Gay And Lesbian Couples Line Up For Marriage Licenses In Utah; Pope Francis' Approval Rating Skyrockets During First Year of Papacy
KEILAR: It's a deeply conservative state and maybe one of the last places that gay rights advocates expected to see same sex marriage legalized but it has been, thanks to a federal court ruling and gay and lesbian couples, they are lining up they are ling up for marriage licenses in Utah. CNN's Miguel Marquez reports.</s>MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For the gay and lesbian couples in Utah, those two little words mark the sound of victory.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now pronounce you bound together in the covenant of marriage, what god has joined together let no one put asunder.</s>MARQUEZ: On Monday, a federal judge Shelby (ph) ruled same sex marriages are legal, denying the conservative state's emergency request to halt them, calling the ban unconstitutional.</s>COURTNEY MOSER. MARRIED PARTNER IN UTAH: I never thought I would see this in my lifetime. I'm so grateful to finally have the protection of the state.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is it. It's go time.</s>MARQUEZ: Hundreds of LGBT couples now ling up at clerk's offices, weathering frigid temperatures.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Brave the cold all night long.</s>MARQUEZ: And long waits to tie the knot, getting their hands on marriage licenses.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Try number four for us.</s>MARQUEZ: It's a victory nine years in the making, since the state's ban in 2004. Utah now joins the nation's capital and 17 other states that have legalized same sex marriage.</s>MCKAY COPPINS, POLITICAL EDITOR, BUZZFEED: It's a huge deal because for Mormons who have been spending these years fighting this battle, they have seen it happen across the country but really didn't expect to have it come to really their backyard.</s>MARQUEZ: The conservative state refusing to back down. It filed an appeal in the tenth circuit court, the state's governor accusing Shelby (ph) of being quote, "an activist federal judge" and saying he's working to determine the best course to defend traditional marriage within the borders of Utah.</s>COPPINS: It's going to be that much harder for conservatives to make the case that this can be stopped, when Utah, one of the most conservative states in the country, has now legalized it. Once the dominos start falling you wouldn't be able to stop it.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You may kiss.</s>MARQUEZ: Miguel Marquez, CNN, New York.</s>KEILAR: Pope Francis signaled change when he said the catholic church was too focused on issues like gay marriage. That was really just the beginning. Since becoming pontiff in March, his words and actions have marked a break with the conservative papacies of John Paul II and Benedict, winning Francis fans around the world. CNN's Joe Johns is here with a closer look. I mean, just how popular is he?</s>JOHNS: Very, very popular, Brianna. A new CNN/ORC poll shows Pope Francis with sky-high approval ratings that arguably make him the most well-regarded religious figure among Americans.</s>JOHNS: He is greeted around the world like a superstar. Hailed as "Time"'s Person of the Year. And even though he's yet to come to the United States, Pope Francis has hordes of American admirers, Catholic or not. A new CNN/ORC poll shows 88 percent of American Catholics approve of the way the pope is handling his role as leader of the Catholic Church. And among all Americans, the pope enjoys a 72 percent favorable rating, a number that would make any American politician jealous.</s>REV. EDWARD BECK, CNN RELIGION COMMENTATOR: I think people feel that Pope Francis is a breath of fresh air and there's a newness in the Church.</s>POPE FRANCIS (via translator): Dear brothers and sisters --</s>JOHNS: From his first humble words after being elected, the pope has sought to address the issue of wealth and poverty through words and his own doings, turn down the palacial papal apartments for more modest quarters. Ditching the Vatican's luxury fleet, and even carried his own luggage. Americans approve of this pope of the people. SixtY-five percent approve of his comments on capitalism and the effects of a free market economy on the poor. Twenty-seven percent disapprove. He has been unafraid to confront social issues such as homosexuality.</s>POPE FRANCIS (via translator): If a person is gay and accepts the Lord and has goodwill, who am I to judge them?</s>JOHNS: The pope saying the Church is too consumed with gay marriage, contraception and abortion. Americans polled tend to agree with his positions. Only four percent feel he's too conservative, seven percent, too liberal, and 87 percent say his position on these hot- button issues is about right. He's also confronted one of the most profound issues facing the Catholic Church, pedophile priests, forming a commission of both laypeople and clergy to address this. Sixty-one percent of Americans polled say Pope Francis is doing a good job on this issue. Compare that with his predecessor, Pope Benedict, who garnered a 56 percent bad rating on this issue in 2010. From his Twitter account, which has millions of followers, to reports of him personally telephoning the faithful who have written to him, Pope Francis has endeared himself to people all around the world. But even a superstar cannot compete with a child for the limelight.</s>JOHNS: Now, just to put the popularity of Pope Francis in perspective, we said just about 86 percent of American Catholics say he's in touch with the modern world. By comparison, more than half of American Catholics said Pope John Paul II was out of step with the times in 2003, near the end of his 26-year long papacy.</s>KEILAR: Fascinating numbers. Joe Johns, thank you so much. Coming up at the top of the hour, a special on Pope Francis as he celebrates his first Christmas midnight mass at the Vatican. We'll see parts of the service. We'll talk about his extraordinary first year as pope. That's coming up at 6:00 Eastern, 3:00 Pacific right here on CNN. And just ahead, 200 miles above the earth, spate - space walking, I should say -- American astronauts carry out a risky repair job. Senator Bill Nelson, a former astronaut, will be joining us to talk about it.