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Pope Francis Visits New York; Pope Francis to Address General Assembly, World Leaders at U.N. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired September 25, 2015 - 08:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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[08:00:20] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The city still buzzing with the arrival of Pope Francis.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Taking that small motorcade through Central Park with some 80,000 people.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The largest gathering of world leaders in the U.N.'s 70 year history.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is an extraordinarily polarized political climate in the United States.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He continually repeats the fact that he too is an immigrant.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How much actual influence does he have?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If there is anything true about Pope Francis, he is close to the people. I hope we reflect on his call to serve the common good.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just to get an actual blessing from him was just so amazing.

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ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Chris Cuomo, Alisyn Camerota, and Michaela Pereira.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: A city awakes to the reality of Pope Francis and its midst. Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. This is NEW DAY. Alisyn and Michaela are in New York. We're coming to you live from the United Nations. This is the place and this is the moment. Pope Francis's audience isn't just New York. It will be the whole world. He is about to address the largest gathering of world leaders in the U.N.'s 70 year history. His speech at the General Assembly is going to help him at a time of global upheaval, any way you look it. You have Europe's migrant crisis, you have climate change, you have poverty, you have war, you have hunger. Afterward the Holy Father is going to make his way up and down

Manhattan in legendary fashion. He's going to stop at the 9/11 memorial. He's going to meet victims' families there. He's going to stop at a Harlem school. He's then going to lead a procession through Central Park and celebrate mass at Madison Square Garden. It is a schedule that would take down the most ambitious presidential candidate and is just another day for the Pope. And he's expected to leave at any moment. We're going to keep our cameras trained there. As soon as he moves we'll move. And we'll show you that movement because they are always great to see when he exits.

So let's begin our coverage right now with CNN's chief national security correspondent Jim Sciutto. We've grown up in this city. We've never seen it like this.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: No question, Chris. This is a global stage, but it is also a New York stage. And you named those locations he's stopping at today, the 9/11 memorial, Harlem to meet with underprivileged kids, Central Park, all locations that are dear and meaningful to New Yorker, and each stop a chance for the people's pope to connect with real people, real New Yorkers.

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SCIUTTO: This morning, tens of thousands of people are gearing up across the big apple to witness Pope Francis on day two of his New York tour. The Pope waking up at a town house on the Upper East Side donated to the Catholic Church decades ago. Shortly after 10:00 he'll address leaders around the world at the United Nations. Some attendants, Cuban President Raul Castro, and Nobel Peace winning activist Malala Yousafzai. The speech is expected to be one of his toughest yet, likely urging action on climate change and the ongoing refugee crisis in Europe.

JOHN ALLEN, AUTHOR, "THE FRANCIS MIRACLE": He makes a difference. He has utterly revitalized the political and diplomatic relevance of the Vatican in our time.

SCIUTTO: The Pope will then travel more than four miles downtown to ground zero where he'll meet with families of victims from 911 before going inside the Trade Center Museum for a remembrance service. Afterwards the Pope heads nearly eight miles uptown, visiting a Catholic school in Harlem serving 300 children, mostly black and Latino, some of them immigrants.

DELIA GALLAGHER, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: He continually repeats the fact that he too is an immigrant, that he is the son of immigrants.

SCIUTTO: The people's Pope will also meet with immigrants and refugees from Latin America, Africa, and Asia. In the early evening Pope Francis will ride his open Pope mobile through Central Park where nearly 100,000 people are expected to see him. The Pope then ending his day back at the heart of Manhattan at Madison Square Garden where he will lead a mass for some 20,000 people, all hoping to be blessed by the leader of the Catholic Church, like this young wheelchair bound girl at St. Patrick's Cathedral Thursday night.

STEPHANIE GABAULD, NEW YORK RESIDENT: Just to get an actual blessing from him was just so amazing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCIUTTO: Here, outside the U.N., we are surrounded by some of that enormous security presence keeping the Pope safe. You have police mobile command unit, fire department units. Obviously, Chris, as New Yorkers, we have spent a lot of time with the New York police. You have probably been picked up a couple of times by the New York police.

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SCIUTTO: But when you spend time with them they are all business here, as you know, here. But I meet with them. I see them smiling. This is also a proud moment for them. This is what they do best. They want to welcome him here. They want to keep him safe. And I get the sense that as New Yorkers as well, as Americans, they are caught up in the moment too.

[08:05:07] CUOMO: Absolutely. I've never seen the city like this. When we were leaving early this morning way up on the east side, there were cops there already. But it's a balance. The Vatican wants as little restriction as possible, but the need for security is obvious, and that's where they are going along with it. That said, if el papa decides to get out of the Pope mobile and walk up to someone and shake their hand, who is going to stop him?

SCIUTTO: You won't be able to, and they understand that is his nature, that's his personality, that's his persona.

CUOMO: And it's one of the things that people are really loving about him. All right, so Jim and I are waiting here at the U.N. And the moment, though, that we're waiting for right now will be when Pope Francis, Francisco, leaves Denuncio and gets into that Fiat or whatever they have him in, and everybody is going to go crazy. And we have CNN's Don Lemon is in the sweet spot standing by live on Manhattan's Upper East Side for that moment. Any indications my friend?

DON LEMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, there is an indication. And I'll tell you, because just a couple of moments ago, someone from the police department, really one of William Bratton, the police commissioner's right hand guys, came over and asked us if anybody had an extra camera to go up and close to provide pool coverage, a pool camera. And what that means is one network goes in and gives the pictures to everyone else. So that is an indication that it is about to happen.

And what he said to me when I spoke to him, he said, Chris, this is really sort of unprecedented. He's never seen anything like this with the Secret Service, with security, with the NYPD allowing someone to come up this close to the camera to the Pope to get him leaving. And he said there is seamless cooperation here and is really very well run.

So let me take you to the scene through here. If you look through here you can see, when some of these guys move, the back of that Fiat is parked right in front of the residence, about three or four townhouses in here on the upper east side of Manhattan on 72nd street. And that pool camera is in there. There he is. He's coming out now. You can -- I can see him getting into the Fiat. He just descended the steps. There he is. He just descended the steps and is getting into the car that will take him to the U.N., Chris, your location. But again, you are going to get a much closer picture in just moments once that photographer with the pool camera comes out. And we'll put those pictures up. They put those pictures up on the satellite and we'll bring them down and show it to our audience. So you really came to us, Chris, at the right moment.

CUOMO: Perfect timing.

LEMON: Because we're just about a block off central park. I would imagine, yes, he's going to take 5th Avenue downtown and then hustle over to you over at the U.N.

CUOMO: Boy, oh boy. That was great to see. You couldn't really pick him up in the crowd but you could follow his Zucchetto, that white cap he wears on his head as he went down making his way along with security and got in that Fiat. Don, have you ordered yours yet? I know you're going to get one of those now, it's become such a hot. What color are you going to get that Fiat in?

LEMON: I'm going get the same color as the Pope. And hopefully they come in convertible. But I wondered if Fiat sales would go up because the Pope is doing it such justice here. And now you are see it is pulling away and the motorcade is now pulling off going west. And officers, everyone waving at him here.

This is a very proud moment, as you know, for the police department, members of the police department, many of whom are Roman Catholic. So they are very proud to be here protecting the Pope, and as is the police commissioner, William Bratton, who I spoke to earlier this week. And you could see other members of the clergy now, from my vantage point at least, following the Pope as he makes his journey to the U.N.

And as you said Chris, this is a very busy day. The presidential candidate who is the most eager, this would make them tired. And I agree, he has -- he didn't get very much sleep. He got here about 8:00 or 9:00 last night. And here it is, 8:00, 12 hours later, not even, and he is off to his -- at least his first stop, a pretty big stop, to speak to dignitaries, the largest gathering of dignitaries in the history of the U.N. And the, of course, he is going to go down to 9/11, go up to the school in Harlem, my neighborhood, and speak to some kids at that school, many of whom are black and Latino kids and many of whom are immigrants as well.

And then he's going to head back down through Central Park with this motorcade, and I think about 100,000 people are expected to be there to get a blessing from the Pope and hopefully get up close and personal, and then of course Madison Square Garden.

[08:10:14] CUOMO: All right.

LEMON: So, Chris, there you go. He's off.

CUOMO: All right, Don, we'll take it through the day. The timing was perfect. Thank you for setting the scene for us, my friend. We'll check back in with you as you pick up events throughout the day. And we're going to keep live pictures up for you because we're covering this for you the way only CNN can. We're going to have cameras all along the route. The procession will be through Central Park later on today. They're going to have like 80,000 tickets were purchased, but we're hearing estimates of well over 100,000 are going to turn out to see the Pope. The streets are going to be filled with people. It's going to lock up the city, but for good reason.

We have CNN's Deb Feyerick where security is ramping up, trying to get ready to contain the enthusiasm. Deb, what's it like there now? We just saw the pontiff leave. He had the flags on the front of his fiat which has become one of the symbols of this experience.

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. We can tell you the security is so tight. I want to show you this. This is an eight foot fence that was constructed specifically for the Pope's visit. You can see some of the agents. What they have got here is they have set up all of these tents and these magnetometers. You can see people are going to have to go through these security check points. They are not supposed to carry bags. They are supposed to bring in very, very little.

You have got federal agents as well. I'm going to bring Dave around here the corner, a lot of barriers here. There are signs that say once you enter hear you are entering a restricted zone and therefore everything is subject to search.

Now this park has been closed. What we're seeing is we're actually seeing a lot of runners who are very upset, Chris, because they can't even get into to the park. So they are running around the pork. People who work in the park can't get into the park. They are also very upset. But everybody here is going to have to go through these magnetometers.

And you can see you've got TSA agents, they are going to help in the screening. I'm just walking you along, Chris. I came here this morning, and everything was a frozen zone from the Natural History Museum all the way down to Columbus Circle. So this is what is going to greet people who are arriving. I spoke to one woman. I asked her why she was waiting in line. She said because the Pope is like Jesus walking on earth. Chris?

CUOMO: Jesus walking -- well, I'll tell you what. The Pope wouldn't like to hear that. That's for sure. He sees himself not only as the regular man but a man who is tasked here with being a missionary to those who need mercy. And that has been huge for him.

And it's been one of the tensions for Pope Francis, as Deb knows, that he does not like being celebrated as the man. He wants this to be about a message. And the message he believes he's dealing with here is a secular message. It is not just for the faithful. One of his close advisers told us, you don't have to believe to receive with this message. It's about interconnectedness and the secular nature of everyone's duty to community. And someone who knows that very well and is experiencing it in a very unfortunate way right now is Minnesota congressman Keith Ellison. He is a Muslim. He wrote an op- ed supporting Pope Francis' message and attended the pontiff's speech to Congress. And I say we get right into it, Congressman. It's always good to have you on the show.

REP. KEITH ELLISON, (D) MINNESOTA: Thanks, Chris.

CUOMO: These recent comments that came out of the GOP specifically from Ben Carson and then echoed somewhat by Donald Trump about Muslims and their faith and how all of them believe in Sharia and they would have to reject that, and somehow they are different, and Ben Carson suggested even not capable of being president of the United States. How did that hit you as an American, a politician and a Muslim?

ELLISON: Well, you know, Chris, it is not the first time we heard it. We've heard this kind of thing for the last three cycles. Newt Gingrich was saying things like this. Herman Cain was saying things like that. It is kind of getting to be their tradition. But Papa Francisco is very clear that we have to have an inclusive message. He talked about how to address extremism in his speech yesterday before the joint session of Congress. He said, you know, don't -- in paraphrasing he said don't like the extremists make you into an extremist. Don't assign yourself the role of righteous and the other the role of sinner. In short, judge not lest ye be judged.

So he's setting a good climate for inclusiveness, for generosity of spirit. But sadly, you know, apparently Ben Carson is making money off this. He's been sending e-mails out soliciting and is bragging about making $300,000 since he made these ugly comments. So I guess it is just politics as usual. But Papa Francisco is making it a little different.

CUOMO: What do you think, what is your best hope?

[08:15:01] What is your aspiration here? That this message Francis is giving seems to be resonating. It is all coming together in terms of the man the message and the moment. It's being so celebrated. It's getting so much coverage.

Do you think there's a chance that the tone can change, that people may think before they just try to divide in the political process?

ELLISON: If the tone can change, Pope Francis is helping it change. He is such loving, generous presence, that he I think has the potential to help us, you know, turn to each other instead of turning on each other.

I mean, everything he said yesterday, you know, about immigration, about inclusiveness of the refugees. All of these things are calling us to be better than sometimes we are in the moment. And I think that he has the potential to create some transformation. I know I felt really warm inside yesterday.

And I got to tell you, Republican/Democrat, we all walked out of that joint session talking, sharing viewpoints. Family members were there.

My own mother was there who is a very devote Catholic. It was just a wonderful environment. Hopefully, it will carry forward. I think it could.

CUOMO: That's beautiful to hear that that, that was the reaction afterwards. We were surprised how many applause lines there were. And the pope had to stop his delivery because there were over two dozen applause lines.

And we're waiting right now, the motorcade is starting to make their way down First Avenue, here in front the United Nations. As soon as we catch sight here we'll cut o that.

But I wanted your take on something. The pope reportedly said to someone last night he was somewhat confused at how the American political system has lost its way of its dialogue. And he said, don't you know that your greatest strength has always been in your unity? Why all this energy on negativity and division? Who thinks that can get you anywhere?

What's your reaction to that?

ELLISON: Maybe we need somebody to hit the reset button for us, you know what I mean? And the pope is doing that.

He's absolutely right the level of polarization is toxic. We're trying to avert a shut down in just a few days. This is because we cannot talk to each other.

But he said a number of times in his speech he invites us to conversation. He invites us to dialogue. And, you know, I want to accept that invitation.

I think we really should heed the pope's call to be more focused on the work than on how to separate -- he made me feel good about being a politician. He said we're called to be here to promote the common good. And I quite agree we are. And if anybody can help us get there he can.

I'm really pleased he was here yesterday. And he's getting a very warm reception in New York and that's awesome.

CUOMO: That's true. And I'll tell you, that's not a given. This is a hard city as you know.

But if there's been a moment where everybody is taking it the right way, this is it. And the pope is coming down right now. We see the SUVs with the Vatican flags. We're starting to hear the cheers.

I haven't seen the Fiat. I missed it. That car is so small and quick it zipped right past us congressman.

All right. So, Papa Francisco is making his way into the U.N. right now. That signature Fiat. It is going to be a hot item.

Everybody is coming now. The rest of the security phalanx just passed so we're going to continue our coverage.

Hey, Congressman, thank you very much.

ELLISON: Thank you, Chris.

CUOMO: Thank you for all your words and I hope you are right. I hope the people can come together because the people need action, not negativity. Thank you very much, Congressman.

CNN is going stay with this coverage. We know the pope is here now. We're watching it on live picture.

There it is. This iconic Fiat, one of the best product placements in the political history. Of course the pope is above and beyond politics.

Now, one quick note for you as we watch. See that yellow flag? It is the Vatican flag. For the first time in history it will be flying above the U.N. today.

And a little bit of historical irony in that as well. Why will the Vatican flag be flying? Because Palestine pushed very hard for its flag to be able to be raised even though it is not what's called a permanent member of the United Nations. The U.N. passed that resolution. Palestine is able to put up its flag, and thereby allowing other nations that aren't permanent members to have their flag also. The Vatican is an observer nation. Remember the Vatican is a

sovereign in and of itself treated as the nation here at the U.N. and here is that nation's leader. Not just a religious leader but a political one as well because of his role at the Vatican.

Papa Francisco here making his way out of the car, showing tremendous resilience. Remember the limp. The limp is real. That is what you are seeing but it is not a moment of urgency.

The pope has sciatica, something many people deal with. It is just a condition. It flared up in Cuba. So he's got a little bit of a hitch in his getty up as he walks along there. But he's going to be fine. He's dealing with it well.

And the proof is in the pudding. He's been in so many stops. He's shown such energy for a 78-year-old especially and continues going with a big smile on his face as he's meeting the opening delegation of the U.N. superiors.

[08:20:11] Just entered now. Obviously we're waiting for the address.

And I have the very good fortune of being now situated directly next to CNN's best. Christian Amanpour, Wolf Blitzer here to take us through the coverage.

It's been a great moment. We hit it perfectly with Don Lemon. We trail the pope into the Fiat. He's made his way down First Avenue, now here he is.

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Exactly, and he is now being greeted of course by the secretary general of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon and Ban's wife is there too.

And the pope will also receive flowers if two little kids, a six-year-old and a seven-year-old, a brother and a sister. And what is so important is that they are the children of a deceased member of the United Nations community.

He was killed during the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. He was one of the coordinators for the peace keeping mission in Haiti.

So, all of these missions of the U.N. are going to be sort of shown symbolically. That was peace keeping and he will talk about peace keeping in his speech. He will talk about the scourge of war. He will also talk about how it is the most serious and urgent time for the moral conscience. A call to the moral conscience of mankind, has never been as necessary as it is today. He's going to tell the assembled world leaders.

CUOMO: Vatican officials told us last night that the pope does not see a straight continuum of history. He believes this is an important moment. He believes he will be facing the source and the solution for many of the world's problems in front of him at this address today. And he has never tailored a message more than he has for this morning, Wolf.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: And we see Ban Ki-moon and Pope Francis right there. It is an important moment and the pope will spend a lot of his time we're told praising the United Nations, the work that it's done over the past 70 years, now the 70th anniversary of the United Nations.

Once he addresses the assembly. He's going to go in-depth. He'll also we're told make an impassioned appeal. Because Christians throughout north Africa and the Mideast are in such trouble right now. He's going to reach out and see if there is more the United Nations and the international community can do to deal with the plight of Christians throughout the region.

AMANPOUR: And, Chris, of course, he's going to be as Wolf said praising the good work of the United Nations and the ridge charge of the United Nations, which was to bring the rule of law, human right, the end to war to all mankind.

But he will also say that this can no longer be an empty talking shop. That the divisions amongst the five permanent members of the Security Council which means the United States, Western ally, most specially Russia and China can no longer be used as excuse as paralysis to end the world's most grievous conflicts, for instance, Syria right now.

CUOMO: So, the next thing that happens here, even though the pope doesn't love the ceremony, it is necessary, Ban Ki-moon is going present gift on behalf of the U.N. to the pope. We do know he likes to return the favor. We don't know exactly what it will be.

But he has been passing out what east really important to the Vatican. Every time they have one of these councils on the family, they come up with the commemorative coin and pass them out. And they see it as the very big gesture because they want that focus on the family. That's really what brought him to the United States.

AMANPOUR: Precisely, and that's what Philadelphia is going to be all about, right, the family, the mass, the festivities. But also remember that this moment at this UNGA, United Nations General Assembly, the annual blot of world leaders, also coincide on sustainable development. That is a fancy word saying let us recommit to trying to end global extreme poverty.

BLITZER: I should say so much of the pope's address today will deal with climate change, the environment, poverty. The pope has a huge agenda that he's going to do and he's going to go beyond what he told the U.S. Congress yesterday and certainly these areas. He's going to go in depth and make the pitch. This is so important.

And some people in Washington on the conservative side might not like what he's about to say because he's going to go more in depth on the climate change issue that he did yesterday.

CUOMO: What about that, Wolf, in terms of assessing or analyzing what the pope discusses and where? Of course global warming should be a big concern. But when you have so much war, when you have so much poverty, when you have so much famine. Is there criticism in that tactic?

BLITZER: He'll get into that in other areas as well. But I think the bulk of this address today will deal with the climate change, the environment, protecting the planet. This has become so important for this pope. And remember in the 70 years of the United Nations, this is only the fifth time a pope has addressed the United Nations general assembly.

AMANPOUR: I think one way to depoliticize this climate and environmental issue is to take the pope at his word when he wrote his encyclical.

[08:25:00] That is a 192-page document that spelled out that the environment has rights. We humans are part of the environment.

He wasn't being antihuman or anti anybody. He was saying all of us have the right and duty to protect our planet.

CUOMO: Calling it a right is key, right, by U.N. parlance standards?

AMANPOUR: Absolutely. Also by Christian particles parlance. We've said it many times. The archbishop, who welcomed him last night, said we've had climate way before politics. Climate is in the Genesis, the environment, which is in Genesis.

CUOMO: Was added to the deadly sins.

AMANPOUR: Well, there you go.

CUOMO: It is a big deal for Catholics.

AMANPOUR: I think that is what he's trying to say. All these other issues we've within talking about -- poverty, war, crisis -- part of it is about the dwindling in finite resources so you can't have a healthy planet or end poverty or bring gender equality and God forbid you can't stop migration in part unless you deal with the climatic changes, the environmental changes, that are pushing farmers out, that are pushing ordinary people out of their homelands in search of a better tomorrow.

And, of course, the scourge of war in Syria is the biggest issue that has occupied, you know, the world for the last nearly five years.

BLITZER: He gets into that we're told a little bit. But he really doesn't do as much on the Syrian, the plight of the refugees as I thought he might be doing. This is a huge issue right now. This is the worst refugee crisis since World War II. He made that point at the United States Congress yesterday.

AMANPOUR: I think, Wolf, you're right. I think some of the emphasis has been chosen for which audience that he's addressing. So he did make a big deal on that to the U.S. Congress.

CUOMO: So far he's hit it right. Because watching your excellent coverage yesterday of the aftereffect, the afterglow so to speak of the Congress. We just had Congressman Keith Ellison out of Minnesota, one of the two or three Muslims who are involved with the government.

BLITZER: Just two.

CUOMO: Two of them, right?

BLITZER: Right.

CUOMO: And he said they were talking to each other in a very unusual way when they came out of there yesterday. Maybe it took a pope to hit the reset as the congressman said.

AMANPOUR: Well, you know, you're Catholic. I'm Catholic, all, you know, follow religion.

CUOMO: Wolf wants to be Catholic. Everybody in some way, at least for today.

(LAUGHTER)

AMANPOUR: But there is that thing called the state of grace.

CUOMO: Yes.

AMANPOUR: Right? So no matter how long it lasts, if it's just a few seconds or a few minutes -- maybe it is longer. It takes somebody of that kind of moral stature to suddenly put everything -- even as Speaker Boehner said, you know, hoping there wouldn't be any weird behavior in Congress. He said let him appeal to our better angels.

CUOMO: There was weird behavior, Wolf. They applauded 20 times. Nobody expected that.

BLITZER: I'm not saying there is going to be cooperation tomorrow in the United States Congress or anything along those lines, but I do think a visit like this to the United States -- this is the first time this 78-year-old pontiff has come to the U.S. it could have a marginal impact but it could be significant.

CUOMO: If my mother has anything to do with it, even though you are not catholic, they will make you a saint, Wolf. I want you to know that.

BLITZER: It's an excitement moment.

CUOMO: All right. So, Wolf, and Christiane, you are going to carry us through all the big events. I'm going back to Alisyn right now, though, because she does have an interview with Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum, obviously, his belief is a Catholic, but also translating this pope's message into political reality here.

Alisyn?

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: OK, Chris. Thanks so much.

And joining us now is the Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum.

Senator, thanks so much for beings with us.

RICK SANTORUM (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You bet, Alisyn. Thanks for having me on.

CAMEROTA: OK. So, tell us what your thoughts are as you watch all of these live events unfold and the reception that the pope has just gotten at the U.N.?

SANTORUM: I think it is unbelievable. I mean, to see the kind of unanimity of interest and support in the hope and his message, I think is a wonderful thing.

I agree with Congressman Ellison. It's a tone changer. It allows everyone to sort of take a step back from politics and the divisiveness and listen to someone who is a shepherd and trying to lead a flock, not just Catholics, but with a message of, you know, how everything ties together, that there aren't issues that, you know, should be dividing us. We should look holistically at the problems confronting this country and of course the world.

CAMEROTA: And, of course, people were concerned before the pope's visit to Congress that somehow his speech would be politically polarizing, particularly if he was seen as siding somehow with the Democrats. But, ultimately, what was your impression of that speech?

SANTORUM: Yes. I didn't see the entire speech. I had to do an interview right at the end of the speech, but I saw the vast majority of it. And I was actually pleased with the way Congress reacted. I was concerned it might be, you know, one side applauds, the other side applause. That's really not what happened.

I think there was a tremendous amount of respect and restraint understanding this man is not a political figure. This was not a political speech. And I think the way he began the speech, talking about how, you know, we have differences here in this country and that we have to, you know, put those differences aside and try to work for the common good.