[Baldwin:] Did you hear what the pope said about legalizing marijuana? Well, he's not exactly for it. Earlier today in Rome, Pope Francis told members of the International Drug Enforcement Conference that the worldwide trend for legalizing recreational drugs is a very, very bad idea. He said, I'm quoting him "Drug addiction is an evil and with evil, there can be no yielding or compromise. To think that harm can be reduced by permitting drug addicts to use narcotics is in no way resolves the problem." So let me bring in Daniel Burke, co-editor of CNN's Belief Blog. Daniel, I guess, I can't say I'm surprised hearing what the pope said. He also said legalizing drugs fails to produce the desired effects. What does he mean by that?
[Daniel Burke, Cnn Belief Blog Co-editor:] I think, Brooke, that the pope sees this issue through a different lens than most Americans. He's not talking about a couple dudes toking up a joint and going to play Frisbee golf on an afternoon. This pope was a pastor for many years in some of Argentina's poorest communities. He saw lives ruined by drugs. I think he's saying legalizing drugs, essentially adding more drugs to that situation isn't going to help anybody. He's speaking very personally here.
[Baldwin:] That makes sense given what he probably did see many years ago in Argentina. Let me move along and ask you about a big headline. The general assembly of the U.S. Presbyterian Church voting to change its definition of marriage allowing everyone to get married including same-sex couples, which seems like a big deal for the church. Does that mean that gay and lesbian Presbyterian couples can get married today?
[Burke:] As of this weekend. So they have a little plan to plan, but as of this weekend, yes, in the 19 states where gay marriage is already legal according to secular law, they would be allowed to be married in Presbyterian Churches. That's a huge deal. The church in the United States has almost 2 million members, 10,000 congregations. Almost every town in America has a Presbyterian Church and they have a long and storied history. This is a pretty big deal and LGBT groups celebrating as a major victory.
[Baldwin:] Have to imagine there's been opposition though.
[Burke:] Yes, conservative Presbyterians actually called it an abomination today. We saw about 400 congregations leave the Presbyterian Church in 2011 after they voted to allow openly gay ministers. Some are predicting a similar kind of reaction to this vote yesterday.
[Baldwin:] The times are changing, Daniel Burke, thank you so much. Just quickly an update on the anthrax scare at the Centers for Disease Control. The CDC we talked about yesterday, 87 workers at the CDC in Atlanta may have been unintentionally exposed to anthrax. It happened when a lab didn't properly deactivate the samples before moving them to other labs. The workers in the labs were not equipped to handle live anthrax. Officials say the risk of infection for those involved is low and there is no risk to the general public. Just a quick reminder, you can like us on Facebook, cnn.combrookebaldwincnn. Just tossed a new behind the scenes video on there for you today. Hope you have a wonderful weekend. I hope you stay right here because my friend, John Berman is in for Jake Tapper. "THE LEAD" starts right now.