earlier this week i sat down with cardinal timothy dolan, the archbishop of new york to talk about thetion of religion and politics on this easter passover weekend. i began by pointing out a disturbing trend that seems more people are killing or dying in the name of god than at any time in recent memory. >> well i say you're right. and i do think it is worse than it has been in centuries. and i think, to me that only says we need easter more than ever. passover and easter are all about good triumph the goods triumph over bad. life's triumph over death and do we ever need that. it is an amazingly tragic and poignant scandal that some would claim to use religion in the name of these atrocities. my boss, pope francis, has been extraordinarily articulate in reminding us that anyone who claims to use religion as a cause of hatred and division and bloodshed is perverting the role of religion. religion by definition is about bringing people together, affirming, it is about life it is about friendship, it is about reconciliation. to use religion for anything different than that is simply a per

. >>> when we come back, this easter sunday, cardinal timothy dolan of new york on balancing religio the streetlights in detroit, at one point, did not work. you had some blocks and you had major thoroughfares and corridors that were just totally pitch black. those things had to change. we wanted to restore our lighting system in the city. you can have the greatest dreams in the world, but unless you can finance those dreams, it doesn't happen. at the time that the bankruptcy filing was done, the public lighting authority had a hard time of finding a bank. citi did not run away from the table like some other bankers did. citi had the strength to help us go to the credit markets and raise the money. it's a brighter day in detroit. people can see better when they're out doing their tasks, young people are moving back in town the kids are feeling safer while they walk to school. and folks are making investments and the community is moving forward. 40% of the lights were out, but they're not out for long.they're coming back. 73% of americans try... ...to cook healthy meals. yet up to 90%

. >>> when we come back, this easter sunday, cardinal timothy dolan of new york on balancing religiousction and civil rights. >>> welcome back. ♪ you're only young once. unless you have a subaru. (announcer) the subaru xv crosstrek. symmetrical all-wheel drive plus 34 mpg. love. it's what makes a subaru, a subaru. ♪ i ride the highway... son begins to play) ♪ i'm going my way... ♪i leave a story untold... he just keeps sending more pictures... if you're a free-range chicken, you roam free. it's what you do. if you want to save fifteen percent or more on car insurance, you switch to geico. it's what you do. ♪ two wheels a turnin'... the unsung hero of meals. they get re-heated. re-nuked. and re-baked. and when leftovers are done... there's always stuff left over. new dawn platinum power clean calls dibs on those. it powers through tough, dried-on messes in seconds. even 48 hour stuck-on food. so go ahead, triple that recipe! a drop of dawn and grease is gone. >>> welcome back. earlier this week i sat down with cardinal timothy dolan, the archbishop of new york, to talk about the interse

. >> chuck will also talk to cardinal timothy dolan on easter sunday. he'll weigh in on the debate over religious freedom. >> the parents of 5-year-old found dead in a septic tank in virginia have been arraigned on charges of abuse and neglect. paul thomas and ashley white appeared via video today. they requested the media not be allowed to watch the proceedings and asked for bond, both requests denied. unclear how their son noah died. autopsy results could take several more weeks. the couple's second child, a 6-month-old girl was taken from their custody the day after noah went missing. >>> tonight we're hearing from friends of an aspiring young artist who was killed when a gun went off during a music video shoot. news4's darcy spencer was live at the scene in seat pleasant where he was found and people took off running. darcy. >> reporter: that shooting happened right here in the parking lot of this discount store late this afternoon. i spoke to several of the victims' friends and they all tell me they don't believe this was a case of premeditated mur

timothy dolan writes on cnn.com that christianity in the middle east is undergoing its worst period of persecution since 1 a.d. let's bring in cnn intelligence and security analyst, former cia operative, bob baer. thanks for staying with me. when you look at this do you think that extremists can at all be expected to heed the message of the pope and also i'd like to hear just from you on what we're seeing in terms of this fault line if you will in kenya play out where you've got this coexistence of christians and muslims and christians being very targeted in this latest attack. >> poppy, here's the thing, that these islamic countries have traditionally for hundreds of years protected the christian communities, for thousands, 1500 years. but now this is a new etiology arose in saudi arabia and anything to do with christianity they want to eface from the earth. call it ethnic cleansing what you want but they're moving these people out. they think the only way to purify islam is to get rid of the christian communities that's what we're seeing now. they're certainly not going to pay any at

. >> that was cardinal timothy dolan. that was very interesting. see this zub on "meet the press." chuck joins us now from washington. we also have msnbc political correspondent kasie hunt and chief white house correspondent for politico mike allen. >> i think it's fascinating what the cardinal said. i think he's right because i brought up just the idea that we should keep an open mind and have a open discussion and this just immediately called christians bigots that might have a problem with this. and, oh, fire storm, fire storm. they even -- i'm not going to say the publication but an publication even said i was for discrimination. no all i said is let's keep an open mind and realize we're here in manhattan or in georgetown and in urban centers and that there are a lot of people out there there, chuck todd laughing, chuck todd you did the interview, let's go to you. there are a lot of people out there who may actually have different opinions and that doesn't mean that they're bigots and we need to keep an open mind even if we as i said before, i

. >>> we're joined now by timothy cardinal dolan and rabbi angela who leads the central synagogue alsoething jump out at you in that piece that i'll mention in a second? what did you take away from it? >> i think it's significant that the mother never fully accepted but she could say i accept that you can choose. and that are you on your own spiritual path. >> i respect your ability to choose. but i don't accept fully your choice. what did you make of that? >> very honest. it seemed, rabbi, a beautiful balance of the two values the jews and christians have. truth and love. so she's saying the truth is this is a tough decision to accept, but do i love her and respect her right to make it. >> and it brings up the larger question. we're asking does religion unite or divide us and you and i have talked about this in the past. if i put a map of the world up right now cardinal, and parts of the world are on fire figure figuratively, this plane places conflicts started by and fueled by religion. how do people of faith explain that? >> person i rely on is my boss, pope francis, great for etern