>> narrator: in february last year, pope benedict stunned the world by being the first pope to resign in 600 years. >> no person has had more influence on the life of the church, how it works on the inside, than joseph ratzinger. and he gave it up. >> narrator: when the helicopter took him away, benedict was leaving behind a bitterly divided vatican. this is the inside story of the events that undermined his papacy. it's a story of corruption and cover-up. >> if i don't get a response from you, i'll go public. >> narrator: of sexual scandal and abuse. >> if you tell anybody, your parents will burn in hell. >> narrator: of secrets and hypocrisy. >> so there we were, where they had had sex all night long, and he took out all his paraphernalia and started to celebrate mass. >> narrator: and a story of leaked documents exposing a bitter internal power struggle. >> i published documents dealing with corruption, scandals, frauds, nepotism. >> narrator: now a new pope, francis, must battle the forces that overwhelmed his predecessor. >> if he wants to change the church, it's going to mean de

and forth different symbolic attributes so the king right to veto might wear shoes with other pope benedict's shoes and you might see them holding a lighter or kings crowned so the exchange back and forth in which the king was christian and pope was christian and you have a temporal power and spiritual power mixing constantly that's part of the transfer. and the interesting thing occurs you start to think in the terms about that but church encompasses the whole order of europe if you asked what they were they wouldn't say i'm from george irvine or italian. they would say i'm catholic and i am from this town and the church ordering the whole society which meant the idea the body could transfer to the society as a whole so he tracks the political historian from berkeley this history of the migration and data migration moves and then in the early modern period how that begins to transfer to the state societies which early nationstate formation together a lot of these ideas and a tribute than to the ideas >> is this a primer for the christian activists? i don't think so. i wrote it for my student

pope john paul ii philosopher and benedict was a theologian. is pope speaks like a pastor, like your heritage priest. he is focusing on the basics. that is something he said in the america magazine interview. he is focused on the gospel, mercy, compassion, and love. >> making the point that some of the most divisive issues should not overwhelm the role of the church. be accessede cannot with just a few issues, and he named them. abortion, same-sex marriage, contraception, things like that. he said we are too focused on those things. not to say they are not important, but we need to broaden what we are looking at. >> to, what was your impression? >> he has shifted the conversation from a culture of flash -- a clash of cultures to really amazing cultural encounters. it has to do with the whole notion of encountering god in all things. shifted the conversation to focus on the poor, the marginalized, the destitute. by taking the name of francis, he has taken on a new meaning when he comes into religious engagement, when it comes to care of the earth

we should remember that this president also met pope benedict.ifferent kind of meeting because in that meeting in 2009 cordial. they did talk about foreign policy, but the first thing that benedict did was give a copy of bioethics to the president that condemned embryonic stem cell research, two things that the president supports. >> here's a little gift to begin our meeting. >> the president said now i have something to read on the plane home. it was a very vivid, in-your-face kind of statement. there will be an exchange of gifts. >> likely all the dignitaries that pope francis has met with over the last several months he has given a copy of his latest exercisation. he does talk about many of the important issues including immigration reuniting of families, including the great gap he sees in income inequality and the fact that there are many countries around the world that have certainly economic systems that seem to promote what pope francis calls a throw away culture. we're used to getting a brand new iphone. but that also happens with people

francis has had such an enormous sense of his own both humility and power. >> it must be said for pope benedict, he has been absolutely disciplinary to say nothing and appearing no where. he could be used just as a word here and there could undermine the current pope and he hasn't done that. but it seems like they do have a relationship that's genuine. he talks to benedict, he speaks foundly of him. so despite the differences in personnity, they seem to have a remarkably good relationship. >> they say the rosary together a friend of mine told me at 4:00 in the afternoon. pope francis will go to pope benedict and they will pray together. father jenkins is right, he's been very retiring and i admire his humility from stepping down from one of the most powerful jobs in the world. >> rose: help me understand the difference in doctrinal issues and when controversy issues whether it's contraception, divorce or birth control. these issues have been so debated, an issue he spoke to not getting in the way of the pastoral role. those issues and doctrinal issues are all those doctrinal issues. >> in some

to touch upon this issue, and immediately many survivor fwrgroups said it soun like a response pope benedict would have made and it's not what they hoped for from pope francis. they hope he might meet with abuse victims or recognize that's a response that has been heard before, and it doesn't really answer the pain and the suffering of those who have suffered from abuse by priests and clergy. >> just briefly, joshua, is there anything we should look forward to seeing from the pope this year? >> reporter: well, the pope has called for a re-evaluation of the church's teachings towards family practices. that includes things like the church teaching contraception or same-sex marriage or divorce and remarriage. we're coming up on the year-long anniversary here on thursday of his election, and into october he's hosting a worldwide meeting of bishops called a sinad. where they all come to rome and discuss this issue. many look at this time to see what's going to happen in october? are they going to touch upon real issues? the pope has said a lot of things, but is it concrete. is there a change in d

he met with pope benedict xvi, that was back in 2009. what was the outcome of that meeting? >> well, i think the most interesting thing that happened in that meeting was the gifts that pope benedict gave the president afterwards, and he gave him the vatican's treatise on bio ethics and the dignity of human life. one of the things we'll be watching for in this meeting is what gift does pope francis give to this president? when he met with vladimir putin, pope francis gave him a piece of artwork. when he met with benjamin netanyahu he also gave him a piece of artwork. if he gives president obama something. >> the vatican blog had an interesting take," it will be filled with splichl and substance and contrast." it writes "a young president growing older and more frustrated and an old pope who seems to be growing younger and more empowered. the pope and the president could have a unique discussion on how to keep hope and change alive in their demanding offices amid challenging times." what's your take on that? >> well, matt, i think what's most striking about this conversation t

about the issues of inequality and on an international stage. >> the other thing is, frankly, pope benedict was not anywhere near as popular as pope francis. if you want to look at it on a po polling level level, the pope's popularity was double that of the president's. so you see he is riding this wave of not just popularity, but international recognition and as someone who is catholic, i often have people who are not catholic walk up to me, friends who will say, i'm jewish, but i love your pope. i say, he's not my pope. you're welcome to share him. i think that's the kind of past pastoral feeling that he exudes. i was very interested, and i'm not a big person, and i have no expertise in reading body language or anything like that, but i know that people were going to be watching for those initial moments. the smile, the warmth of the handshake. he is this kind of person. from someone who was when he was elected as pope, he does have that pope john paul warmth, natural quality of making you feel as he's being inclusive. i think that warmth will come through. >> there is a people person cha

we saw in the media about pope benedict's red shoes you. might see a pope holding a mite -- mitre or a king's crown so this exchange back and forth in medieval christiandom in which the king was christian, the pope was christian, and you had a sense of temporal power and spiritual power mixed constantly, exchanged back and forth. that's part of the transfer between thinking of the eucharist as the mystical body, to thinking of the church as the mystical body: then the interesting thing occurs that, as you think about the church as mystical body, you start to think entirely social and political terms about that. so, the church encompasses the whole order of europe, if you asked a medieval european, what they were, they wouldn't say, i'm french or i'm german or i'm italian. they usually say i'm catholic and i'm from this town. and that sense of the church, ordering the whole of society, meant that the idea of the mystical body could transfer from the eucharist to the church to society as a whole. and so he tracks as does the political historia

. >> pope benedict came across as an intellectual pope. very strong in academicics in troops and scholarship. pope francis brought in an emphasise that is populist. intellectualism is not a popular thing. >> they say his casual approach appeals to nigeria's 20 million kath likes and beyond. in latin america, he is more in tune with the struggles. the majority of the nigeria christians go to evangelical churches, and they are the fastest growing christian conference. seen as more dynamic the popular itty spanned africa and the west. >> the evangelical church in nigeria, we have 75 million people, and the growth every four months is 200%. people graduate where they find peace and answers. >> people from the catholic church say they find clergy men her more accessible, the service more rewarding. >> when it comes to social values and stances on issues like homosexuality, both evangelicals and catholics share a few. the factor has been the catholic church's emphasis on traditional rituals. >> the catholic church adieu to the economic situation

el mio papa is even better than pope benedict's magazine. now, folks, for a papal fan boy like me, it is a... come true. has cool toips where to stand in st. peter's for the apostolic blessing. it has pictures of the pope's crib. oh, yeah, that's where the abstinence happens. plus, every issue, every issue comes with a special pull-out centerfold poster of il papa. look at that right there. ( cheers and applause ). look at that little dream boat. this is going up on my dream board, next to my cardinal dolan shetland pony collage. now, folks, as a youth trend follower, you know i love the huffingtonpost. it is my go-to number one source for picture of cheetos that look like masturbating men, and reports of when a starlet shows major side boob, or flawnts major side boob. side boob, of course, often the tragic early warning signs of imminent nip slips. there's more to pohuf thoon salacious stories about celebrities. there are also salacious stories about college students. college students warm up to the back door. now, obviously, obviously, tha

but he also said his predecessor, pope benedict, had been courageous in managing to change attitudes towards this issue within the church. he said pope benedict set apart to help lead the church out of it and the church had done a great deal, maybe even more than anyone, pope francis says. the catholic church is maybe the only public institution that moved with transparency and responsibility. no one else did more, francis says. even sew the church is the only one that is attacked in stark contrast, as you said, to really strong criticism just last month from the u.n. committee which said the vatican failed in many ways to address this major scandal in anything like a proper manner. >> alan, thanks very much. alan johnston in rome. stay with us on "bbc world news." still to come in gmt, we'll get the latest on day three in the oscar pistorius murder trial. ♪ told ya you could do it. (dad vo) i want her to be safe. so, i taught her what i could and got her a subaru. (girl) piece of cake. ♪ (announcer) love. it's what makes a subaru, a subaru. [ male announcer ] the rhythm of life. [ w

. >> in february 2013, pope benedicts bake the first in nearly 600 years to resign. leaving it to a successor is pope francis to carry on. >> this one with involved a former vatican accountant, charged with laundering millions of euros to the bank, pope francis tapped to have a newly formed secretary of the economy. a financial watchdog reported direct my to the pontiff. >> he going to push for more accountability in the vatican. now count can me to tell him you are not cooperating. >> may also have is the power to bring internal audits the most concrete signal yet of pope francis' intention, to shine a light, however, bright on the vatican financial affairs. am al jazeera, new york. >> it should point out that the bank isn't a bank in the tradition gnat sense, it does hold dispose sits for 19,000 customers. mostly catholic institutions. a bold move now from the brand new boss at microsoft, if you have an ipad this story is for you, coming up next, plus, the cut throat world of poaching in silicon valley, you are watching real money. protection calling for advice. >>

in 2009 he met with the now retired pope benedict. these catholic students from minneapolis say the pope is unlikely to flinch on church doctrine or change president obama's stance on abortion or gay marriage. >> they'll disagree just because there's a long-landing tradition in the catholic tradition in the faith and to have those values and believe what they have for so long. >> reporter: it's believed the two will likely get along fine, choosing what they have in common rather than their differences. now, anne-marie, this stopover for president obama in italy isn't all talk. later this afternoon he'll get a tour of the coliseum. anne-marie? >> not bad. alphonso van marsh at the vatican. thank you, alphonso. >>> coming upton "morning news," caught on camera. surveillance video captures the moment a chicago commuter train jumps the tracks. this is the "cbs morning news." jumps the tracks. this is the "cbs morning news." ♪ [ female announcer ] just about anywhere you use sugar, you can use splenda® no calorie sweetener. splenda® lets yo

he met with pope benedict in 2009. mike viqueira is in the vatican. the president spent 50 minutes with the pope. was there more to this than just that official meet and greet that we're used to seeing? >> well, you know, there is a certain ritual aspect to this, a lot of angles and wrinkles to this story that we can get into. the president arriving here, this grand entrance, coming up the avenue, driving into st. peters square, entering st. peters and the offices of official residences of pope, greeting the pope. i'm a great admirer, thank you very much for receiving me, they went and met together sitting across from each other in a very simple wooden table. they met for 50 minutes within afterwards, the pope emerged. he shook hands with secretary of state john kerry, also here with the national security advicer susan rice. it's an exchange of gifts that becomes standard now when the president meets the pope, the president presenting the pope with a leather bound seed chest from fruits and vegetables in the white house garden. the pope will open a gar

he keeps saying how much he loves pope benedict. he quotes from him. he's a shrewd man.u know what his name is, upontive, that's what we call our pope which is the latin world for bridge builder. he's a pontiff par excellence, a bridge builder. >> there there be a point at which there would be an expectation of action, not just debate but to say he seems to be setting a course for the church that makes the church open to certain changes. >> uh-huh. >> maybe not done electrical changes but certain changes, be inclusion of women in the hierarchy of the church, changes with regard to the view of divorce and taking communion and even gay rights. >> uh-huh. there are some who have said that. you are right there are some even his admires who have said holy father, be careful. there seems to be a huge sense of expectation among catholics. we're a little worried their hopes might be dashed. i think we've got a pope that does not think in terms of winning or losing. i think we've got a pope who says i want to ask the right questions. i want to point people to the right place wher

pope john paul and pope benedict have said no more discussion on those things. ey did not say that, but it was the perception. this pope seems to say, you can talk about it all you want. i need to listen. i owe it to you to give you a good hearing. >> i want to talk about that, but we also have to talk about other things. >> his strategy is if we say, controversial issues, let's put those aside. let's first extend the arms of the church and bring people in. once they get in and see the truth, goodness, and beauty of the church, they will see the consequences of their beliefs. those other issues might fall into place. if we lead with those controversial issues, people will not come in to begin with. if we lead with the person of jesus christ, we will get people in and gradually the transforming grace of the teaching will take over. that is his new strategy. >> he is uniting the church internally? >> yes, i think so. internally and externally. i cannot walk down the street without a guy saying we love this new pope. internally, could be some problems because the ch

pope benedict took his cap off out of respect to the pope. >> you're right charlie. he's wise to notice that. this is our zucchetto. we take it off when we pray because we're addressing the lord, and we take it off, we cardinals, when we meet the holy father. it was very moving to see pope benedict, that act of humility and allegiance. it reminded us of what he said remember a year ago when he met with the college of cardinals one last time. he said one of you is going to be the new pope and i look forward to giving my love loyalty, and allegiance to the new pope. [ kelly ] my days start early. and so do mouth germs. but now i have the protection of colgate total® mouthwash. it works just as hard and just as long as i do. [ man ] rolling in 5! [ male announcer ] colgate total® mouthwash. it kills germs on contact and has a germ-killing shield that keeps working for 12 hours. it doesn't quit even after eating and drinking. hi! [ male announcer ] colgate total® mouthwash. 12 hour germ protection even after eating and drinking. ♪ ♪ >>> they're being blown away by a new

they analyze tweets about both pope francis and pope benedict when he was still pontiff. 84% of france's tweets were positived, compared to 30% of benedict tweets. francis certainly made an impression, getting comparisons to superman. his critiques of capitalism left many fuming. they wonder if he is treated too much like a celebrity. the idea that this popular pope has attracted more people to the click church. pew research found there isn't really any evidence of this among americans. however, a quarter of people already in the church say they have become more excited by their faith in the past year. >>> let me give you the latest on the missing malaysian airliner. in the words of the transportation minister, the plane has vanished. malaysia saying satellite images showing debris in the south china sea did not show debris. they were released by mistake by china. malaysia dismissed reports that the plane carried on flying up to four hours after it lost contact with conventional radar because of speculation that the engines would have still been transmitting the telemetry. life with croh

it's interesting because pope benedict spent most of his career condemning latin american theology. listen, we have to really think of the poor. >> let's bring it back to president obama. to what extent can the president and the pope work together, and in particular i'm thinking to what extent can the pope influence members of congress, and in this case i'm thinking specifically about congressman paul ryan, chairman paul ryan, who is -- was roman catholic. >> i think it's important to know, though, that presidents meet with pontiffs and they have been doing these kinds of meetings since woodrow wilson was in the white house. george bush -- george w. bush had six meetings. he gave a presidential medal of freedom to pope john paul so it's going a bit too far to expect these kinds of meetings to then have direct draw down influence on members of congress although they are likely to, again, ramp up the rhetoric and the debate around the issues that actually president obama has declared is going to be a focal point of the remainder of his term, which is income inequality, the widening gap

even that old pope john paul whom we all loved and pope benedict, they kind of said no more discussion on those things. they didn't say that, but that was the perception. this pope seems to say, you can talk about it all you want. i need to listen. i'm not saying we can change things but i owe you in justice and charity to give you a good hearing. so that's a change in strategy. >> also he says, i want to talk about that but we also have to talk about other things as well. >> well, he wants to put things in order. you know what's interesting? his strategy is, if we kind of say, controversial issues let's put aside for a while, we have been a little obsessed with those, let's first extend the arms to have the church and bring people in. once they get in and see the truth, goodness and beauty of the church, then they will see the consequences of their belief, their discipleship in jesus christ and the other issues might fall into place. if we lead with the controversial issues, people will come in to begin with. but if we lead with the truth, beauty and goodness of the church and the per

in 2009 he met with the now retired pope benedict. ic students from minneapolis say the pope is unlikely to flinch on church doctrine or change president obama's stance on abortion or gay marriage. >> still, they disagree -- to have those values and what we believe for so long. >> reporter: vatican watchers predicted the two global leaders would get along just fine focusing on what they have in common rather than their differences. alfonso van marsh, cbs news, the vatican. >> the president arrived at the vatican following three days of talks in the netherlands, belgium all on the situation in the ukraine. >>> today boston fire department is mourning the loss of two firefighters. they were killed battling a nine-alarm apartment fire yesterday. the two members who died are identified as firefighter michael kennedy and lieutenant edward walsh. they were found in the basement. >> they weren't in the building more than two or three minutes when they ordered a may day that they were trapped. >> these two heroes ran into a burning building, g

when pope benedict and president obama met, we kind of all imagine imagined maybe at best an awkward conversation, at worst a stern lecture. we are hoping that the meeting, and it was a long meeting at 52 minutes, was a real meeting of the minds. these two men who have been driven by a passion for economic justice throughout their lives and careers, we're hoping testify a deep spiritual and i hope strategic meeting about how to really alleviate poverty and bring about economic equality across the world. >> these are huge global figures, both, for lack of a better term, cover guys. they appeared on the cover of "rolling stone" "time," many other magazines. the pope has his own monthly now. when you look at the latest poll numbers, pope francis is tremendously popular. 76% of americans view him favorably, 20 points higher than when we first came into office, and so, e.j., is this a trip where -- that these pictures can help with catholic voters in the midterms. would it be fair to say there's more for the president to gain here? >> i think there is more for the president to game. for o

>> well, i think we're all excited to see these two men meet, just as we were excited when pope benedictnd president obama met. i think we are looking forward to them having a deep conversation about economic justice. looking towards 2014, i'm excited about the october meeting of bishops. you know, pope francis has decried trickle down economics. what we need is a little bit of trickle down transformation. here in the u.s. bishops are still firing church workers and catholic schoolteachers for being gay or being pregnant. they're still wasting political capital, to go to e.j.'s point on abortion and contraception, anti-gay advocacy. they're still living kind of these extraordinarily lavish lifestyles as we saw in newark recently. so there's a lot of change still to come. so i think young catholics are still waiting patiently and eagerly for that change. >> criticism as well, father, about priest sex abuse in the statements he made which some thought were insensitive or didn't go far enough. as you look to 2014, what are you looking for from this pope? >> i think that is the biggest thing

he encouraged pope benedict to meet with victims. >> he seems to be softening his staff, take talking it in a way. gay rights? >> uh-huh. >> divorce. do you see real ideas of change? >> for the pastoral ministry, i think they will seem more outreach, see the person, less focus on the doctorinal aspects perhaps but the question of divorce, remarried cathlins in communion, those may be first. >> amazing gestures in his first year. kissing the feet of the young inmates. amazing gesture. living in the papal guest house. the inclusion of the poor in the conversation surrounding the chefrming and the church trying to connecturch and the church t conne connect, terrific symbolism. right? the question is: is he a man of real action? >> i think so. i mean, i think one of the things that i have been super impressed with by this pope is he is a man who is attracting so many people with his message and saying challenging things, calling us to all be better christians, those of us in the church and those outside the church, he is calling to serve the boards, to maybe question some of the catholic

he moat pope benedict and that meeting did focus on abortion, embryonic stem cell research and while the social issues are not said to have been a focus of the conversation this time, we did hear american cardinal raymond burke, he's been very harsh taking the president's policies have become more hostile toward christian civilization. on those social issues, is it possible to find common ground between the church and the obama administration? >> well, clearly there are disagreements between the catholic church and obama administration on issues like abortion and gay marriage. the pope has made clear that this is the teaching of the church, but we're not going to obsess about these issues. there's a lot of other things we want to talk about. with regard to cardinal burke, he is out of touch with the american scene and american bishops, he's been critical of them for not beating up on president obama more. i wouldn't take anything he says all that seriously. >> as you mentioned, the president and the pope wanted to take some time to talk about the conflicts of the word, about refugees

back in 2009, the commander many chief spent time with pope benedict the xvi. >>> anheuser busch has a tentative deal on a five-year contract. the company and international brotherhood of teamsters are focusing on finalizing the language of the contract. anheuser busch is based in st. louis and has 12 breweries in the u.s. including one in california. >>> ski season is starting to come to an end in the sierra. at 4:00 today homewood ski resort will close for the season. the resort says it is force today shut down just because there's no snow. many other resorts will remain open for another few weeks. they've been i didn't saying snow making machines so skiers and snow boarders can enjoy the slopes. the end of the season, i don't know if it actually start today begin with. >> that picture of that guy skiing downhill with shorts and a t-shirt kind of says it all. >> says it all. >> about our mild winter we've had. there is some rain on the horizon. let's head over to rosemary to find out more. >>> it's coming and sierra snow. >> with that system. >> yeah, our mountains could pick up an

pope benedict said the west serves from a confused ideaology of freedom. the scriptual verses say don't use your freedoms as opportunity for the flesh but rather use freedom to what? serve others. to love your neighbor as yourself. russell clark talked about ordered liberty. you have to have an inner order before the country can have a external order. george washington talked about self-g self-governing yourself before you can have a successful self-governing nation. john adams said the constitution was made for religious and moral people and if you take that away wuiowa -- you are in trouble. reagan said the image of george washington nailing in the snow of valley porch was the most sublime issue in american history because the per sonified of people knew they had to seek help from their creator. bill clark was very close to ronald reagan and used to tell me one of reagan's favorites votes aside from the washington one was lincoln that said i'm brought to the conclusion that i am brought to my knees frequently because there is nowhere else to go. and he w

president's meeting with francis's predecessor pope benedict barely lasted a half hour. they are two men who you would think have more common ground than disagreements, both global leaders and swept into office on the promise of change and both rail regularly against inequality and both graced the cover of "rolling stone", looking good gentlemen, but idealogical divisions that simmer underneath the surface of this relationship and they are not small divisions. the obama administration and the vatican aren't on the same page when talking about abortion, same-sex marriage and directly at odds with some of america's economic practices. to make common sense of both of this, i'm going to turn to someone of the cloth and regular vatican watcher, first is helen prejaen a member of congregation of st. joseph and basis for susan sarandon's character in "dead man walking" and the world over network, and best selling author. thank you both for joining us. >> thank you. >> i'll start with you, raymond. what does president obama get out of this meeting and what do you think pope fran

pope benedict was wonderful but he didn't necessarily have an ability to change the domestic politicalamic between the white house and catholics. francis, on the other hand, can do that. if he and obama lead with reconciliation and with finding common ground, i think you'll see that the catholic bishops in the united states follow. that's going to have a major effect. >> melinda, would you agree with that? the u.s. conference on kath lish bishops has come out against this white house very hard. there's a lot of back and forth over the subject of the contraception mandate and the affordable care act. could pope francis be the catalyst to reconcile the sort of broader catholic community in this white house and more specifically make any headway with the more conservative elements of the church? >> i'm not so sure. i mean, i think it's a great moment, but as for a reset, for some of the bishops, of course it depends which bishops, right, and i think it's important to say that it was only a small number who were suing. but still i don't think for those who have been heavy critics and reall

he set down with pope benedict xvi in 2009. president obama, who's made income inequality the defining issue of his second term has talked about how he has been inspired by the people's pope who has captured the imagination of millions around the world with his commitment to fighting poverty. >> across the developed world, inequality has increased. the pope himself spoke about this at eloquent length. how can it be, he wrote, that it's not a news item when an elderly homeless person dies of exposure, but it is news when the stock market loses two points. >> in an interview with an italian newspaper published today, the president said he wanted his conversation with the pope to focus on income inequality across the globe, calling it a moral issue, and saying, quote, i hope to share with the pope some of the work we're doing in the united states to create jobs, raise wages, boost incomes, and make it easier for families to get ahead. and chuck todd is traveling with the president. he joins me now from vatican city. good to see you

the president also briefly discussed his meeting with the pontiff's predecessor pope benedict. don't know what they have discussed, but lately, the white house and the church have been at odd over reproductive rights. the pope also gave the president a book. >> really? >> it was very symbolic. i love this pope on every level. he goes right there with everybody. so the conversation can actually start halfway through it instead of with the pleasantries of, you know, whatever is takes to back into a conversation, whether it be about gay marriage or bioethics or abortion. you can have a real conversation with this man and exactly what i think they are doing right now. joining us with more coverage of the president's visit with pope francis, nbc white house correspondent, peter alexander. peter? >> reporter: nice to visit with you. as you were just discussing president obama wrapping up that meeting with pope francis and started a half an hour ago and they are expected to spend about 50 minutes to go. this meeting is believed to be more ceremonial. a private company conversation bet