letter on the environment. in september he s going to be in the united states visiting certainly philadelphia and probably also new york and washington. in october to beer he s convening a summit of bishops to debate hot button issues about the family including the role of homosexuals in the church and whether divorce and remarried catholics ought to be able to get communion. it shapes up as an extremely eventful year for an activist pope. yes. that is a perfect way to describe him. john allen, thank you very much. have a nice holiday. reporter: you, too. thank you. we ll be right back. greetings, i m technical sergeant jeanette barry stationed in alaska. idea like to say happy holidays to my family in marina valley and my grandma in los angeles. happy holidays, happy new year. i ll see you in 2015.
the annual exchange of holiday greetings. senior vatican analyst, john allen, joins us now with more. so, john, what can we expect to hear from the pope and his christmas message today do you think? good evening, rosemary. this speech is build by the vatican as the pope s state of the union speech. as you say, meeting with the upper echelons of the vatican. cardinals archbishops. an opportunity for the pope to look over the last year. and one to come. francis is an activist pope. internally and externally. internally launched a pro gram of reform at the vatican including a thorough financial house cleaning. also has a new commission to lead the fight against child sexual abuse in the catholic church. externally involved in the affairs of the day as you said, just coming off a big diplomatic coup in terms of having played a pivotal role restoration of