A recent Pew survey says nine out of 10 Americans are celebrating Christmas, but 55 percent of American adults say they celebrate Christmas as a religious holiday.

Cardinal Timothy Dolan, archbishop of New York who leads worshippers at St. Patrick's Cathedral, knows 2017 has been a tough year for the country. From natural disasters to racial tensions, and with a "toxic political climate" to sexual misconduct revelations sweeping the nation, he tried to answer a basic human question: How do you have hope when times seem bleak?

"God gives us the decisive answer. What he says at Christmas is this: Look, let's be realistic. … People walk in darkness but – but, but – light will prevail," Dolan said on "CBS This Morning," describing the day Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.

"Is it any wonder that we, that Jews and Christians, celebrate Hanukkah and Christmas together, at this dreary time of the year when we're wondering if there's going to be any light left in the world?" Dolan said, referring to winter solstice, the shortest day and longest night of the year. "The Feast of Lights for the Jews, the feast of the birth of the son of God, Christmas for Christians – it's like God saying, 'My dear people, I know what you're going through, alright? Every year you're wondering if we can keep at this. But believe me, hope will triumph over despair, faith will triumph over doubt, and light will trump darkness, ok?"'

Dolan says people always think "we're in the worst," and "yet, we always come through." To address the current political climate, Dolan used the example of the Watergate scandal and former President Nixon, describing the atmosphere as "dismal."

"We thought, 'Are we going to be able to survive this?' And darn it, we came through," Dolan said.

"It's like from the beginning of the human project, which is God's greatest work of art, we thought, are we going to survive? Are we going to persevere? Or is the darkness around us just going to suffocate us? And every year, we make it. And what God is saying is, trust is going to trump despair. Don't give up. The light is going to win. Goodness is going to be stronger than evil. Life is going to be stronger than death. There's Christmas, and I don't know about you, we need a little Christmas right this very moment."