you re watching communion, the core part of a catholic mass. these are the wafers being given. there are about 25,000 people there and 200 eucharist are handing them out. john, this is a very, very poignant moment for many people there. the pope himself gave the wafers to a group. it s the supreme moment of the mass. catholics believe that the bread and wine become, in a real way, it s called the real presence, the body and blood of jesus
christ, you know, the candles, the incents, that gives us a tangible way to think about things that are physical and intangible. to emphasize to many watching, again, if you re not catholic, it s not a symbol. the wafer that you take and wine that you drink is not a symbol of the body and blood of christ. catholics believe that is the real presence. the body and blood of christ. in this mass now, it s imprablti impractical to provide wine to 25,000 people. yes. but we believe the full body and blood of jesus exists in one species. there are people who can t take the host. we take it to the dying who can only take a drop of the dying blood on their tongue because they can t ingest food. one or the other suffice for us. because we re into the ritual and appreciate the gesture, the
homily how god is present in the city, the god is present in the many ways that the church ministers but tonight god is in the mass, in the eucharist. erin, catholics typically do not applaud when the priest gives a homily. but tonight when the pope said, god continues to walk in the streets of the city because god is in the city, these new yorkers, who are often, i think, a little sensitive to perceptions that cities in general and let s face it, new york in particular is seen as kind of a godless place. yes. to hear the pope there and say, god is in the city, people couldn t help themselves. they brought out in applause and what they heard was a huge affirmation that the pope recognizes that even in this fast-paced and somewhat cut-throat place, got is still here. it s something to hear that from
i think it s because he believes historically we re at one of those pivot points where things can go one of two bays, we can either go the path of exclusion and dysfunction and end up some place we don t want to be or we can turn things around. this is not a moment for timidity. this is a moment for boldness. people are trying to identify his significance right now. it s obvious to catholics. we known him as the head of the church. he s like a new nelson mandela, awe uniter. most men and women of influence want to seize and magnify this moment. it is attention for francis because he does not want it to be about him. we heard last night from those close to him saying he is frustrated at all the attention he is getting. he doesn t want to be distracted from the message. how uniquely pope francis. after he was on the cover of time magazine he came out and said, it s wrong to see the pope as a super star.
delia gallagher, one thing that happened in mass, the pope that revolutionized the church, brought people in who had long ago perhaps given up on the church, the elector tonight a reporter for cbs sunday morning hope openly gay. the pope inclusive and doing something frankly more conservative members of the church may not support. that is what this pope is. well, absolutely. of course, for the catholic church, you can be gay. that s not necessarily the problem in terms of that issue for them and goes into other aspects of a gay perp is perfectly acceptable as a child of god and so on for catholic teaching. the issues are about marriage and gay relationships and so on.