when his predecessor pope john paul the second made hisashi toic trip to cuba in 1998, relations showed a dramatic improvement. >> it has appeared to open the doors for the unusual protestants. they allowed evangelicals to hold their celebrations in public places around the country. >> i believe the authorities are understanding that the gospel of jesus christ is a blessing for the cuban family and for our nation. therefore they are slowly opening the doors to allow us christians to express our faith publically and we praise god for that. >> believers are calling it a vibt victory. >> what is happening today was only a dream before. >> god did more than we could have imagined. >> cuban christians have prayed for the opportunity to openly express their faith in public. christmas rallies took place with adult and childrens' choirs and different pastors addressing the crowds. cuban leaders who havelied with restrictions for years are hoping it will lead to more freedom for the cuban church. stan jeter, cbn news. >>> thanks, stan. you can find daily reports >> and finally this week, cbn's o

. >> you know, the vatican's relationship with cuba has been fa i happen to be in rome when pope john paul's trip to cuba was announced and there have been some interesting differences of opinion. the vatican has tended to be in favor of a gradual, peaceful transition from the castro regime. and the fact that the pope is willing to go there speaks to this desire for a gradual change. some of the cuban community in the united states, the catholic cuban community one should say, are very uneasy about this. they would like a sort of harder push to get that regime out. so there have been some arguments over the years between our cuban community, particularly in south florida, and the vatican. it will be fascinating to see how exactly, what pope benedict says about alterations in that regime and religious freedom. castro himself, is a dictator, he also has had this kind of lifelong fascination with religion. he seems to be an atheist, but -- maybe the "but"'s getting bigger as the years go by. >> folks, our time is almost up and in the couple minutes remaining i want to ask you, in addition to wh

. >> reporter: it has been a good year at pope john paul the great, catholic school in dumb frees them placed 13th in state. the teens have an unbelievable work ethic. especially the teens goalie, christian. >> started playing when i was 4, so at that age i don't even know that i am that different i am just going out and having fun and playing and running around. >> reporter: from the way christian manoeuvres the ball and runs on the field you might overlook that he gets around on one leg. christian was born with a rare condition, it left him without a leg from the knee down but not without a sense of confidence. >> i have been growing up that way it is how i learned how to do everything when i get out to soccer it is how do you do that how do you touch the ball that way well, i learned it that way, it is kind of second nature to me. >> reporter: christian's coaches are continuously amazed at his accomplishments. >> he is an inspiration to his teammates. >> everyone was really tired and giving it half the effort and he was going hard as he could and he has one leg so it is really insp

. >> doing play by play of pope john paul's mass at candlestick. >> reporter: robinson is the narrator of the team's unlikely comeback. >> to see the bay area reenergized and the 49ers recapture northern cal chal the faithful that have drifted away in recent years is gratifying. >> his call sunday has become a youtube mainstay. >> and he's got it. touchdown! touchdown 49ers! >> jim harbaugh had preached to his players all week, don't overcook, which is a great analogy. not getting too amped for the moment. his players thankfully followed it. i didn't. >> alex smith -- >> robinson is studying the new york giants for this weekend's nfc championship. ready to take the mike for the 49ers historic run. if he happens to get a little excited in the booth, that's just part of the job. >> ultimately that's my job, to reflect the moment, reflect the emotion. this was extraordinary. >> joe ris otto, jr. >> nice to have him doing this for three years now with the 49ers. >> he gives a perfect audio cue. >>> a different way to invest in education. a plan that would allow ut students to put tuition c

. >> reporter: it has been a good year at pope john paul the great, catholic school the men's team placede state the teens have an unbelievable work ethic. especially the team's goalie christian. >> i started playing when i was 4 at that age i didn't even know i was that different i am just going out and having fun and playing and running around. >> reporter: from the way christian manoeuvres the ball and runs on the field you might overlook he gets around on one leg christian was born with a rare condition it left him without a leg from the knee down but not without a sense of confidence >> i have been growing up that way it is how i learned how to do everything, so when i get out for soccer how do you do that, how do you touch the ball that way well, i've learned it that way it is second nature. >> reporter: christian's coaches are continuously amazed at his accomplishments. >> just an inspiration to his teammates. >> everyone was tired and everyone was giving it half the effort, and he was going hard as he could and he has one leg so that is inspirational to see. >> reporter: not only

try to use the same techniques and strategies that president reagan premised with thatcher and pope john paulessed against the soviet union. i would have a conscious goal to replace the dictatorship. >> greta: there is more from the campaign bus. the rest of our interview with speaker gingrich on gretawire tonight. go there and watch the rest. coming up, bad news for governor mitt romney. rush limbaugh disagrees with thim and he has a big megaphone. he says the 2006 health care through governor romney signed in massachusetts is the same as president obama. but the florida attorney general says, that's not true. that's next. and a desperate call for help. what was really going on inside demi moore's house before she was rush to the hospital? what sparked the hollywood star's crisis? star's crisis? hear that 911 call. [ male announcer ] you are a business pro. premier of the packed bag. you know organization is key... and so is having a trusted assistant. and you...rent from national. because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle...and go. you can even take a full-s or above and st

cold war when the eastern european countries founded the united states through president reagan, pope john paul and margaret thatcher, there were world leaders willing to stand on the side of freedom and to assist those who were the voices of freedom within cuba. i don't think he's talking military action. i don't think he's talking about anything crazy. it is standing solidly with those who seek to have a different system in cuba that allows freedom to flourish. >> and very quickly, this issue of the obama administration lightening up travel restrictions to cuba, how is that playing? that splits the cuban community down in miami, doesn't it? >> it does. a lot of people like myself who have family there. it's important to be able to support them and assist them in some way. those family ties are deep in the cuban community as you well know, chuck. i think it does become a bit of a split issue. you know, i think there is also a lot of concern in the cuban community about the fact that a lot of the travel which whenever i hear people at dinner conversation saying i have friends in cuba last week,

is prepared to fight for the america you and i believe in, and somebody who, in the words of pope john pauliterally does believe, be not afraid, not have courage, courage is what you have when you have fear, if you have faith in god, you can be not afraid. >> candidate rick santorum is campaigning heavily in south carolina as well after getting a big boost from faith leaders meeting in texas this weekend. cnn political reporter peter hamby joins us now from florence. you're following santorum. what is he talking about, what is he focusing on today after getting that real boost, that shot in the arm from the group in texas. >> absolutely. and he talked a lot about his faith today. you hear that a lot when you follow rick santorum around the campaign trail, and conservative states like iowa and south carolina. he talks about how the country is sort of founded on morals and faith and president obama's quite frankly taken that away from people. it is a dove tail nicely with his endorsement yesterday from all the evangelical and social conservative leaders in texas. we heard something new from h

question and answer period, i would like to ask you if you would talk about your meeting with pope john paul? >> i would be very interested in doing that. i actually had the honor of being in the holy father's presence four times. and the first time was just after he had been made pope and he came to the united states. and i have to tell you, when he was named pope, as you know, i worked on the national security council for -- and president carter was at camp david at the time that the nomination was made. so he called the president to tell him he had met karol wojtyla, the arch bishop of cack cow and he had been named pope. and president carter has this wonderful quality of being exuberant and exaggerating people's relationships and he got off the helicopter and he came down and the press asked him about how he felt about it and he said, it's just wonderful, the new pope is a very close, personal friend of dr. brajinski and he was slightly embarrassed by that. then he was invited to the white house and it really was a sensational event and i will never forget, it was a gorgeous, gorgeous da

every nonmilitary asset we have, exactly as president reagan and prime minister thatcher and pope john paulin poland and in eastern europe. they broke up the soviet empire without a general war by using a wide range of things, one of which is just psychological. saying to the next generation of people in cuba, the dictatorship is not going to survive. you have need to bet to moving to freedom in order to have prosperity in cuba and we will help you get to that freedom. >> let's take another question from the audience. please give us your name and tell us where you are from. >> abraham hassa in fracsonville, florida. how would a republican administration help bring peace to palestine and israel when most candidates barely recognize the existence of palestine or its people. as a palestinian-american republican, i'm here to tell you we do exist. >> let's ask governor romney, first of all. what would you say to abraham? >> well, the reason that there's not peace between the palestinians and israel is because there is, in the leadership of the palestinian people, are hamas and others who think l

i've participated in variouscipa historic meetings with pope john paul and also helped to facilitate the first historic dialogue between imams and rabbis in north america in new york city three years ago. i also serve as vice president for the national center of institutions and alternatives which started in 1977. i've been on and off with them for the last 20 years maybe. um, and it has been involved in the juvenile and the criminal justice system. inv we employ 650 people, 30 which are ex- 30% which are ex ex-offenders. i'm a two-way talk show host on morgan state university. i worked at the baltimore urban league as the director of family and children services running a youth diversion program that was very, very successful. and, um, was the independent juvenile justice monitor in the glenn denning administration here in the state of maryland. my father used to say, he said before you speak, son, qualify yourself. so i guess i'm a little nervous, but i'm not. i probably served as the leadoff hitter on my college team, so i was always batting first, mr. torre, and was a good center

this one of pope john paul ii hit by a meteorite caused the director of the warsaw national gallery ofwn there. >> in warsaw members of parliament actually went in when it was on exhibit and tried to right the figure, pick up the figure. and somehow rectify the situation. >> reporter: but cattelan's works which sell for millions of dollars at auction often defy easy interpretation. >> the best of the work can be a joyful experience. it can be a serious experience. >> reporter: one of cattelan's favorites is this privately commissioned piece of a woman in a refrigerator. he calls her bessie. >> it's tough to say. why was the work made? she pass away. so the worker was given to the family for the memorial. >> reporter: her family keeps this in their home but lent it for this show. >> they were so happy to have. >> reporter: their granny. >> going up higher and higher. >> reporter: so sweet. it's a little disturbing, maurizio cattelan but sweet. for cattelan, getting to this show has been quite a journey. the son of a truck driver and a housekeeper, he was a poor student with a vivid imag

only people that could compare themselves to ronald reagan maybe would be margaret thatcher and pope john pauli, everybody else should just be quiet. >> and yet, wes, we look at the polls, let's pause for a second, newt gingrich is up 16 points in the state of florida just in the last week or so. a lot of that, of course, comes off the south carolina bounce. but before we write him off too quickly, this is going to be tight in florida. >> tight in florida. fact is, mitt romney is still continuing to have these unforced errors. when mitt romney is standing in front of a foreclosed home in florida talking about how we shouldn't be out there blaming the banks and it's not the banks' fault. these are things that are actually feeding into it. >>> coming up, we'll bring in andrew ross sorkin and ask him about the hat he was wearing. do we have a picture of the hat? also, nbc news political director chuck todd. >>> plus, the fallout of a failed presidential campaign. this morning, new problems for texas governor rick perry. his job approval back in texas and his impact on that state's image ahead. >>

but not long after that, pope john paul is also shot and survives. what did both of them do? on their knees and forgave their assassins before they even left the hospital room. later on my far it and john paul got together and what was it they could talk about. both of them felt god had saved them for a purpose? what was ultimately that purpose? the two of them ended up changing the world. megyn: it's one thing to forget and it's another to advocate for the freedom of a man who was shot. according to the testimony we heard from catherine herridge who has been inside the courtroom. secret service agents are talking about how they surveilled him and he's look at books on presidential assassinations including the one he attempted. it must give you pause. >> the secret service following this man, they are out there to protect presidents of the united states. and they have never forgotten about gerald ford or ronald reagan. they want to make sure they can protect those of which they are asked to serve. if they are sitting there saying this is not a man you can trust out on his own

third, absolute strategic program comparable to what president reagan, pope john paul ii did and breakingerrorism for the attack but neither has admitted having anything to do with the scientist's death. >>> top of the hour, i'm suzanne malveaux. south carolina is the next battle ground in the presidential race. both ron paul, newt gingrich are campaigning in south carolina this hour. gingrich and other candidates are taking aim now at mitt romney last night. romney says the attacks on his business record are not going to work. >> i understand president obama is going to try to put free enterprise on trial but newt gingrich and rick perry are going to be the witnesses for the prosecution. i'm not worried about that. they can take it as they like. you saw last night that approach didn't work well for either rick perry or newt gingrich. >> south carolinans are going to sit around and pick one conservative it seems when they moderate they can't understand it. what is it i believe now? >> it was a decisive victory for mitt romney. romney took 40% of the vote. ron paul finished second with 23%

every tool the united states has short of military, i would do the things that ronald reagan, pope john pauland margaret thatcher did to undermine and defeat the soviet empire. >> two polls showed gingrich with a surging lead over romney in florida while romney had a 12-point lead for weeks and weeks and weeks, but then south carolina happened. the quinnipiac poll that came out today shows romney up by two but key here is neck and neck, every pollster agrees, 38 percent of florida voters, republican, still say they could change their mind. jon. jon: so other than going to the versailles restaurant and so forth what are the candidates doing to set themselves apart to try to appeal to cuban americans in florida? >> reporter: we've got four republican candidates still in the race, three with one position, the other, ron paul, with a completely opposite position. he wants to ends the u.s. embargo on cuba, open up diplomatic ties with the regime, open up trade, as well as getting americans to go down there and visit and get a free exchange of ideas, however, santorum wants to keep the embargo in

we want to bring together every nonmilitary asset we have, exactly as president reagan and pope john paule. they broke up the soviet empire without a war by using a wide range of things. one of which is just psychological. saying to the next generation of people in cuba, the dictatorship is not going to survive. you have need to bet to moving to freedom in order to have prosperity in cuba and we will help you get to that freedom. >> let's take another question from the audience. please give us your name and tell us where you are from. >> abraham from jacksonville, florida. how would a republican administration help bring peace to palestine and israel when most candidates barely recognize the existence of palestine or its people. as a palestinian-american republican, i'm here to tell you we do exist. >> let's ask governor romney, first of all. what would you say to abraham? >> well, the reason that there's not peace between the palestinians and israel is because there is, in the leadership of the palestinian people, are hamas and others who think like hamas, who have as their intent the el

[applause] if you look at the non-military strategies of president reagan and pope john paul to defeatempire, and we were serious about communicating to the next generation and the cuban hierarchy, there will not be a transition to a dictatorship but a transition to freedom. you get to decide which side you want to join. we will notice who does what and we will do accountable for every act of repression. i think he would find the morale collapsing. we have the scene where one reagan talks about the evil empire. then we have a prisoner who says -- to answer rating, they have to use the word "evil." the morale of very guard inside. -- in sibera dropped and the morale of every prisoner when to up because a western leader had the courage to tell the truth about the soviet empire. the willingness to intimidate those who would be oppressors by saying to them, you'll be held accountable and those of you engaged in violence against the people of cuba will suffer the consequences of your behavior. in an age when people can take film -- [applause] one of my goals is to flood the island with enou

what ronald reagan, pope john paul and margaret thatcher did to the soviet empire.imalize the survival of the dictatorship. >> congressman? >> i have a little bit of work yet to do on him on foreign policy. [laughter] no, i would do pretty much the opposite. i don't like the isolationism of not talking to people. i was drafted in 1962 at the height of the cold war when the missiles were in cuba, and the cold war's over. and i think we propped up castro for 40-some years because we put on these sanctions, and this only used us as a scapegoat. he could always say anything wrong, it's the united states' fault. but i think it's time to quit this isolation business of not talking the people. we talked to the soviets, we talked to the chinese, and we opened up trade. we're not killing each other now. we fought with the vietnamese for a long time, we finally gave up, started talking to them, now we trade with them. i don't know why the cuban people should be so intimidated. man, i don't know where you get this assumption that all of a sudden all the cubans are coming here.

[applause] if you look at the non-military strategies of president reagan and pope john paul to defeat the soviet empire, and we were serious about communicating to the next generation and the cuban hierarchy, there will not be a transition to a dictatorship but a transition to freedom. you get to decide which side you want to join. we will notice who does what and we will do accountable for every act of repression. i think he would find the morale collapsing. we have the scene where one reagan talks about the evil empire. then we have a prisoner who says -- to answer rating, they have to use the word "evil." the morale of very guard inside. dropped and the morale of every prisoner when to up because a western leader had the courage to tell the truth about the soviet empire. the willingness to intimidate those who would be oppressors by saying to them, you'll be held accountable and those of you engaged in violence against the people of cuba will suffer the consequences of your behavior. in an age when people can take film -- one of my goals is to flood the island with enough cell phon

you look at the non-military strategy is that president reagan, prime minister thatcher, and pope john paul ii used to defeat the soviet empire, and we were serious about communicating to the next generation and the cuban hierarchy, there will not be a transition to a dictatorship after castro. there will be a transition to free the but you get to decide whether you want to join the side that is going to win and be free or rather on the side that would lose. we're going to notice who dote -- who does what, and will hold you accountable. i think you'd find the morale of the cuban totalitarian system collapse rapidly. we saw where reagan talks about an evil empire. and at the time, we had somebody who was in the gulag as a prisoner. to answer reagan, they had to say he used the word evil. when they published that reagan used the word evil, the morale of every guard in siberia dropped. and the morale of every prisoner went up. because, finally, a western leader had the courage to tell the truth about the soviet empire. the moral force of an american president who is seriously intending to free