irvin mcdowell and john pope. but probably them never thought of as a pair they would largely shape the events that we're going to talk about this weekend. now, how is it why is it that you've never heard of this partnership or considered it to be a partnership? well, the answer to that is pretty simple because it failed. it led to disaster or we'll see if we can get sides going her okay. let's start with this man, john pope john polk assumed command of what would be called the army of virginia. on june 26th, 1862, after the pieces and parts of that army had already been in the field for several months. his army, which was the combination of three departments, three commands, one commanded by nathaniel banks, would become the second corps. the first corps, ultimately commanded by franz sigel. both of them had largely operated in the shenandoah valley and the third corps, or excuse me, the first corps of the army would be the largest and most consequential in so many ways, commanded by irvin mcdowell, john hope cam

john pope. john pope would assume command of whatever be called the army of virginia on june 26, 1862. after the pieces and parts of that army had already been in the field for several months. his army which was the combination of three departments, three commands. one, the commanded by nathaniel banks would become the second core -- the first goal ultimately come into a frenzy go. both of them i largely operated in the -- valley. and the third core, excuse me, the first core of the army would be the largest. most consequential and so many ways. commanded by ervin mcdowell. jon pope came to this new command. charged with changing what lincoln and stanton and many republicans on capitol hill consider to be the two timorous military and political culture in virginia. and john pope enthusiastically embrace the role of disruptor. i don't know how many of you have worked in organizations that had disruptor is brought in. it's a stressful circumstance. even when successful. pope was a disruptor. abrah

john pope was everything. mcclellan was not, and porter did not mind saying so. in late july, after pope had assumed comm of myn of virginia, porter described him as what the military world has. long known and asksndill reflect no credit on mr. lincoln porter up the heat in his letters bing pope to manton marble as a fool and. worse still wishing that mcclellan was in command in washington to rid us of the incumbents ruining country. by the time porter in the fifth corps had by rode boat and rail reported pope on august 27th. porter earnestly wishing myself away from pope with all our old army of the potomac and, begging ambrose burnside. if can get me away, please. so. porter's opinion of pope had not been improved by the beating elements of the army of virginia received at the hands of stonewall jackson at cedar mountain on august 9th. nor by the disastrous raid jackson jeb stuart staged on polk's communications and supplies at manassas junction on august seventh. the next day, jackson drew off to the old bull run battlefield, luring pope after him under the del

john pope was evytng mcleod was not, and porter did not mind saying so. and late july, after pope had assumed command of the army of virginia, porter had described him as what the mi world has long known, and asks, and will reflect no credit. lincoln. as july turned august, porter turned up the heat in his letters. describing pope to marble as a fool and, worse still, wishing that mcclellan was in command in washington to rid us of the incumbents ruining our country. by the time porter and the fifth corps had, by road, boat and rail, reported to pope on august old army of the potomac and, begging ambrose burnside. 27th, porter was earnestly wishing myself away from pope, with all our old army at the potomac. and begging ambrose burnside, if you can get me away, please do so. porter's opinion of pope had not been approved by the beating which elements of the army of virginia received at the hands of stonewall jackson at cedar mountain on august 9th. nor by the disastrous range of jackson and jeb stuarts staged on pokes communication is applies at manassas j

nearly 24 years as pope john paul ii eternal enforcer and the german chancellor lived in the shadows of hitler's regime, referred as god's rottweiler. years caused him to go unnoticed. he was the first pope to go green, making the vatican the first country in the world with zero carbon footprint. putting solar panels on its rooftops and bringing in electric mobiles including a popemobile. he was the pope when sex scandals came to light and he spearheaded towards a zero tolerance policy. it was too little too late for some but cardinal ratzinger who ordered the response to the scandal including a special downstairs handle cases extending and in some cases eliminating the statute of limitations for victims and as pope apologizing. >> i am deeply sorry for the pain and suffering the victims have endured. and i assure them as their pastor i do share in their suffering. >> reporter: one of his first acts after being elected pope was to condemn a popular church figure for sex abuse. something that had not happened sooner because of masseyal's with section addition. however after his retirem

paul ii. former burial site of pope john paul it that _ former burial site of pope john paul it they also have to take _ taken into account. they also have to take into — taken into account. they also have to take into account that benedict was the _ to take into account that benedict was the head of the church and there will be _ was the head of the church and there will be elements to his funeral which — will be elements to his funeral which have to reflect his position as head — which have to reflect his position as head of— which have to reflect his position as head of state. so we will have this period — as head of state. so we will have this period as of the 2nd ofjanuary where _ this period as of the 2nd ofjanuary where people will be able to go to the basilica to pay their respects. and that — the basilica to pay their respects. and that will be ordinary catholics, but also _ and that will be ordinary catholics, but also very likely that will be diplomats, people who have been sent here to _ diplomats, people who have been sent here to the _ diplomats, people who have be

the 16th was elected pope in 2005 following the death of his close friend, pope john paul, the second at age 78. he became the oldest newly elected pope since 1970. pope benedict the 16th dedicated his entire adult life to the church from 1951 when he was ordained a priest until resigning his pope in 2013, greg palkot, takes a look at his life and legacy. when john paul. the second died after more than 25 years as pope, the cardinals met to elect a successor. it took them just two days to give the job to a 78 year old german, a scholarly man who didn't particularly appear to want it to it. the lord cardinals have elected me a simple, humble worker in god's vineyard. for decades, cardinal joseph ratzinger had been a key adviser to john paul , the second on questions of catholic doctrine, earning a reputation as a staunch conservative as pope benedict the 16th he battled relativism the idea that what's true for one person might not be true for someone else. benedict's 2008 visit to the united states would be remembered not only for his birthday celebration in the white house, a stop at

ah, when pope john paul died, use of writing are held to require a mass with great warmth, send to plum. as the pope had grown old ill and frail, he had repeatedly acted on his behalf. and in 2002 was made dean of the college of cardinals. one of his tests was to organize the conclave after the pope's death. just before the vote, he warned his colleagues not to listen films, the buffeted by the waves of the tight gate. but to hold fast to jesus christ ah, just 4 rounds of voting. joseph roxanne, or was elected pope if $115.00 of his brother cardinals voted for him to lead the catholic church. then he has to believe that this is the will of god. and was he given the challenge that he called the dictatorship of relativism in the western world with its slippery philosophical climate limit, dominated by the idea that everyone has their own version of truth and both are valid to let saying this was dangerous. you believe scott that he saw does the task of the church in the present day to counter this 6 by declaring an objective truth hold on mister newman. and as he so he had to assume that

pope john his closest advisers. pope john paul, his closest advisers. econd, died in april 2005. joseph ratzinger was elected as head of the catholic church and became pope benedict for 16 . he continues the legacy for 16. he continues the legacy of his predecessor by speaking to other religious leaders, particularly judaism and islam. domino's is a case of conflating those. he aims to revitalise the church in europe and maintains traditional catholic values relating to sexuality and priestly celibacy . he visited priestly celibacy. he visited a number of countries in the early years of his papacy , including years of his papacy, including new guidelines allowing more use of the latin mass. he directly addressed historical sexual abuse within the catholic church , speaking out against its dunng , speaking out against its during a visit to the united nations. but he came under media scrutiny in his alleged role in the cover up of sexual and physical abuse cases by parish priests and in schools. the vatican denounced the allegations as false and calumnies

me when pope john paul died, user pricing are held to rick. we a mess with great warm santa plum. as the pope had grown old ill and frail, he had repeatedly acted on his behalf, and in 2002 was made dean of the college of cardinals. one of his tasks was to organize the conclave after the pope's death. just before the vote, he warned his colleagues not to let themselves be buffeted by the waves of the type geist but to hold fast to jesus christ ah, just 4 rounds of voting. joseph, right singer was elected pope if, if $115.00 of his brother cardinals voted for him, the engine to lead the catholic church. then he has to believe that this is the will of god. given the challenge that he called the dictatorship of relativism in the western world with its slippery philosophical climate dominated by the idea that everyone has their own version of truth and both are valid to let's think this was dangerous. scott, that he saw it as the task of the church in the present day to counter this 6 by declaring an objective truth was almost uneven, uneasy. so he had to assume that given his career a

me when pope john paul died, user pricing are held to rick. we a mess with great warm santa plum. as the pope had grown old ill and frail, he had repeatedly acted on his behalf. and in 2002 was made dean of the college of cardinals. one of his tests was to organize the conclave after the pope's death. just before the vote, he warned his colleagues not to listen, filled the buffeted by the waves of the tight gate, but to hold fast to jesus christ. ah, ah, just for rounds, if voting you as if writing here was elected if 115 of his brother cardinals voted for him, things and to lead the catholic church, then he has to believe that this is the will of god under the given the challenge that he called the dictatorship of relativism in the western world with its slippery philosophical climate. lima dominated by the idea that everyone has their own version of truth and both are valid. it can be done to lansing a. this was dangerous. he believed that he saw it as the task of the church in the present day to counter this by declaring an objective truth was almost there and i'm busy. so he ha

me when pope john paul died, user pricing are held to rick. we a mess with freight warm send a plum. as the pope had grown old, ill and frail, he had repeatedly acted on his behalf, and in 2002 was made dean of the college of cardinals. one of his tasks was to organize the conclave after the pope's death. just before the vote, he warned his colleagues not to let themselves be buffeted by the waves of the tight caste but to hold fast to jesus christ ah, just 4 rounds of voting. joseph, right singer was elected pope if $115.00 of his brother cardinals voted for him engine and to lead the catholic church. then he has to believe that this is the will of god. i'm busy, given the challenge that he called the dictatorship of relativism in the western world with its slippery philosophical climate dominated by the idea that everyone has their own version of truth and both are valid. it can be glad to lead singer. this was dangerous scott that he saw does the task of the church in the present day to counter this 6 by declaring an objective truth was almo

and when john paul died in 2005 rattling and became his successor, the new pope had a reputation for being quiet, modest and an arch conservative. he was also an intellectual and was not a man of grand gestures like his predecessor was even so his 1st trip to world youth day in germany was deemed a success. hundreds of thousands came to cheer him in as pope he saw himself as the guardian of the faith of the catholic church and was a strict advocate of celibacy. he criticized the recognition of same sex relationships and condemned doctors who performed abortions. ready bennett, exhort, done all with other religions seeking contact with the leaders of the christian orthodox churches. say try to improve relations with islam and judaism. but there were also setbacks. for example, when he brought the controversial society a st. tires back into the church, even though some of its leaders were anti c mites and holocaust deniers. but it was the child abuse scandals in the church that cost a dog shadow, benedict spawn ticket. more and more cases involving catholic clergy came to light in more

when benedict took over from pope john in 2005, he became the first pope in more than a thousand years, french president emmanuel macronn said he worked for more fraternal world. at least half of france identifies itself as catholic. less than 5% are thought to attend mass. not want to be left out, russian president vladimir putin praised pope an addict as a defender of christian values, and his address to the nation. president boudin fashions himself as a defender orthodox christian values, to mediate between russia and ukraine to end the war in ukraine. benjamin netanyahu was sworn in as israel's prime minister two days ago. saying i sent my deep condolences to all israeli citizens to the christian world. a historic visit since 2000 mind and visited auschwitz and paid homage to victims of the holocaust. the first pontiff in 6 centuries to resign from the job. the catholic church has a successor in place and has had for 9 years, that is of course pope francis. it st. peter's square, he met with some of the people who gathered to pray for pope benedict. he called him a good and righteo

pope john paul, one of his close guest advisers . pope john paul , the second, . d, died in april 2005. joseph ratzinger was elected as head of the catholic church and became pope benedict's for 16th . he pope benedict's for 16th. he continues the legacy of his predecessor by speaking to other religious , particularly judaism religious, particularly judaism and. domino's second feeding was he aims to revive italy's the church in europe and traditional catholic values relating to sexuality and priestly celibacy . he visited a number of countries the early years of his papacy. new guidelines allowing more use of the latin mass. he directly addressed historical abuse within the catholic speaking out against during a visit to the united nations . but visit to the united nations. but he came under media scrutiny. his alleged role in the cover up of sexual and physical abuse cases by parish priests in schools. the vatican denounced the allegations as false and calumny and said its handling of the cases showed wisdom and firmness . in 2013, pope benedict firmness. in 2013

pope. and, the burial will take place. the vatican said in the vatican grow to which is underneath st. peters basilica, which is where john paul the second, the last pope to dine 2005 was buried before it was moved to the last final resting place. just an interesting number for you, cory. the prefect of rome said that he expects about 60,000 people to attend. we compare that with the more than 4 million pilgrims who came down to rome for the last funeral of the pope, john paul the second in 2005, corey. we >> claudio lavanga for us. claudio, thank you. >> and we want to do more breaking news. today the, broadcast world is remembering the life and legacy of barbara walters. the pioneering journalist and talk show host died friday at the age of 93. walters began her national broadcast career on the today show in 1961 as a reporter and a writer. and, later became today's first female co-host. in 1976, she joined abc news as the first female anchor on an evening news program. she went on to co-host 2020, and launch the view. walters interviewed the leader of dozens of countries. several presidents, and celebrities. if they we

actually, he tried to resign multiple times in his previous job and pope john paul didn't let him. and all of a sudden pope john paul passed away and the papacy was handed to benedict. he was gracious. i remember the first night he was satisfying his first mass and i work with young people and he said young people, the world offers you comfort, but you were not made for comfort, you were made for greatness and you could see young people respond to that great call. god has created you for greatness and calling you to greatness and that's the message for young people and all people need to hear. alicia: he r end a more conservative side of the catholic church and i'm wondering how you feel that position that he held played a role after his resignation in the dual existence of pope emeritus benedict and the sitting pope? >> there's always a challenge in catholocism, we're a faith that stretches back 2000 years to jesus christ, there's a commitment to thousands of years ago and trying to live in the moment. and i think that pope benedict did a great job melding that. 1900's, it was a co

john paul ii. he eventually did resign. he didn't want to be pope. he sid a few days after he was elected, when he heard his name being called in the 16th chapel, he felt like he was being led to the guy teen. he thought he was a man who was called to write books, and that's the legacy he leaves. >>> father reese, there are many ways we'll remember him, but for most will be the fact that he stepped down, something that hasn't been done in hundreds of years. how controversial was it at the time? >> it was a big surprise at the time. no pope had done this in 600 years. and the result is now that future popes are going to final it much easier to resign if their health deteriorates to the fact that they can no longer function in their job. this is important because modern medicine can keep a person alive long after doing such a stressful job as being pope. so it's important. the fact that he, who many consider a very conservative pope, allows future popes to do it with no challenge at all. >> delia, obviously, we've been hearing comparisons between pope

then pope john paul, the 2nd, brought him to the vatican where he was made prefect of the influential congregation for the doctrine of the faith. and when john paul died in 2005 rattling and became his successor, the new pope had a reputation for being quiet, modest and an arch conservative. he was also an intellectual and was not a man of grand gestures like his predecessor was even so his 1st trip to world youth day in germany was deemed a success. hundreds of thousands came to cheer him as well as pope. he saw himself as the guardian of the faith of the catholic church and was a strict advocate of celibacy. 8 he criticized the recognition of same sex relationships and condemned doctor super formed abortions. ready benedict sought dialogue with other religions seeking contact with the leaders of the christian orthodox churches. he also try to improve relations with islam and judaism, but also setbacks. for example, when he brought the controversial society a st pious back into the church, even though some of its leaders were anti c mites and holocaust deniers. but it was the child a

and the pope john paul didn't believe those accusations against him. pope benedict that those were false and i discerned becoming a priest in the first place, so, it's a very long conversation, but i'm grateful to both pope francis and pope benedict. david: that's a great example not only for you personally, but it shows he was an administrator, he did know how to be an effective pope when necessary and that shouldn't be remembered just for resignation and who knows, maybe some day like his predecessor, he'll become a saint as well. jonathan, father sirico, thank you. more after this. hi, i'm sally and i lost 52 pounds with golo in a year and a half. i struggled with my weight for a long time due to my thyroid issues but since being on the golo plan and taking release, the weight has not come back. (upbeat music) >> and to idaho where family members of the four college students brutally murdered are speaking out after learning a suspect has been arrested. dan springer is in moscow idaho with the very latest, dan. >> yeah, david, and chief james fry at m

experiment all surgeries, what he went through, the way my dad put it, he said name the boy after john, after popehn paul was all about love and happiness. all we want to do is give back and help families and said to me one day dad, i would love to start a juice to help families when you go to hospitals and see families going through so much pain and anguish. then you do whatever you can. you know what? did the mango and tropical and apple and then said i am ready now and you have no idea how to do this. shortly after that he got extremely sick, past away from a massive heart transplant. we didn't know where we are? when you lose a kid you lose focus and then i said i am ready and then that came into perspective. he is giving me the juice to help kids. carley: the back story of why you chose juice, he was in the hospital so often and he knew that juice was something provided at the hospital but your son wasn't supposed to live past a year old or a few days. he is an example of miracles do exist. >> he is an example of miracles and how they do exist. they told us he would not live beyond birth and

and credit to that, in part, goes to mcclellan, mcdowell, and john pope. who worked hard that afternoon to assemble a new line of defense back here along at henry hill. which ultimately halted at the end of the day. mcdonald's reputation is destroyed by the events on this battlefield, without question. one soldier wrote of mcdowell, using the term, the hat. speaking of his helmet which became so famous. he said whenever it appeared on the front, it was a signal to the enemy to cease firing and reserve their ammunition for more opportune moments. on august 30th, whenever the hat appeared, defeat and disaster appeared in quick succession. we met this ma a little bit earlier, the colonel of the first mission. he was mortally wound in fighting on the afternoon of august 30th, 1862. he would linger for sometime, long enough to write a farewell note, a last letter. and in that letter, he chose to say goodbye to his wife, and his family. but most of the letter was devoted to an indictment of ervin mcdowell. i am passing now from earth, he wrote to his family. but

he was the right-hand man of pope john paul ii. as the head of the vatican department, he was much more successful than a pope was. i interviewed him multiple times, would see him at events and press conferences and so on. i had the opportunity of being in his presence several times when he was pope. i will tell you this. he would be my nominee for the 20th century public figure who had the greatest gap between his public reputation and his private personality. in public benedict xvi was seen as an aloof, authoritarian, draconian darth vader in a c cassock. but in private you could never meet a nicer guy. he was the kindest, sweetest, humblest, gentlest figure i have ever met in my entire life. when delia said he was the package of a pope in a bad rap, i can tell you that. the man i knew and a figure of public mythology had very little to do one another. >> your personal perspective is so valuable because obviously that's the side people don't see or have access to. stand by, john, we do want to head back out to rome and st. peter's

even for his own papacy, but for the memories of the of the speeches he'd written for the previous pope john paul, the 2nd in the some of those benches were considered to be very beautiful, a very powerful for, for the members of the catholic faith. so there's a lot of discussion about exactly what, what this means as, as clearly, as a 95 year old in ill health. what this all means historically, as we move forward. thank you so much for that update that is at jack parrot for us in rome. really appreciate at well 2022 is slowly drawing to a close and a new year lies a had a good time to reflect on the good and the bad of the year. gone by. and for some that means turning the page on unpleasant memories. that is exactly what people have been doing at the annual good riddance. event in new york time square here with dance union to 20. 23. after shredding trashing and bashing 2022. for the people here this year has been one to for guess. they lined up to write down all the bad things they wanted to say. good riddance to in 2022. they range from poverty to single use plastics. a moment of cathars

in 1977, he was appointed archbishop of munich. shortly afterwards, he was made a cardinal, then pope john paul, the 2nd, brought him to the vatican, where he was made prefect of the influential congregation for the doctrine of the faith. and when john paul died in 2005, right, so that became his successor. you had a reputation for being quiet, modest and an arch conservative. he was also an intellectual and was not a man of grand gesture like his freed assessor, was even so his 1st trip to world youth day in germany would seem to success. hundreds of thousands came to cheer him as pope he saw himself as the guardian of the faith of the catholic church and was a strict advocate of celibacy. 8 he criticized the recognition of same sex relationships and condemned doctor super formed abortions. ready benedict sought dialogue with other religions seeking contact with the leaders of the christian orthodox churches. he also tried to improve relations with islam and judaism. but there were also setbacks. for example, when he brought the controversial society a st pious back into the church, even

here's a look back at pope benedict's incredible life. >> when john paul ii died after more than 25 yearspope and cardinals met to elect a successor, took two days to give the job to a 78--year-old german, a sol larraly man that didn't -- scholarly man that didn't particularly appear to want it. >> the lord cardinals have elected me, this simple, humble worker in god's vineyard. >> for decades, cardinal joseph ratsinger was a key adviser on questions of catholic doctrine earning a reputation as a staunch conservative. as pope benedict xvi, he battled relativism that what is true for one person might not be true for someone else. pope benedict's 2008 visit to the united states would be remembered not only for his birthday celebration in the white house, a stop at ground zero, and mass at yankee stadium, but also by the way in which he addressed the sex abuse crisis so directly. >> this is absolutely unbelievable and who is really to be pitiful and cannot be priest. >> sex abuse would haunt the catholics as it unfolded in europe and records on abuse was mixed. there were other problems as w

peter's where there are other pope's buried. john spent many years there before they moved him up inside the basilica. that was his request. that's where he will be buried. people can go and visit the crypt underneath st. peter's basilica when they come to rome. >> we were talking about this last hour, the legacy or the life leading up to the papacy for pope benedict. he was born joseph ratzinger. he had a long life before reaching that level. he grew up in germany. he witnessed the nazi's rise to power and the second world war. what can you tell us about his early life that led us up to this point? >> you're right. there's a sense in which he almost summed up the drama of the catholic history, born in 1927, growing up in the shadow of the rise of the nazi movement. his family was strongly anti-nazi and he did everything he could to try to distance himself from the nazi movement. he was forcibly enrolled into the hitler youth and then the german army. actually ended the war briefly as an american prisoner of war. as soon as he could,

his papacy, when it came to pope john t ii, he was a contrite spirit he spoke out against abortion andst homosexuality. he was also pope at a time when the church was facing the growing scandal of sexual abuse by priests, and later admitted that he had made mistakes in the way he had handled that. he stepped down in 2013, the first pope to do that in a very long time, and left the vatican. he flew away from the vatican i a helicopter to the papacy summer home just outside rome. then the path was made clear for the election of pope francis as pope. pope francis has a much more liberal approach than pope benedict did, but he has continued to visit benedict who now lives in the vatican. sometimes though the presence of a former pope in the vatican has been seen as somewhat divisive. lewis: thank you for the update. now the united states and european union have appealed to kosovo and serbia to exercise maximum restraint as tensions are rising in northern kosovo. the police have closed the main border crossing into serbia after roadblocks were set up on the serbian side. ethnic serbs have b

paul, one of his closest advisers, pope john paul , the second died pope john paul, the second died inolic church and became pope benedict for 16 . he continues benedict for 16. he continues the legacy of his predecessor by. speaking to other religious leaders, particu clearly judaism and islam dominance is a consequence fading as he aims to revital leads the church in europe and maintains traditional catholic values to sexuality and priestly celibacy . he visited priestly celibacy. he visited a number of countries in the early years of his papacy , including years of his papacy, including new guidelines allowing more use of the latin mass . he directly of the latin mass. he directly addressed historical sexual abuse within the catholic church, speaking out against its dunng church, speaking out against its during a visit to the united nafions. during a visit to the united nations . but during a visit to the united nations. but he came under media scrutiny in his alleged role in the cover up of sexual and physical abuse cases by parish priests and in schools. the vatican denounced the a

pope benedict xvi elected to lead the catholic church in 2005 after the death of pope john paul ii stunned the world just eight years later when he became the first pope to resign in 600 years since gregory xii in 1415. he was 85 years old, and he said his health was declining. in the days after the announcement, thousands gathered in st. peter's square to bid him farewell. each cardinal saying a personal good-bye to their leader and their brother, and for the first time the world witnessed the end of a papacy on live television, history in the making. soon those cardinals would choose a new pope. benedict leaving the vatican by helicopter for a sunset tour of rome beginning, as he put it, the last leg of his pilgrimage on earth. as the vatican's famed swiss guards laid down their arms and those giant doors to castle gandolfo closed, benedict's rule officially came to an end. when he was elected in 2005, benedict game the first german pope in nearly a thousand years. born joseph ratzinger in a small town in southern germany in 1927, he grew up under and during world war ii when he was forc

and when john paul died in 2005 rattling and became his successor, the new pope had a reputation for being quiet, modest and an arch conservative. he was also an intellectual and was not a man of grand gestures like his predecessor was even so his 1st trip to world youth day in germany was deemed a success. hundreds of thousands came to cheer him in as pope he saw himself as the guardian of the faith of the catholic church and was a strict advocate of celibacy. he criticized the recognition of same sex relationships and condemned doctors who performed abortions. ready bennett exhort dialogue with other religions seeking contact with the leaders of the christian orthodox churches.

john. since you mentioned my book. i would with a slight twist. share some words of wisdom from pope john the 23rd. associations are like wine. some turn to vinegar, but the best improve with age. and this is certainly true of the white house historical association as we've heard this evening when mrs. kennedy established this organization in 1961. she had great ambitions, but i think even she would be amazed by everything the association has accomplished in the past six decades and how vital our mission remains today. because of my day job i happen to read a lot of news headlines with some frequency. and as anyone who follows the news today knows. america's democratic ideals cannot be taken for granted. throughout the history of the world. there is never been a system of government that is provided the freedom prosperity and boundless opportunity that ours has this is no accident or coincidence. it's a direct result of generations of men and women who have sacrificed to preserve our nation and everything that it stands for. across our country and around the world there is no symbol that represents

when benedict took over from pope john pollan 2005 you will remember he became the first pope from germanythan 1000 years. french president said the former pope worked with quote soul and intelligence or a more fraternal world. very widely but at least half of france identifies itself as roman catholic. a little less than 5% is thought to attend mass regularly. not wanting to be left out russian president vladimir putin also praised pope benedict as a defender of traditional christian values in his new year's address to russians. putin himself fashions himself as a defender of traditional orthodox christian values. the kremlin and pope francis have been at odds over some pope francis' comments about the war in ukraine. the vatican is offering to mediate between russia and ukraine. neither side have said it is time for that. i was just sworn in as israel prime minister for the sixth time just two days ago but he also issued a statement saying i send my deep condolences on behalf of all israeli citizens to the christian world. pope benedict made up historic visit to israel 2009. he also visi