>>> COMING UP, AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH THE DALAI LAMA, THE SPIRITUAL LEADER OF TIBETAN BUDDHISTS AND AN INTERNATIONAL SYMBOL OF PEACE AND COMPASSION.

FRED DE SAM LAZARO SPEAKS WITH HIM IN DHARAMSALA, INDIA.

>>> AND TEN YEARS AFTER HURRICANE KATRINA, KIM LAWTON RETURNS TO NEW ORLEANS FOR AN UPDATE ON SOME OF THE CHURCHES AND PEOPLE OF FAITH WE'VE COVERED SINCE THE DZED, INDIVIDUAL AND GROUP.

THAT'S WHY WE ARE YOUR RETIREMENT COMPANY.

>>> WELCOME.

I'M HARI SREENIVASAN SITTING IN FOR BOB ABERNETHY.

IT'S GOOD TO HAVE YOU WITH US.

>>> THIS WEEK, MOURNERS IN BANGKOK, THAILAND, PRAYED FOR THE VICTIMS OF A DEADLY BOMBING AT A PROMINENT SHRINE AT ONE OF THE CITY'S BUSIEST INTERSECTIONS.

22 PEOPLE WERE KILLED AND MORE THAN 120 WOUNDED BY THE EXPLOSION AT THE ERAWAN SHRINE, WHICH IS DEDICATED TO THE HINDU LORD BRAHMA AND ALSO HOLDS SIGNIFICANCE FOR THAILAND'S BUDDHISTS.

FAITH GROUPS AROUND THE WORLD INCLUDING THE HINDU AMERICAN FOUNDATION CONDEMNED THE ATTACK AND OFFERED CONDOLENCES TO THE VICTIMS' FAMILIES.

>>> AT THE VATICAN, POPE FRANCIS SPOKE OUT DURING HIS GENERAL AUDIENCE AGAINST THE HARMFUL EFFECTS OF UNEMPLOYMENT ON SOCIETY, ESPECIALLY FAMILIES.

ISSUES INVOLVING THE FAMILY, POVERTY, AND THE ENVIRONMENT ARE EXPECTED TO BE A MAJOR FOCUS OF THE POPE'S TRIP TO THE U.S. NEXT MONTH.

A NEW POLL SHOWS THAT ONLY A MINORITY OF AMERICAN CATHOLICS HAVE HEARD ABOUT FRANCIS'S RECENT ENCYCLICAL ON THE ENVIRONMENT.

4 IN 10 CATHOLICS WERE AWARE OF THE LETTER, AND OF THOSE, ONLY A QUARTER HAD HEARD ABOUT IT AT MASS.

>>> MEANWHILE, 60 ISLAMIC LEADERS FROM 20 COUNTRIES SIGNED A DECLARATION URGING MUSLIMS AND WORLD LEADERS TO TAKE SWIFT MEASURES TO FIGHT CLIMATE CHANGE.

THEY SAID ADDRESSING THE ISSUE IS A MORAL IMPERATIVE AND CITED THE EXAMPLE OF MUHAMMAD, WHO THEY SAID, "TOOK DELIGHT IN THE CREATED WORLD."

THEY ALSO CALLED FOR GREATER INTERFAITH COOPERATION, POINTING TO THE POPE'S ENCYCLICAL ON THE ENVIRONMENT.

THE VATICAN ISSUED A STATEMENT WELCOMING THE DECLARATION.

>>> IN OTHER NEWS, THE CHIEF OF THE U.N.'S WORLD FOOD PROGRAM, OR WFP, IS WARNING OF A POTENTIAL FAMINE IN YEMEN.

THE COUNTRY IS IN THE MIDST OF A DEVASTATING CIVIL WAR, AND HEAVY FIGHTING HAS BLOCKED FOOD AID FROM BEING DELIVERED THROUGH THE COUNTRY'S MAJOR PORTS.

THE WFP SAYS NEARLY 13 MILLION PEOPLE LACK PROPER ACCESS TO FOOD, AND THAT 6 MILLION ARE ON THE VERGE OF STARVING.

THE HEAD OF THE INTERNATIONAL RED CROSS SAID THE DESTRUCTION HE SAW IN YEMEN AFTER FIVE MONTHS OF CIVIL WAR WAS COMPARABLE TO THE DESTRUCTION HE OBSERVED IN SYRIA AFTER FIVE YEARS OF WAR.

>>> ALSO THIS WEEK, THERE WAS INTERNATIONAL OUTRAGE AFTER ISLAMIC STATE MILITANTS BEHEADED AN 81-YEAR-OLD SYRIAN ANTIQUITIES SCHOLAR IN THE ANCIENT CITY OF PALMYRA.

ARCHAEOLOGIST KHALED AL-ASAAD WAS KNOWN FOR HIS LONGTIME WORK TO PRESERVE PALMYRA, A UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE.

ISIS HAD CHARGED HIM WITH APOSTASY, ALLEGING HE WORKED WITH IDOLS.

THE HEAD OF UNESCO SAID AL-ASAAD'S WORK WILL LIVE ON, SAYING, "THEY MURDERED A GREAT MAN, BUT THEY WILL NEVER SILENCE HISTORY."

>>> NOW AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH ONE OF THE MOST REVERED FIGURES IN THE WORLD.

THE DALAI LAMA RECENTLY TURNED 80, BUT SHOWS NO SIGNS OF SLOWING 65 YEARS AFTER BECOMING THE SPIRITUAL AND TEMPORAL LEADER OF TIBET AND TIBETAN BUDDHISTS.

NOR IS HE WORRIED ABOUT WHO WILL SUCCEED HIM, OR EVEN IF THERE WILL BE A SUCCESSOR.

FRED DE SAM LAZARO TRAVELED TO SPEAK WITH HIM IN DHARAMSALA, INDIA, THE HOME OF TIBET'S GOVERNMENT IN EXILE.

>> Reporter: IN JUST THE PAST FEW WEEKS, HE'S APPEARED AT A MUSIC FESTIVAL IN ENGLAND, A PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY IN HOUSTON, AND A STADIUM NEAR LOS ANGELES.

THERE IS PERHAPS NO WORLD FIGURE TODAY WITH A MORE DIVERSE BASE OF FANS AND WELL-WISHERS.

WHY ARE YOU SO POPULAR GLOBALLY?

WHY ARE YOU A ROCK STAR?

>> I DON'T KNOW.

I NEVER PAY ATTENTION ABOUT THAT, WHY PEOPLE PRAISE ME.

♪ HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU ♪ ♪ HAPPY BIRTHDAY -- >> Reporter: AND EVEN AS HE CELEBRATED HIS 80th BIRTHDAY, HE SAID HE'S NOT CONCERNED ABOUT ANOTHER MATTER THAT'S ON MANY MINDS -- WHO WILL SUCCEED HIM?

OR, AS HE INCREASINGLY HAS SAID IN RECENT YEARS, WHETHER ANYONE WILL.

>> MANY PEOPLE SHOWING INTEREST ABOUT THE INSTITUTION OF DALAI LAMA.

FOR ME, NOT MUCH INTEREST.

>> Reporter: THAT'S SIGNIFICANT.

LIKE THE FAMILIAR LAUGH, HIS ROLE AS DALAI LAMA -- THE WORLD'S BEST KNOWN BUDDHIST LEADER -- HAS BEEN CENTRAL TO WHO HE IS.

THE REINCARNATION OF DALAI LAMAS GOING BACK SIX CENTURIES, LEADER OF A FABLED ONCE-UPON-A-TIME COUNTRY HIGH IN THE HIMALAYAS WHO FLED WITH U.S. HELP TO INDIA IN 1959 FOLLOWING A FAILED UPRISING AGAINST TIBET'S ANNEXATION BY MAO ZEDONG'S REVOLUTIONARY PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA.

TODAY, AT HIS HOME BASE IN DHARAMSALA, INDIA, HE KEEPS A FULL SCHEDULE.

IT BEGINS EARLY EACH MORNING AS A DIVERSE CROWD LINES UP FOR A CHANCE TO MEET HIM.

MANY ARE FROM THE TENS OF THOUSANDS OF TIBETANS WHO FOLLOWED HIM AND SETTLED IN INDIA.

HERE THE DALAI LAMA HAS ESTABLISHED CENTERS OF BUDDHIST LEARNING AND A SECULAR TIBETAN GOVERNMENT IN EXILE, ALLOWING HIM A LARGELY CEREMONIAL ROLE, HE SAYS.

>> FOR EXAMPLE, IN INDIA AT LEAST ABOUT 100 REALLY TOP SCHOLAR AND GENUINE PRACTITIONER.

THESE ARE HOLDER OF ALMOST 2000-YEAR-OLD TRADITION.

YOU SEE, IN 2011 I TOTALLY RETIRED.

NOW NO CONNECTION WITH POLITICAL RESPONSIBILITY.

>> Reporter: HE SAYS HE'S NOW FOCUSED ON HIS MORAL RESPONSIBILITY AS AN ADVOCATE FOR WORLD PEACE.

ONE THAT'S WON HIM NUMEROUS AWARDS INCLUDING THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE.

THAT PEACE, HE SAYS, MUST START WITH THE INDIVIDUAL, WITH COMPASSION FOR ONE'S FELLOW HUMAN BEINGS.

IT'S A MESSAGE THAT HE SAYS ISN'T UNIQUELY BUDDHIST.

>> ALL MAJOR RELIGIONS TEACH THE PRACTICE OF COMPASSION, LOVE, FORGIVENESS, AND TOLERANCE.

IF PEOPLE WHO REALLY, SERIOUSLY, SINCERELY FOLLOW THEIR OWN TRADITION, THEN BRINGS INNER PEACE.

THROUGH THAT WAY, GENUINE PEACE.

>> Reporter: HE WANTS TO SEE A COMMON ETHICS CURRICULUM TAUGHT IN SCHOOLS, HE SAYS, BECAUSE RELIGIOUS LEADERS HAVE TOO OFTEN FOCUSED ON EXCLUSION AND DIVISION, LEADING TO BOTH CONFLICT AND GROWING INEQUALITY BETWEEN AND WITHIN SOCIETIES.

>> LIKE AMERICA, VERY RICH COUNTRY BUT MANY PEOPLE POOR.

AND THEN INDIA AND CHINA NOW DEVELOPING GREAT POTENTIAL.

LIKE AFRICA ALSO, LOT OF POTENTIAL.

BUT I THINK THIS LACK OF MORAL PRINCIPLE, IN THAT RESPECT I THINK WE NEED SOME SORT OF LESSON, EDUCATION ABOUT SOCIALISM.

I AM SOCIALIST.

THEN FURTHERMORE AS FAR AS SOCIAL ECONOMY THEORY CONCERNED I AM MARXIST.

I AM BUDDHIST MARXIST.

>> Reporter: BUT HE SAYS POLITICAL LEADERS WHO PLEDGED THEMSELVES TO THE IDEALS OF MARXISM OR SOCIALISM HAVE NEVER DELIVERED.

HE SAYS ONE PROMINENT EXAMPLE, CHINA, IS NOW TRYING TO REGAIN ITS MORAL COMPASS.

ITS LEADER, XI JINPING, RECENTLY ACKNOWLEDGED A ROLE FOR ITS RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS, INCLUDING BUDDHISM.

>> IT'S UNTHINKABLE, A COMMUNIST, ATHEIST LEADER OF THAT EXPRESS PUBLICLY IMPORTANCE OF BUDDHISM IS SOMETHING QUITE UNIQUE.

SO THIS, I THINK THE REALITY NOW SHOWS JUST MATERIAL DEVELOPMENT ALONE WILL NOT GET SATISFACTION TO THE PUBLIC, TO THE PEOPLE.

>> Reporter: WHILE THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT AND COMMUNIST PARTY HAVE CALLED FOR MORE TOLERANCE AND RELIGIOUS FREEDOM, THEY HAVE CONDEMNED THE DALAI LAMA AS A SEPARATIST AND A PUPPET OF THE WEST.

WITH CHINA'S GROWING PROMINENCE IN GLOBAL TRADE, MANY WESTERN NATIONS HAVE BECOME MORE MUTED IN THEIR SUPPORT OF THE DALAI LAMA.

FOR HIS PART, THE EXILED LEADER, WHILE ALLEGING HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES AND THE DESTRUCTION OF TIBETAN CULTURE IN HIS HOMELAND, HAS MODERATED HIS DEMANDS.

>> WE SEEKING GENUINE AUTONOMY, NOT SEEKING INDEPENDENCE.

>> Reporter: BUT HE'S DRAWN A LINE IN THE SAND ON ONE ISSUE -- CHINA'S INSISTENCE THAT THE GOVERNMENT THERE APPROVE THE NEXT DALAI LAMA.

THE ANOINTING CAN TAKE YEARS AFTER THE DALAI LAMA'S DEATH, IN WHICH MONKS LOOK FOR SUPERNATURAL SIGNS TO LEAD THEM TO THE YOUNG BOY WHO IS THE REINCARNATION.

THE CURRENT DALAI LAMA, BORN OF SIMPLE PEASANT STOCK AS TENZIN GYATSO, WAS IDENTIFIED AT AGE FOUR AND INSTALLED AT 15, AFTER YEARS OF RIGOROUS STUDY.

>> AS FAR BACK AS 1969 I PUBLICLY STATED THIS INSTITUTION WHETHER SHOULD CONTINUE OR NOT IS ENTIRELY UP TO TIBETAN PEOPLE.

>> Reporter: IN THE MODERN AGE, WHEN DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCE AND BUDDHIST SCHOLARSHIP ARE MUCH MORE ACCESSIBLE, HE SAYS HE'S NOT SURE THERE'S A NEED FOR A NEW DALAI LAMA.

WHEN HE TURNS 90, HE SAYS HE'LL CONSULT ON THE QUESTION WITH RELIGIOUS ELDERS AND THE TIBETAN PEOPLE BEFORE DECIDING WHETHER TO BE REINCARNATED, LIKE HIS PREDECESSORS, OR WHETHER TO END THE TRADITION.

FOR NOW, IT'S A DECISION THAT THIS VERY PUBLIC FIGURE SAYS IS VERY PRIVATE.

>> THESE INNER VALUES AND WORLD PEACE AND HAPPY WORLD, THIS IS OUR COMMON RESPONSIBILITY.

ABOUT NEXT LIFE IS INDIVIDUAL BUSINESS.

OUR CONCEPT OF GOD, CONCEPT OF NIRVANA, CONCEPT OF NEXT LIFE IS PRIVATE BUSINESS.

>> Reporter: HIS DOCTORS SAY THAT HIS PASSING INTO THAT NEXT LIFE IS NOT LIKELY IMMINENT.

THE TRADEMARK LAUGH IS A SYMPTOM OF INNER PEACE AND HAPPINESS, THEY SAY, THE KEY TO A LONG LIFE.

FOR "RELIGION & ETHICS NEWSWEEKLY," THIS IS FRED DE SAM LAZARO IN DHARAMSALA, INDIA.

>>> LONGTIME CIVIL RIGHTS LEADER JULIAN BOND DIED THIS WEEK AT THE AGE OF 75.

HE JOINED THE 1960'S CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT WHEN HE WAS STUDENT AT MOREHOUSE COLLEGE AND BECAME ONE OF THE FOUNDING MEMBERS OF THE STUDENT NONVIOLENT COORDINATING COMMITTEE.

HE IS REMEMBERED FOR HIS LIFELONG ACTIVISM, INCLUDING HIS OPPOSITION TO THE VIETNAM WAR AND HIS SUPPORT OF GAY RIGHTS.

HE ALSO HELPED FOUND THE SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER AND SERVED MORE THAN A DECADE AS CHAIRMAN OF THE NAACP.

>>> THE DEAN OF WASHINGTON NATIONAL CATHEDRAL, GARY HALL, HAS ANNOUNCED THAT HE WILL STEP DOWN AT THE END OF THE YEAR.

HE SAID THE EPISCOPAL CATHEDRAL NEEDS DRASTIC FINANCIAL OVERHAULS DUE TO ITS SHRINKING ENDOWMENT AND REQUIRES A TEN-YEAR COMMITMENT FROM A LEADER.

UNDER HALL'S LEADERSHIP, THE CATHEDRAL BEGAN HOLDING SAME-SEX WEDDINGS AND EXPANDED ITS INTERFAITH EFFORTS, HOSTING A MUSLIM PRAYER SERVICE LAST YEAR.

MARIANN BUDDE, BISHOP OF THE EPISCOPAL DIOCESE OF WASHINGTON, WILL SERVE AS THE CATHEDRAL'S INTERIM DEAN.

>>> THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER DAY SAINTS, THE MORMONS, HAS APPOINTED THREE WOMEN TO LEADERSHIP COUNCILS THAT PREVIOUSLY ONLY MEN HAD SERVED ON.

MANY WELCOMED IT AS A HISTORIC MOVE FOR A CHURCH THAT HAS LONG RESERVED TOP LEADERSHIP POSITIONS FOR MEN ONLY, BUT OTHERS SAID THAT MUCH MORE NEEDS TO BE DONE.

THE DECISION COMES AMID A GROWING DEBATE ABOUT THE ROLE OF WOMEN IN THE CHURCH, WITH SOME CALLING FOR THE ALL-MALE PRIESTHOOD TO BE OPENED TO WOMEN.

>>> NEXT WEEK MARKS A DECADE SINCE THE DEVASTATING HURRICANE KATRINA HIT NEW ORLEANS AND SET OFF ONE OF THE MOST SERIOUS HUMANITARIAN CRISES EVER FACED IN THIS COUNTRY.

OVER THESE PAST TEN YEARS, MANAGING EDITOR KIM LAWTON AND OTHER "RELIGION & ETHICS NEWSWEEKLY" COLLEAGUES HAVE REPORTED ON THE ONGOING IMPACT OF KATRINA ON PEOPLE OF FAITH.

KIM LAWTON RETURNED FOR THIS UPDATE ON SOME OF THE PEOPLE AND PLACES WE'VE COVERED.

>> Reporter: IN THE ELEGANT SANCTUARY OF FRANKLIN AVENUE BAPTIST CHURCH, IT'S A PACKED HOUSE AT SUNDAY MORNING WORSHIP, EVEN AT THE 7:30 A.M. SERVICE.

THERE WAS A TIME TEN YEARS AGO, WHEN PASTOR FRED LUTER JR.

ALMOST GAVE UP HOPE THAT THIS CHURCH WOULD SURVIVE.

>> I THOUGHT THERE'S NO WAY WE CAN COME BACK.

>> Reporter: BUT ALMOST IMMEDIATELY, HIS CONGREGATION MEMBERS STARTED URGING HIM TO REBUILD.

SUPPORT STARTED COMING IN FROM ALL OVER THE COUNTRY.

WE WERE THERE AS VOLUNTEERS DONNED PROTECTIVE SUITS TO HELP COMPLETELY GUT THE BUILDING.

>> WE WOULD NOT BE WHERE WE ARE TODAY IF IT WASN'T FOR THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE FROM ACROSS THE COUNTRY, ALL OF THEM, THEY JUST CAME HERE, DIFFERENT DENOMINATIONS, DIDN'T MATTER, THEY JUST CAME AND SAW A CITY THAT WAS HURTING, AND THEY CAME TO OUR NEED.

>> Reporter: FRANKLIN AVENUE REOPENED ITS DOORS IN 2008.

SINCE THEN, LUTER SAYS THE CHURCH RECOMMITTED ITSELF TO HELPING PEOPLE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD.

>> WHEN WE CAME BACK AND REBUILT THIS SANCTUARY, I TOLD THE PEOPLE IT DOES NOT MAKE ANY SENSE TO BUILD A BEAUTIFUL SANCTUARY LIKE THIS AND NOT DO ANYTHING FOR THE COMMUNITY.

>> Reporter: HE SAYS BECAUSE OF KATRINA, HIS CONGREGATION HAS BECOME MORE CONCERNED ABOUT THE NEEDS OF OTHERS, WHEREVER THEY MAY BE.

>> WE NEED TO HELP THEM FOLK BECAUSE WE WALKED IN THEIR SHOES AT ONE TIME.

>> Reporter: AND LUTER SAYS OTHER POSITIVE THINGS HAVE COME FROM KATRINA.

FOR NEARLY THREE YEARS BEFORE THE CHURCH WAS REBUILT, HIS PREDOMINANTLY AFRICAN-AMERICAN CHURCH SHARED SPACE WITH THE PREDOMINANTLY-WHITE FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH, WHICH HAD SUFFERED MUCH LESS DAMAGE.

LUTER BECAME GOOD FRIENDS WITH FIRST BAPTIST PASTOR DAVID CROSBY.

WHEN LUTER WAS ELECTED AS THE FIRST BLACK PRESIDENT OF THE SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION IN 2012, IT WAS CROSBY WHO OFFICIALLY NOMINATED HIM.

HE SAYS THIS SEND AS POWERFUL MESSAGE AT A TIME IN THE NATION WHEN RACE RELATIONS ARE TENSE.

>> I THINK IT WAS A GREAT TESTIMONY TO THE COMMUNITY AND A GREAT TESTIMONY TO THE BODY OF CHRIST HOW A PREDOMINANTLY AFRICAN-AMERICAN CHURCH AND A PREDOMINANTLY ANGLO CHURCH CAME TOGETHER AS A RESULT OF THE TRAGEDY, BUT GOD TURNED THAT TRAGEDY INTO TRIUMPH.

♪♪ >> Reporter: AT THE EPISCOPAL CHRIST CHURCH CATHEDRAL, DEAN DAVID DUPLANTIER ALSO SEES SOME GOOD THINGS THAT HAVE COME IN KATRINA'S WAKE.

CHRIST CHURCH HAS HAD A PRESENCE IN NEW ORLEANS SINCE SHORTLY AFTER THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE IN 1803.

TEN YEARS AGO, OUR CREW FOLLOWED ALONG AS DUPLANTIER AND THE EPISCOPAL BISHOP AT THE TIME, CHARLES JENKINS, WERE AMONG THE FIRST EVACUATED CIVILIANS BACK IN THE FLOOD-RAVAGED CITY.

THE CATHEDRAL STILL STOOD, AND WITH RELATIVELY MINOR DAMAGE.

MUCH OF THE SURROUNDING AREA WAS NOT SO FORTUNATE.

DUPLANTIER SAYS THE EARLY DAYS AFTER KATRINA WERE A STRUGGLE FOR EVERYONE.

>> BECAUSE IT WAS DIFFICULT, WE GOT TO KNOW OUR NEIGHBORS IN THE SURROUNDING COMMUNITY IN A WAY THAT WE PROBABLY WOULDN'T HAVE OTHERWISE, BECAUSE WE DID ALL HAVE TO KIND OF WORK THROUGH IT TOGETHER.

AND SO IN THESE LAST TEN YEARS I WOULD SAY WE HAVE BEEN MUCH MORE PART OF THE COMMUNITY WHERE WE'VE BEEN A BUILDING FOR OVER A HUNDRED YEARS.

>> Reporter: SEEING THAT THE LACK OF DECENT, AFFORDABLE HOUSING WAS AND CONTINUES TO BE A MAJOR PROBLEM, CHRIST CHURCH LAUNCHED THE NONPROFIT JERICHO ROAD HOUSING INITIATIVE, WHICH HAS NOW BUILT MORE THAN 30 HOMES FOR LOW-INCOME WORKING FAMILIES.

FIFTEEN MORE ARE IN THE PRE-DEVELOPMENT STAGE.

DUPLANTIER AND JERICHO ROAD EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR NICOLE BARNES SHOWED ME THREE OF THEIR HOUSES IN WHAT WAS ONCE A BLIGHTED AND DRUG-INFESTED AREA.

>> THE TRANSFORMATION IS z&BDÑ.W UNIMAGINABLE THAT HAS HAPPENED HERE.

IT WAS AN AREA THAT PEOPLE WERE AFRAID TO DRIVE BY BEFORE, AND IT'S NOW AN AREA THAT FAMILIES LIVE, AND IT'S A DESIRABLE AREA.

>> Reporter: JERICHO ROAD LEADERS BELIEVE THAT BUILDING COMMUNITIES INVOLVES MORE THAN JUST BUILDING HOUSES.

THEY HAVE HELPED FORM NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS, PROVIDED LEGAL AND TAX ASSISTANCE, AND BEGUN MANAGING VACANT PROPERTIES.

THEY'VE CREATED PROJECTS SUCH AS COMMUNITY GARDENS AND ORCHARDS WHERE NEIGHBORS HELP GROW FRESH FRUIT AND VEGETABLES AND ORGANIZE ACTIVITIES TO PROMOTE HEALTH AND WELLNESS.

>> WE SEE THIS AS A CATALYST FOR INTERACTION, FOR NEIGHBORS, AND FOR THEM TO BECOME MORE COHESIVE AND DEPEND UPON EACH OTHER AND TO BE THERE FOR EACH OTHER.

>> Reporter: THREE MONTHS AFTER KATRINA, DUPLANTIER LED A SYMBOLIC FUNERAL SERVICE FOR THE CITY, FOLLOWED BY THE TRADITIONAL NEW ORLEANS SECOND-LINE PROCESSION.

IN THE SECOND LINE, THE MUSIC STARTS OUT MOURNFUL, BUT THEN TRANSITIONS TO JOY AND A CELEBRATION OF THE BELIEF IN RESURRECTION.

♪♪ I ASKED DUPLANTIER IF RESURRECTION HAS INDEED COME TO NEW ORLEANS.

>> I DO BELIEVE THAT THERE IS AN ENERGY AND A HOPEFULNESS AND SOME REAL SIGNS OF CHANGE THAT WE'VE SEEN IN THE CITY.

WE SEE A LOT OF WAYS THAT PEOPLE OF FAITH HAVE FOUND AN ENTREE INTO DOING GOOD THINGS, BUT ALSO DEEPENING THEIR UNDERSTANDING OF GOD'S PRESENCE AMONG ALL OF HUMANITY, AND I THINK THAT IS A GREAT SIGN OF REBIRTH.

>> Reporter: ACCORDING TO A NEW REPORT FROM THE NEW ORLEANS DATA CENTER, ALMOST HALF THE CITY'S NEIGHBORHOODS ARE BACK UP TO 90% OF THEIR PRE-KATRINA POPULATIONS.

BUT RECOVERY HAS BEEN UNEVEN.

SOME NEIGHBORHOODS ARE STILL STRUGGLING, ESPECIALLY HERE IN THE HARD-HIT LOWER NINTH WARD.

THIS REGION OF THE CITY SAW SOME OF THE MOST CATASTROPHIC FLOODING AFTER KATRINA.

MORE THAN 4,000 HOMES WERE DESTROYED.

IT WAS A SIGHT THAT DEEPLY MOVED EVANGELIST BILLY GRAHAM AND HIS SON, FRANKLIN, WHO VISITED A FEW MONTHS AFTER THE STORM.

TODAY, ONLY A SMALL NUMBER OF THE NEARLY 15,000 RESIDENTS HAVE RETURNED TO THE LOWER NINTH WARD.

MANY, BUT NOT ALL, OF THE ABANDONED BUILDINGS HAVE BEEN CLEARED.

THE ONCE BUSTLING STREETS ARE FILLED WITH VACANT LOTS.

IN THE HEART OF THE LOWER NINTH, ST. DAVID ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH REOPENED ITS DOORS IN 2009 AFTER BEING ALMOST COMPLETELY DESTROYED.

IN WHAT MANY PARISHIONERS BELIEVE WAS A MIRACLE, THE STAINED GLASS WINDOWS SURVIVED.

FATHER OSWALD PIERRE-JULES PIERRE JR., WHO WAS BORN IN HAITI, BECAME ST. DAVID'S PASTOR IN 2010.

>> MY IMPRESSION WAS I WAS GOING TO MEET A CONGREGATION THAT WAS DEPRESSED, A CONGREGATION THAT WAS KIND OF HOPELESS.

INSTEAD, I MET A CONGREGATION OF RESILIENT PEOPLE WHO HAVE HIGH HOPE.

>> Reporter: ONE OF PIERRE'S MAIN TASKS WAS TO GET THE CHURCH'S SCHOOL UP AND RUNNING AGAIN.

THAT HAPPENED IN JUNE 2014.

THE CHURCH BELIEVES IT'S A POSITIVE SIGN FOR AN AREA THAT STILL HAS FEW SERVICES AND BUSINESSES THAT WOULD ENCOURAGE MORE LOCAL RESIDENTS TO RETURN.

PIERRE ADMITS IT CAN BE CHALLENGING WHEN THE EFFECTS OF KATRINA ARE STILL SO PREVALENT.

>> THE IMPACT IS EVERYWHERE, IS EVERYWHERE.

BUT AT THE SAME TIME WE, ESPECIALLY WE AT ST. DAVID, OF COURSE, WE HAVE TO KEEP SAYING THAT IN GOD, BECAUSE WE ARE SERVING A GOD THAT IS GOOD ALL THE TIME, THINGS WILL BE BACK.

>> THEY'RE AN EXAMPLE OF PEOPLE WHO COULD HAVE LOST HOPE AND FAITH, BUT THEY DIDN'T.

>> Reporter: CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP GREGORY AYMOND IS FROM THE NEW ORLEANS AREA AND WAS ASSIGNED TO LEAD THE ARCHDIOCESE HERE SIX YEARS AGO.

AYMOND SAYS ACROSS THE CITY, LOCAL CHURCHES LIKE ST. DAVID'S HAVE BEEN VITAL IN HELPING COMMUNITIES RECOVER, REBUILD, AND HEAL.

>> THAT'S THE ROLE OF THE CHURCH, IS TO HELP PEOPLE TO LOOK BEYOND THE TRAGEDY, BEYOND THE PAIN, AND ALSO TO LOOK AT IT IN THE EYES OF FAITH.

>> Reporter: IT'S A ROLE THAT NEVER ENDS, AS REVEREND LANCE EDEN KNOWS ALL TOO WELL.

WE FIRST MET EDEN IN 2006, WHEN HE HAD BEEN OUT OF SEMINARY FOR LESS THAN A YEAR.

HE HAD BEEN ASSIGNED HIS FIRST PASTORING JOB THE PREVIOUS JUNE, AT FIRST STREET UNITED METHODIST CHURCH.

THEN KATRINA HIT.

>> GOD IS NOBLE.

>> SUDDENLY, THIS 26-YEAR-OLD BEGINNER WAS PREACHING AT FUNERAL AFTER FUNERAL AND DEALING WITH CRISIS AFTER CRISIS.

FIRST STREET WAS NOT SEVERELY DAMAGED, SO IT BECAME A KEY CENTER FOR VOLUNTEERS WHO CAME TO HELP.

>> IT WAS A GREAT MOMENT TO DO MINISTRY AND TO SERVE AND TO SHOW WHAT THE CHURCH IS REALLY ALL ABOUT.

>> Reporter: EDEN WORKED NONSTOP, TRYING TO MINISTER TO HIS CONGREGATION WHILE OVERSEEING VOLUNTEERS AND BECOMING A COMMUNITY ACTIVIST.

>> AND IT WASN'T TILL YEARS LATER, ALMOST THREE YEARS LATER, THAT I WAS ABLE TO EVEN DEAL WITH MY OWN EFFECTS OF KATRINA.

WE WERE SO BUSY WORKING WITH GETTING OTHERS BACK, WORKING TO HELP OTHERS RECOVER.

AND I FOUND A LOT OF SOLACE IN HELPING OTHERS, BUT THEN HAD TO DEAL WITH MYSELF AND MY OWN LOSS.

>> Reporter: HIS GRANDMOTHER'S HOME, WHERE HE HAD BEEN LIVING, WAS ALSO DESTROYED BY KATRINA.

THEY LOST EVERYTHING.

GRAVES IN THE FAMILY'S CEMETERY WERE DISLODGED.

SOME OF THE CASKETS WERE NEVER FOUND.

EDEN WENT THROUGH A PERIOD OF DEPRESSION.

HE SAYS READING SCRIPTURE AND HENRI NOUWEN'S CLASSIC BOOK THE WOUNDED HEALER HELPED HIM HEAL.

>> BEING REAL ABOUT WHAT I WAS STRUGGLING WITH HELPED MY CHURCH AND THE COMMUNITY UNDERSTAND THAT "HEY, HE'S STRUGGLING.

WE ALL ARE STRUGGLING, AND WE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER."

>> Reporter: EDEN LEFT FIRST STREET UNITED METHODIST AND HAS STARTED A NEW INDEPENDENT CONGREGATION CALLED BLESSINGS BEYOND INTERNATIONAL CHURCH.

>> THIS IS A REAL ROUGH COMMUNITY, NEIGHBORHOOD AREA FOR CRIME, HIGH CRIME, HUMAN TRAFFICKING, PROSTITUTION, ALL OF THAT, DRUG USE, IN THIS AREA.

>> Reporter: THE CHURCH INTENDS TO TARGET THE MARGINALIZED, ESPECIALLY YOUNG PEOPLE.

>> OUR PRAYER AND VISION IS TO BUILD OUR CHURCH, BUILD UP MINISTRIES THAT WE CAN REACH OUT TO THEM, SHOW THEM THEY HAVE A FUTURE AND A WHOLE, SOMETHING BETTER THAN WHAT'S OUT THERE IN THE STREETS.

>> Reporter: EDEN CONTINUES HIS SOCIAL ACTIVISM AND IS DEEPLY CONCERNED ABOUT THE CITY'S SOARING MURDER RATES.

>> AT THIS POINT IN TIME IN OUR CITY, OUR KATRINA IS THE CRIME ELEMENT.

THAT ISSUE, THE MURDERS, HAVE BEEN GREAT AND THAT STRUGGLE THAT WE'RE HAVING TO BRING THE COMMUNITY TOGETHER AND TO FIGHT THOSE ISSUES.

>> Reporter: INTERFAITH LEADERS ARE PLANNING A SERVICE AT NEW ORLEANS' ICONIC ST. LOUIS CATHOLIC CATHEDRAL TO MARK THE ANNIVERSARY OF HURRICANE KATRINA AND TO PRAY FOR GOD'S HELP IN THE CHALLENGES STILL FACING THEIR CITY.

IN THE BACK OF THE CATHEDRAL YARD IS A STATUE OF JESUS THAT WAS BATTERED DURING KATRINA.

A FINGER AND THUMB WERE BROKEN OFF OF JESUS' OUTSTRETCHED HAND.

TEN YEARS LATER, ARCHBISHOP AYMOND SAYS THE CATHEDRAL IS FINALLY REPLACING THEM.

>> THERE ARE MANY PEOPLE WHOM GOD HAS USED, JESUS HAS USED, TO BE HIS HANDS AND HIS HEART FOR US.

AND FOR THOSE WHO ARE STILL REBUILDING, HIS HANDS AND HIS HEART ARE STILL THERE.

AND WE WANT TO SHOW THAT BY REPLACING THE PART OF THE STATUE THAT HAD BEEN BROKEN.

>> Reporter: A POIGNANT SYMBOL, HE SAYS, OF THIS POST-KATRINA CITY AND THE FAITH THAT HAS SEEN IT THROUGH.

I'M KIM LAWTON IN NEW ORLEANS.

>>> THAT'S OUR PROGRAM FOR NOW.

I'M HARI SREENIVASAN.

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AS WE LEAVE YOU, MUSIC FROM FRANKLIN AVENUE BAPTIST CHURCH IN NEW ORLEANS.

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