Spirit

More than a hundred people gathered recently at Healing Heart Park in Craig on Prince of Wales Island.

The Healing Heart totem pole first was raised in Craig 20 years ago. Tsimshian master carver Stan Marsden  carved the pole in memory of his son, Jimmy Marsden, who died of a cocaine overdose. Stan Marsden dedicated the pole to the youth of Alaska as a symbol of sobriety.

The ceremony was a rededication, and a memorial for the carver who died this summer. Marsden’s grandson, Jasper Nelson, unveiled a new plaque that tells the story of the pole.

“The uninvited guest, the human part of the pole, he is holding a basket of roses which symbolize love peace and healing. He represents the spirt of compassion. The uninvited guest wasn’t originally planned to be on this pole. ”

The 46-and-a-half-foot tall pole was a bit longer than expected when it arrived, and not knowing what to put in the humans hands, Marsden left that part uncarved.

“But right near the end of it, a visitor came in and right on the empty block, the only flat part on the pole they left a vase of roses. So that’s what Papa decided to carve in there.”

Roses played an important part in the memorial, as well. A variety of colored roses were passed out, and guests were asked to place them in a heart shaped wreath in memory of those who have died from an overdose or are struggling with addiction.

Many people, including some who had never carved before, helped Marsden with the pole.

“My Grandpa he never said he carved this pole by himself . He never carved it alone. What he always used to tell us was everybody working together made this pole.”

The ceremony was followed by a community lunch and dancing. Several Native dance groups traveled from Metlakatla, Ketchikan, Hydaburg and Klawock for the occasion.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has lately been confronting questions about ethnic diversity, gender equality and LGBT rights.

Now the church’s believers, and its critics, are watching closely to see what a membership shake-up might mean for the church. The senior governing council of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is expected to name three new leaders to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles after the fairly recent deaths of three elder members.

It’s an unusual opportunity for an organization whose leaders are appointed for life. As the Associated Press notes, the last quorum member was chosen six years ago, and it’s rare for there to be this many openings at once: the last time three spots were available was in 1906.

And the last few decades — let alone the last century — have seen tremendous changes in the church.

“Over the last 20 years or so, the majority of members of the church are no longer in the U.S.,” says Matthew Bowman, author of The Mormon People: The Making of an American Faith. “Most are now in the global south.”

Some wonder if that shift will be reflected in the new appointments. But wherever they hail from, one thing is known for certain: all three new members will be men.

Bowman, associate professor of history at Henderson State University and a Mormon himself, joined NPR’s Scott Simon to discuss possible changes with new leadership and what the shakeup could mean in the face of social issues and the global expansion of Mormonism.

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Interview Highlights

On whether new leadership will change the Church

I wouldn’t expect too much change. Even though the three new appointees will join the second-highest governing body of the church, they will still be junior apostles. And … these leaders of Quorum of the Twelve are usually chosen from the middle level leadership of the church, which means that they will already be generally in support of what positions are currently held.

On the likelihood the council will choose someone from outside the U.S.

I certainly wouldn’t be surprised. I think Mormons have been waiting for that for quite a while now. It’s becoming, I think, more likely every time a new vacancy opens up, so this very well could be the year.

On whether new leaders could prompt a shift to more involvement of women in church leadership

That’s an interesting question to ask, and it’s one that actually runs somewhat at cross-purposes with similar desires for a more diverse leadership — because if these new apostles are chosen from the global south, just given the cultural predilections … I think it actually might be less likely. So I think advocates for greater female participation in leadership might actually prefer new leaders from the global north.

On whether there will be even more leadership changes in the next few years

I think that’s actually likely. The quorum has been getting steadily older over the past 20 years. It’s been very frequently the oldest quorum ever … Since the higher you rise in length of membership, the higher in leadership you are, it means the highest leadership in the church is quite old, indeed. The current president is 88.

On whether there is still anti-Mormon prejudice in the U.S.

I think most small religious groups have a lot of misunderstanding, a lot of distrust about them. Mormonism, in particular, I think is suspect for many of the same reasons that Roman Catholicism has been historically suspect. That is, there is a sense that the members of the church follow high leadership rather than making their own decisions. They appear sort of secretive, they practice rituals that are uncommon to many other people — but I suspect many of these fears are due to a lack of awareness, lack of knowing a Mormon yourself and misunderstandings.

 

Updated at 11:40 a.m. ET

Pope Francis, in a previously unannounced stop, met with victims of clergy sex abuse in Philadelphia, as the pontiff is wrapping up a six-day visit to the U.S. that will culminate with a huge Mass this afternoon.

Meeting with 300 bishops, Francis said he had met with the sex abuse survivor group Sunday morning.

“It continues to be on my mind that the people who had the responsibility to take care of these tender ones, violated that trust and caused them great pain,” he said, adding “God weeps.”

The pope added that the abuse “cannot be maintained in secret. And I commit to a careful oversight to ensure that youth are protected.”

The Vatican, in a statement, says Francis met with three women and two men who had been abused as children. It said that each was accompanied by a family member or someone close and that the pope listened and expressed solidarity in sharing in their suffering.

“He renewed the commitment of the Church to the effort that all victims are heard and treated with justice, that the guilty be punished and that the crimes of abuse be combated with an effective prevention activity in the Church and in society,” the statement said.

Francis has decided on a new Vatican tribunal to prosecute bishops who covered up abuse and shielded pedophile priests instead of turning them over to police, according to The Associated Press.

Speaking to the bishops, he also lamented the legalization of gay marriage, calling it “a tragic error” and a “profoundly immoral and unjust” decision. However, he warned the assembled bishops that a church that only explains its doctrine is “dangerously unbalanced.”

The remainder of the pope’s schedule today concludes a busy itinerary for the pontiff’s visit that will have seen him celebrate Mass before millions in Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., where he also spoke to a joint meeting of Congress and New York, where he addressed the United Nations General Assembly.

After his meeting with bishops, Francis visited the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility, where he encouraged inmates to get their lives back on track. The pontiff invoked the parable of Jesus washing the feet of the apostles before the Last Supper and criticized prison systems that punish and humiliate prisoners rather than help rehabilitate them.

The huge outdoor Mass today will be on Philadelphia’s Benjamin Franklin Parkway just before the pope flies back to Rome.

Prior to the afternoon mass, he is expected to head to Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility, “where he’ll visit with 100 inmates — a cross-section of suspected killers, rapists, mobsters. He’s expected to offer them words of hope, forgiveness and redemption,” the AP writes.

“His mission is the marginalized, the forgotten,” prison spokeswoman Shawn Hawes said, according to the AP. “From our understanding, he wants those who are in custody to know that they are not forgotten and they can be redeemed.”

On Saturday, the pope largely discarded his prepared text and spoke off-the-cuff at the World Meeting of Families conference, calling the family “a factory of hope.”

“In the family, there are indeed difficulties” and children bring challenges, too, he said.

“But those difficulties are overcome with love,” he said. “Hatred is not capable of dealing (with) or overcoming any difficulty. Division of hearts cannot overcome a difficulty; only love can overcome.”

Updated at 6:57 p.m. ET

Pope Francis has bid the United States farewell.

“My days with you have been brief, but they have been days of great grace for me. And I pray for you, too,” the pontiff said, in a brief ceremony at the Philadelphia International Airport. “As I prepare to leave, I do so with a heart full of gratitude and hope.”

These were among the final words the pope spoke during his first visit to U.S. soil. Above the occasional screech of planes overhead, Pope Francis reflected on themes that characterized much of his trip: the importance of family, and the responsibility of the U.S. as stewards of opportunity.

“We know that evil never has the last word,” Francis said. “And that in God’s merciful plan, love and peace triumph over all.”

Before his remarks, while at the airport, the pope also met with Vice President Joe Biden, exchanging greetings before stepping to the lectern.

Earlier in the day, tens of thousands of people gathered in Philadelphia to see Francis as his popemobile wound through the streets ahead of his last Mass on U.S. soil before departing this evening for a return trip to Rome.

The pope waved to the crowd as his motorcade, flanked by cycle police and official vehicles, made its way to the dais. At one point, the popemobile stopped so Francis could greet well-wishers.

Following opening prayers, the pope listened during multilingual readings from the Bible.

The pontiff spoke of family relations.

“May children find in us models of communion, not of division,” he said.

“Jesus knows that where children are concerned, we are capable of boundless generosity,” he said.

We must “overcome the scandal of a narrow, petty love, mistrustful, closed in on itself and impatient of others.”

Earlier, Francis met with victims of child sex abuse and decried the priest pedophile scandal, saying “God weeps” over what has happened as he promised to do what is necessary to hold those responsible accountable for their sins.

The pope, meeting with 300 bishops this morning, also commented on the U.S. Supreme Court ruling legalizing same-sex marriage, calling it a “profoundly immoral and unjust decision.”

Before he makes a scheduled 8 p.m. ET departure for the Vatican, Francis is expected to have a private meeting with Vice President Joe Biden and Dr. Jill Biden and to greet and bless some 5000 members of the World Meeting of Families.

Updated at 9:40 p.m. ET

Pope Francis, in a speech at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, spoke of the need to preserve religious freedom throughout the world and warned against the use of religion “as a pretext for hatred and brutality.”

“In this place which is symbolic of the American way, I would like to reflect with you on the right to religious freedom,” he said. “It is a fundamental right which shapes the way we interact socially and personally with our neighbors whose religious views differ from our own.”

He said the ideal of interfaith dialogue is for men and women from different traditions to come together in peace.

“Religious freedom certainly means the right to worship God, individually and in community, as our consciences dictate,” the pontiff told a crowd before the historic hall. “But religious freedom also goes along with places of worship and the private sphere of individuals and families.”

He said history had shown “the atrocities perpetrated by systems which claimed to build one or another ‘earthly paradise’ by dominating peoples, subjecting them to apparently indisputable principles and denying them any kind of rights.”

However, Francis warned that: “In a world where various forms of modern tyranny seek to suppress religious freedom, or … try to reduce it to a subculture without right to a voice in the public square, or to use religion as a pretext for hatred and brutality, it is imperative that the followers of the various religions join their voices in calling for peace, tolerance and respect for the dignity and rights of others.”

He spoke of the Quakers who founded Philadelphia, saying they were “inspired by a profound evangelical sense of the dignity of each individual and the ideal of a community united by brotherly love.

“This conviction led them to found a colony which would be a haven of religious freedom and tolerance,” he said.

Earlier, en route to New York’s JFK Airport, where he later departed for Philadelphia, the pontiff asked that his helicopter circle the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.

“You could see he was very, very moved,” New York’s Cardinal Timothy Dolan told reporters, according to Reuters. “And he said, ‘You know, Buenos Aires was a city of immigrants too.’ ”

Later, Frances celebrated Mass in the city at the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, the largest brownstone structure in Philadelphia and the largest Catholic church in Pennsylvania.

In a homily, Francis challenged young Catholics to service and emphasized that the “immense contribution” of women in the church.

“One of the great challenges facing the Church in this generation is to foster in all the faithful a sense of personal responsibility for the Church’s mission, and to enable them to fulfill that responsibility as missionary disciples, as a leaven of the Gospel in our world,” he said.

“This will require creativity in adapting to changed situations, carrying forward the legacy of the past not primarily by maintaining our structures and institutions, which have served us well, but above all by being open to the possibilities which the Spirit opens up to us and communicating the joy of the Gospel, daily and in every season of our life,” the pope said.

Francis then visited St. Charles Borromeo Seminary.

On Saturday evening, he was the featured guest at the World Meeting of Families conference, treated to testimonials from families and performances from the likes of Aretha Franklin.

“The most beautiful thing that God did, says the Bible, was the family. All that love that He made in creation, He gave it and shared it and bestowed it on family,” the pope said, in a speech before a crowd of some 18,000 attendees.

“In families, there is always light.”

On Sunday, his last day on U.S. soil, he will celebrate outdoor Mass, expected to draw 1.5 million people.

NPR’s Jeff Brady spoke with a souvenir seller outside the Philadelphia Convention Center who was happy for the surge in business, but not by the tight security measures.

“They shut down the whole city — they shut down the bridges, the buses — for one person! That’s crazy! They don’t do this for the President!” Christian Andrews-Fulton said.

As The Associated Press reports, the pope “will give his attention to both the elite and the disadvantaged, this time visiting inmates in Philadelphia’s largest jail. On Saturday night, he will be serenaded by Aretha Franklin and others on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway at a festival celebrating families. He will return there Sunday for the Mass, his last major event before leaving for Rome.”

The trip to Philadelphia follows the pope’s travels to Washington, D.C., and New York. In the nation’s capital, he addressed a joint meeting of Congress, urging law makers to cooperate to solve problems such as inequality of opportunity and climate change — themes that he echoed and expanded on at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

The pontiff told the United Nations General Assembly that it is critical that thet international community act now to solve problems ranging from climate change to poverty and inequality of opportunity.

We have included a video of the speech above. You can view the full transcript here.

This is our live blog of the address …

Updated at 10:45 a.m. ET

In conclusion: “Upon all of you, may God bless you all.”

Updated at 10:44 a.m. ET

International community needs to act now:

“We cannot permit ourselves to postpone ‘certain agendas’ for the future. The future demands of us critical and global decisions in the face of world-wide conflicts which increase the number of the excluded and those in need.”

Updated at 10:43 a.m. ET

“El Gaucho Martín Fierro, a classic of literature in my native land, says: ‘Brothers should stand by each other, because this is the first law; keep a true bond between you always, at every time — because if you fight among yourselves, you’ll be devoured by those outside.’ ”

Updated at 10:41 a.m. ET

“The common home of all men and women must continue to rise on the foundations of a right understanding of universal fraternity and respect for the sacredness of every human life, of every man and every woman, the poor, the elderly, children, the infirm, the unborn, the unemployed, the abandoned, those considered disposable because they are only considered as part of a statistic.”

Updated at 10:40 a.m. ET

” … the danger comes neither from progress nor from science; if these are used well, they can help to solve a great number of the serious problems besetting mankind. … Among other things, human genius, well applied, will surely help to meet the grave challenges of ecological deterioration and of exclusion.”

Updated at 10:37 a.m. ET

“… I would mention another kind of conflict which is not always so open, yet is silently killing millions of people. Another kind of war experienced by many of our societies as a result of the narcotics trade. A war which is taken for granted and poorly fought. Drug trafficking is by its very nature accompanied by trafficking in persons, money laundering, the arms trade, child exploitation and other forms of corruption.”

Updated at 10:35 a.m. ET

On international inaction:

“Human beings are easily discarded when our only response is to draw up lists of problems, strategies and disagreements.”

An apparent reference to ISIS:

“I must renew my repeated appeals regarding to the painful situation of the entire Middle East, North Africa and other African countries, where Christians, together with other cultural or ethnic groups, and even members of the majority religion who have no desire to be caught up in hatred and folly, have been forced to witness the destruction of their places of worship, their cultural and religious heritage, their houses and property, and have faced the alternative either of fleeing or of paying for their adhesion to good and to peace by their own lives, or by enslavement.”

And further …

“Not only in cases of religious or cultural persecution, but in every situation of conflict, as in Ukraine, Syria, Iraq, Libya, South Sudan and the Great Lakes region, real human beings take precedence over partisan interests, however legitimate the latter may be.”

Updated at 10:32 a.m. ET

On weapons of mass destruction:

“An ethics and a law based on the threat of mutual destruction — and possibly the destruction of all mankind — are self-contradictory and an affront to the entire framework of the United Nations, which would end up as ‘nations united by fear and distrust.'”

“There is urgent need to work for a world free of nuclear weapons, in full application of the non-proliferation Treaty, in letter and spirit, with the goal of a complete prohibition of these weapons.”

“The recent agreement reached on the nuclear question in a sensitive region of Asia and the Middle East is proof of the potential of political good will and of law, exercised with sincerity, patience and constancy. I express my hope that this agreement will be lasting and efficacious, and bring forth the desired fruits with the cooperation of all the parties involved.”

Updated at 10:27 a.m. ET

“War is the negation of all rights and a dramatic assault on the environment. If we want true integral human development for all, we must work tirelessly to avoid war between nations and between peoples.”

Updated at 10:24 a.m. ET

More on the destruction of the environment:

“The ecological crisis, and the large-scale destruction of biodiversity, can threaten the very existence of the human species. The baneful consequences of an irresponsible mismanagement of the global economy, guided only by ambition for wealth and power, must serve as a summons to a forthright reflection on man.”

Updated at 10:23 a.m. ET

“At the same time, government leaders must do everything possible to ensure that all can have the minimum spiritual and material means needed to live in dignity.”

They are: lodging, labor and land.

Updated at 10:18 a.m. ET

“Our world demands of all government leaders a will which is effective, practical and constant, concrete steps and immediate measures for preserving and improving the natural environment and thus putting an end as quickly as possible to the phenomenon of social and economic exclusion, with its baneful consequences: human trafficking, the marketing of human organs and tissues, the sexual exploitation of boys and girls, slave labour, including prostitution, the drug and weapons trade, terrorism and international organized crime.”

“Such is the magnitude of these situations and their toll in innocent lives, that we must avoid every temptation to fall into a declarationist nominalism which would assuage our consciences.”

Updated at 10:14 a.m. ET

More on climate change and inequality:

“The poorest are … cast off by society, forced to live off what is discarded and suffer unjustly from the abuse of the environment. They are part of today’s widespread and quietly growing ‘culture of waste.'”

Updated at 10:11 a.m. ET

On climate change:

“…. it must be stated that a true “right of the environment” does exist, for two reasons. First, because we human beings are part of the environment. We live in communion with it, since the environment itself entails ethical limits which human activity must acknowledge and respect.”

“Any harm done to the environment … is harm to humanity.”

“Man is not authorized to abuse it [the environment], nor is he authorized to destroy it.”

Updated at 10:08 a.m. ET

On international justice:

“To give to each his own, to cite the classic definition of justice, means that no human individual or group can consider itself absolute, permitted to bypass the dignity and the rights of other individuals or their social groupings.”

Updated at 10:05 a.m. ET

In an apparent reference in part to the International Monetary Fund, he said to applause from the delegates:

“The need for greater equity is especially true in the case of those bodies with effective executive capability, such as the Security Council, the Financial Agencies and the groups or mechanisms which were specifically created to deal with economic crises. This will help limit every kind of abuse or usury, especially where developing countries are concerned. The International Financial Agencies are should care for the sustainable development of countries and should ensure that they are not subjected to oppressive lending systems which, far from promoting progress, subject people to mechanisms which generate greater poverty, exclusion and dependence.”

Updated at 10:03 a.m. ET

The pope’s speech started a bit early. After opening remarks, he said:

“An essential response, inasmuch as technological power, in the hands of nationalistic or falsely universalist ideologies, is capable of perpetrating tremendous atrocities. I can only reiterate the appreciation expressed by my predecessors, in reaffirming the importance which the Catholic Church attaches to this Institution and the hope which she places in its activities.”

“Certainly, many grave problems remain to be resolved, yet it is clear that, without all those interventions on the international level, mankind would not have been able to survive the unchecked use of its own possibilities. Every one of these political, juridical and technical advances is a path towards attaining the ideal of human fraternity and a means for its greater realization.”

And here’s our original post …

Pope Francis began a busy day in New York by heading to the United Nations, where at 10:20 a.m. ET., he will become the fourth pontiff to address the world body.

As he’s done in front of Congress and in speeches throughout Washington, Francis is expected to address climate change and the migrant crisis in Europe.

We’ll update this post throughout the day with the latest. Via The Washington Post, we’ve also embedded live video of the events at the top of this post.

Update at 8:34 a.m. ET. Schedule For The Day:

Pope Francis begins his day at the United Nations. He’s scheduled to speak at 10:20 a.m. ET.

At 11:30 a.m. ET., he will attend a multi-religious service at the Ground Zero memorial.

At 4 p.m. ET., he visits Our Lady Queen of Angels School in Harlem, where he will meet third- and fourth-grade students from Catholic schools in Harlem.

At 6 p.m. ET., he will celebrate mass at Madison Square Garden.