it is ultimately an islam that is interpreted by criminals. >> reporter: however the qur'an is interpreted, radicals are finding new recruits in the u.s. and around the world, and social media is expanding their reach. professor ali asani, who heads harvard's islamic studies department, says the appeal may defy logic, but to the right audience it makes sense. >> it's very easy for people who are marginalized to instrumentalize religious ideas, because very often religious traditions do talk about good versus evil, right? but it's just a question of who you define as good and who you define as evil. >> reporter: some argue many of these young recruits lack a deep understanding of islam-religious illiterates who are searching for a cause greater than themselves. >> they really don't have the ballast to be able to say, "no, i don't think that's what the

sura al-tawba says." they don't really have the knowledge-base to be able to fend off that kind of manipulation of the religion that these groups are doing to convince them that this is the way that they can be the best muslims they can be. >> reporter: but some of the foreign recruits join the fight in syria and iraq with their eyes wide open. true believers in radical islam. professor asani says they're also lured by money, housing, wives, and a sense of belonging. >> you come and fight with us, and your visions, your ideas -- you're going to be valued. you're going to be at the center of power. >> reporter: and it's not just young men. three teenage girls from denver, colorado, were detained in germany after apparently trying to join islamic militants in syria. it's reported dozens of french girls have also run away from home to sign up with isis. mia bloom, professor of security studies at the university of massachussetts, lowell, has been

investigating the recruiting of western girls. >> at some level there may be this utopian ideal of being a muslim, living in a muslim society. but i think for the most part what they're saying to the girls is everything is going to be taken care of for you. >> reporter: so it's kind of a two pronged appeal to these girls. it's one of religion, but it's also one of we can give you things, right? >> we'll pay your expenses once you get here, we're going to arrange your marriage. you know, in the afterlife sitting by muhammad you'll be a hero to your community. >> few of the young women end up on the front lines. they typically cook, clean, and take care of kids. they support the violent radicals behind the beheadings of americans and many others. >> reporter: aren't these young girls frightened by the videos that we see out there, the violence? does that not turn them off? >> they may think either that it's propaganda, and they don't believe it, or they may actually be attracted to the fact that these groups are powerful and that they are able to stand up to the united states and britain.

>> reporter: a new report by richard barrett, who led the un's al qaeda and taliban monitoring team, says through electronic media isis "pays considerable attention to its image and tries to balance pictures of horror-intended to demoralize its enemies with a softer image to encourage its friends." as the u.s. carries out airstrikes in hopes of defeating isis, barrett's report claims that "about 15,000 foreigners have joined the islamic state since 2011." >> let's work as partners to combat those people. >> reporter: imam talal eid with the islamic institute of boston warns against this radical ideology, even when he's speaking to educated students in quiet suburbs. >> after the sermon the students will come to me and say, why you are telling us this? we know it. are you afraid of us? none of us here is having this kind of mentality, and you keep

reminding us. i said, i tell them i feel that i have to say these things. >> reporter: but with about three-million muslims in america, imam eid wants the public to have some perspective. >> i would not tell you that this movement is not serious. it's dangerous because they kill people. it's not that much difficult to get one out of 10,000 people. that's what they are getting. >> we have brothers from bangladesh, from iraq, from cambodia, australia, uk." >> reporter: professor bloom wants to shed more light on tactics being used to recruit those young people, not only in this country but overseas. she's co-writing a book titled "small arms: children and terrorism." to figure out, are there ways that we can interrupt the process to prevent children from being involved?

>> reporter: and active change foundation, a british organization, is denouncing the violent actions of isis as it works to keep more young men and women from becoming radicalized. the man behind this group? hanif qadir, who described earlier how he was sucked in by radicals in afghanistan. >> i was lucky to come back. i was lucky to survive, really. >> reporter: for "religion and ethics newsweekly," i'm dan lothian in boston. december 12th, next month, is, for roman catholics, the feast day of our lady of guadalupe, the saint who has not only inspired millions of mexicans, over the years, but whose shrine in mexico city according to correspondent fred de sam lazaro is, for catholics, the most popular pilgrimage

destination in the world. >> reporter: the masses start at 6:00 a.m. and continue uninterrupted until 9:00 p.m. seven days a week at the basilica of our lady of guadalupe. this building, erected in the 1970s, is the fourth structure in a complex that dates back 500 years, when believers say mary, the mother of jesus, appeared here. >> since the apparitions of our lady that happened in 1531, this place has become a place of worship, and our lady has accompanied the nation across the foundation, through the independence movement, then through the revolution movement. >> reporter: all told some 20 million people come here each year, some on their knees for the last leg of the pilgrimage. they come from across latin america and the world, though >> for me she's everything, the most important saint in our

religion, she's our mother. we want to thank her for our new baby. i want to thank her for my little sister. she helps me study. she fell five months ago and couldn't walk. our lady helped her recover. >> reporter: her story, some say legend, is richly displayed in statues and art around the complex. in 1531, the virgin mary appeared before juan diego, an indian who had been converted to christianity by the conquering spanish. she asked that a chapel be built here. the request was relayed to the bishop, who in turn asked juan diego to bring back a sign to confirm the divine apparition. >> and the sign that was given to him were castilian roses that but that was not only the sign. from the clear white tilma of juan diego, which was the robe, we say the coat, he was bringing

the roses inside the coat. when he opened the tilma, the image that you are looking in the back of me, the original one appeared. >> reporter: that original cloth and image, kept behind glass at the basilica's altar, has endured now for 500 years -- the symbol, church leaders say, of unity relevant until today. >> the virgin was a woman, a jew, the mother of jesus, catholic but with a muslim name. everything about her symbolizes unity. >> reporter: and unity was sorely needed at the bloody birth of this nation in 1521, after the spanish conquered it from the aztecs. >> it was not only a military conquest. it was a religious and cultural conquest also. she represented comfort for the people who were humiliated and conquered by the conquistadors. >> reporter: but just exactly who she was is an interesting question, says religion scholar

bernardo barranco. he says one reason the virgin of guadalupe may have worked as a unifying, or pacifying, force is that this was the site of a temple to tonantzin, a mother figure among aztec deities long before the spanish arrived. in new spain, as mexico was first called, the virgin's image, cloaked in indian garments, may well have represented tonantzin, albeit christianized. barranco says the guadalupe shrine certainly helped the spanish cause of converting the indians. >> christianity was imposed over the generations, and at the same time the image of tonantzin starts to fade away and the christian virgin is seen more. the new virgin has more indigenous characteristics in cultural terms. it is a mexicanization of the virgin. >> reporter: through the years, questions have been raised about the authenticity of the guadalupe story. some scholars note that the

first written record of juan diego's existence is found more than 100 years after the 1531 apparition. >> i'm not only a religious person. i'm also a scientist, a chemist, and some of the evidence we have is not easy to explain away. >> reporter: in 2002, juan diego was canonized by pope john paul ii, a pontiff long revered in mexico. >> the biggest question was, was he making a saint out of someone that didn't exist? historically they can't prove the nonexistence of juan diego, and the religious can't prove his existence. it ended up being a leap of faith. >> reporter: and in the end he says it doesn't really matter whether or not the apparition really happened. 90% of mexicans have an unshakable faith in the virgin,

congregate in what is the catholic world's single largest pilgrimage destination. for "religion and ethics newsweekly," this is fred de sam lazaro in mexico city. that's our program for now. i'm bob abernethy. from all of us here, have a happy thanksgiving. you can follow us on twitter and facebook and watch us anytime on the pbs app for iphones and ipads. there is also much more on our website, where you can also listen to or watch every program. join us at pbs.org. as we leave you, scenes from the washington national cathedral, which held a muslim prayer service for the first time in the cathedral's history. ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ major funding for "religion and ethics newsweekly" is provided by the lillian endowment, an indianapolis-based private family foundation, dedicated to its founders' interest in religion, community development and education. additional funding also provided by mutual of america. designing customized, individual and group retirement products. that's why we're your retirement company.

>> rose: welcome to the program. i am charlie rose. the program is "charlie rose: the week." just ahead the new fight over imglaigz graigz reform. the secretary of defense on battle against isil. and benedict cumberbatch on acting from shakespeare to sherlock. >> you really do from every physical gesture to mood spring have this map to plurnd every time you go into the the series i go back to the bookses all the time. >> rose: we have those stories and more on what happened and what might happen. >> rose: funding for "charlie rose" has been provided by the following: >> and by bloomberg, a provider of multimedia news and information worldwide. captioning sponsored by rose communications