kyra. and he has made that clear. serving the poor. and let me ask you, as we look at those pictures where he brings these homeless individuals to his apartment on his birthday. i mean, erin, how unique of a gesture is that? reporter: it s absolutely unique. what i ve been seeing from talking to many pilgrims who come to the vatican for the festive season, they tell me that this has given them hope. that they re hopeful that the church is now moving in the right direction and they re inspired by what they see as well, kyra. erin mclaughlin live for us from rome. thanks so much. be sure to tune in for our live coverage of the pope s first ever midnight christmas mass. that special is tonight at 6:00 p.m. eastern right here on cnn. well, coming up, the women s punk rock band pussy riot set free and charges are dropped against greenpeace activists. what the heck is going on in russia? is this a pr push, or is