i'm bob abernethy.resident obama's state of the union focused on proposals to help working class families and what the president called middle class economics. he also highlighted a host of social issues and cited america's respect for human dignity. >> that's why we defend free speech, advocate for political prisoners and condemn the persecution of women, rel%rçk[s minorities, or people lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender. we do this not only because they're the right thing to do but ultimately they will make us safer. >> tens of thousands of americans came to washington this week for the annual march for life. the weather was unusually mild, but this year's event of clouded by a new political controversy. abortion opponents were upset after republican house leaders delayed a vote on a bill that would restrict abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. several female gop members have raised concerns that the bill did not have enough exceptions for victims of rape and incest. >>> the u.s. supreme court u

i'm bob abernethy.t's good to have you with us. >>> the international community continued to mourn the victims of last week's terror attacks in paris amid concern about growing hostility toward minorities. in france, security officials guarded synagogues and tried to assure jews that they are safe. in many quarters, there is renewed debate about islam and extremism. many muslim groups condemned the violence, but also urged more public respect for religion. pope francis waded into the controversy, saying while no one should ever kill in the name of god, people also should not provoke or insult the faith of others. >>> many muslims expressed alarm about anti-islamic sentiment in parts of europe. in germany, record numbers attended anti-muslim protests, outpacing a separate rally organized to show interfaith solidarity. >>> joining me now are kim lawton our managing editor and haris tarin, director of the washington office of the muslim public affairs council. haris, welcome back here. what has this week m

i'm bob abernethy. it's good to have you with us. >>> faith groups around the world this week expressed outrage and grief after the attack on the paris office of the satirical newspaper "charlie hebdo." the paper had been targeted in the past for printing caricatures of the prophet mohammed. the muslim public affairs council strongly condemned the attack, saying it stood in contradiction to how mohammed responded to insults. interfaith groups urged the public not to retaliate against muslims. at a vatican chapel mass, pope francis denounced the attacks as human cruelty. he prayed for the victims and asked god to "change the hearts" of the perpetrators. >>> the pope is making preparations for his visit to sri lanka and the philippines next week, where interfaith relations and recovery from disasters are expected to be major themes. this week francis named 20 new cardinals from 18 different countries, many of them in the developing world. no one was from the u.s. observers said the appointments reflected