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CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports

New Pope Selected

Aired April 19, 2005 - 17:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, Vatican rejoicing. A new leader sits on the throne of St. Peter's.
Stand by for hard news on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS.

White smoke, and ringing bells break the news. A billion Roman Catholics have a new leader: Pope Benedict XVI.

As a conservative cardinal, he was the Vatican's enforcer. As Holy Father, where will he lead the church? Does his name offer a clue?

ANNOUNCER: This is a special edition of WOLF BLITZER REPORTS. Pope Benedict XVI.

BLITZER: To our viewers in the United States and around the world, thanks very much for joining us. He's the 265th pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church, a successor to the Apostle Peter. Joseph Ratzinger, a German cardinal who worked closely with the late Pope John Paul II to make their church more conservative, now is the leader to some 1.1 billion Catholics worldwide. CNN's Jim Bittermann was at the Vatican today when a plume of white smoke and the peeling of bells announced the election of Pope Benedict XVI. Jim's joining us now live. Jim, what was it like?

JIM BITTERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, after days when things moved at a glacial pace, the election of the new pope came very quick.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BITTERMANN: At first, there was confusion. The smoke looked black, meaning no pope had been elected. Then the smoke looked white, suggesting a new pope had been elected. The crowd in St. Peter's Square cheered. But the bells that were supposed to mark the election of a new pope remained silent. For 10 minutes, the world waited and wondered. Then finally, just after 6:00 p.m. Rome time, 12:00 noon, in the Eastern United States, the bells began to ring. A new pope had been elected after only about 24 hours of deliberations. But who? The crowd in St. Peter's Square and television cameras beaming pictures around the world focused on the Vatican balcony.

Another 40 minutes passed. Then the doors open. Cardinal Jorge Arturo Medina Estevez of Chile made the dramatic announcement.

CARDINAL JORGE MEDINA ESTEVEZ, SENIOR CARDINAL DEACON: Ratzinger. BITTERMANN: Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger had been elected the 265th leader of the Roman Catholic church, the first Germanic pope in nearly a thousand years. The balcony of St. Peter's was draped, and it was announced that Cardinal Ratzinger had chosen the papal name Benedict XVI.

Just moments later, a huge cheer as the new pope emerged on the balcony. Pope Benedict XVI addressed the crowd. "Dear brothers and sisters," he said. "After the great Pope John Paul II, the cardinals have elected me, a simple humble worker in the vineyard of the Lord. I entrust myself," he continued, "to your prayers." After that, a blessing.

The crowd chanted, "Viva el Papa," Italian for "Long live the pope." Then with a final wave to the crowd, the new pope disappeared back inside the Vatican to have dinner with the cardinals who elected him.

Jim Bittermann, CNN, Rome.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BITTERMANN: And Wolf, we now know who was elected. The question now is, why he was elected. We expect to hear from the cardinals over the next few days, including the North American cardinals, who'll be holding a news conference tomorrow at 11:00 Rome time -- Wolf?

BLITZER: We'll be watching that. Jim Bittermann reporting for us from Rome. Thank you, Jim, very much.

The man now known as Benedict XVI has been a fixture in the Vatican for two decades, where his staunch defense of orthodox teachings sometimes won him the nickname "Cardinal No."

Joseph Ratzinger was born 78 years ago in Germany. He was ordained as a priest in 1951 and appointed cardinal in 1977. Four years later, Pope John Paul II made him head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, a body which defends Vatican guidelines. And it was as dean of the College of Cardinals that Ratzinger called his colleagues to Rome upon the death of John Paul.

For more on all this, we turn, as we often do, to Father David O'Connell. He's the president of the Catholic University of America right here in Washington. Yesterday, 24 hours ago exactly, Father, you were on this program. You said you would be surprised if it happened this quickly, although you thought by Thursday it would happen. Were you surprised that they selected Cardinal Ratzinger?

FATHER DAVID O'CONNELL, PRESIDENT, CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY: I was surprised by the quickness and also surprised by the choice. As you know, I mentioned once before, I didn't think -- I thought they were moving away from this momentum. And the fact that it happened so quickly, and it happened to the person whom everyone was saying was going to get it, was a surprise to me.

BLITZER: Because usually they pick someone who's pretty much of a surprise. Pope John Paul II, that was a huge surprise way back 26 years ago.

O'CONNELL: Yeah. I was very surprised. But then again, as I said once before, you know, I would have been surprised anyway. We don't have any way of knowing who is actually going to be selected, what was on the cardinals' minds as they walked through that door. But obviously, the fact that it happened so quickly is an indication of consensus. And I think it's an affirmation of what Pope Benedict XVI said in his homily as the conclave began.

BLITZER: Pretty speedy consensus reached indeed, 24 hours after the conclave opened, or closed, depending on your perspective. They closed those doors.

He's 78 years old. Pope John Paul II was 58 years old when he was elected pope. Does this mean that Pope Benedict XVI is a transitional pope, given his age?

O'CONNELL: Well, I think the label transitional would have probably been appropriate to whomever had been elected to follow John Paul II. But I don't think that the thought is so much that at the age of 78, we don't expect him to last. I think the cardinals in the conclave wanted to select someone who represented a perspective and a point of view. And the fact that this happened so quickly, once again, I think it solidified a spirit that was at work in that conclave.

BLITZER: I don't know about you, but when we heard those bells peal, we saw the white smoke, and a half-hour, 40 minutes later, they made the announcement, my initial reaction was they picked Ratzinger because they all knew him, the 114 other cardinal electors who were attending that conclave. He emerged very quickly as the consensus choice.

O'CONNELL: You know, he probably was one of the better-known cardinals in the group, given his position and also his reputation for closeness to Pope John Paul II. I mean, after all, as prefect of the doctrine -- Congregation of the Doctrine of Faith, he was the man who whispered in the ear of the pope what it was that he needed to say and what he needed to do in order to be the teacher of the universal church.

BLITZER: There are some already suggesting this is an opportunity lost for the Vatican. They could have picked a Latin American cardinal, someone to reach out outside of Europe. This was a moment, a historic moment to do so. Do you accept that argument, that it would have been a good opportunity to build bridges outside of Europe?

O'CONNELL: Well, it certainly would have been an opportunity, and much more than just a symbolic nod to other regions of the world. But the choice of a man whose primary responsibility was to guard and was to interpret and was to pronounce church teaching I think is a very telling thing as well. It obviously showed what was in the minds and the hearts of those cardinals as important for the church: clarity of teaching; clarity of point of view. BLITZER: You have a letter that he recently wrote to you -- and I don't know if you want to show our viewers that letter, but you were nice enough to show it to me a little while ago. He wrote to you, what?, last October, and he asked you to do something specifically. If you can tell our viewers what he asked you to do.

O'CONNELL: Sure. In October of last year, late October, Cardinal Ratzinger wrote to me. I'll just read you the first paragraph. "The Catholic Church has become increasingly concerned by the contemporary difficulty in finding a common denominator among moral principles held by all people." You see, this is very much in his mind.

BLITZER: Well, explain what he's driving at. What does he want you to do specifically?

O'CONNELL: Well, what he wants us to do, he wants Catholic University of America and some other universities in the United States to host a conference on the natural law, which he believes is the fundamental undergirding of our moral teaching in the church, and to do so not just in a way that says, "Well, this is the Catholic law or the Catholic doctrine," but to show how it's universally accessible to people of intellect and good will.

BLITZER: So you're going to do it?

O'CONNELL: Yes, I'm going to do it.

BLITZER: What are you going to do specifically?

O'CONNELL: Well, I'm going to learn German very quickly. That's for sure.

BLITZER: He speaks English, we're told, quite well.

O'CONNELL: He speaks English beautifully.

BLITZER: You've met him on a few occasions.

O'CONNELL: A couple occasions.

BLITZER: But you're going to hold this conference at Catholic University?

O'CONNELL: Hold this conference and join with some other universities in the United States and really try to do a very, very good job at presenting the fundamentals of moral teaching. And already our school of philosophy at Catholic University plans to devote the whole of next year, its lecture series, to this topic.

BLITZER: The inauguration mass is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. Rome time Sunday morning. That would be 4:00 a.m. Eastern time. You're going to be getting up early once again this Sunday.

O'CONNELL: You'd better believe it.

BLITZER: I'm sure many of your students will as well. Father David O'Connell, thanks very much for joining us as usual.

Let's get some more insight into what is happening. Our Vatican analyst Delia Gallagher is joining us now live. She's at the Vatican. Delia, walk us through. Between now and Sunday what happens?

DELIA GALLAGHER, CNN VATICAN ANALYST: Well, the first time we will probably officially see Pope Benedict XVI will be on Sunday morning for his inauguration mass. Tomorrow he will be having a mass in the Sistine Chapel with the cardinals. We hope to be able to see some of that as well. And of course we know that tonight he is having dinner with those same cardinals in their residence, the Casa Santa Marta where they have been staying for the duration of the conclave.

Obviously, quite a lot for Cardinal Ratzinger, Pope Ratzinger now, to think about in the next few days. He's got to reorganize his internal church, and he has got to think about how he's going to present himself to the world on Sunday. We'll be looking for his homily on Sunday to get some pointers as to what he considers the top issues for his papacy.

BLITZER: And Delia, there's already talk of this pope, Pope Benedict XVI, traveling outside of the Vatican. Tell our viewers what we know.

GALLAGHER: Well, of course there's the big World Youth Day appointment in August in Cologne in Germany in the pope's home country. And so that's surely an appointment that he's not going to miss, and it will be a very important appointment for him, because Pope John Paul II instituted World Youth Day, and it was a great success.

Now, this pope doesn't quite have that same presence in front of a huge crowd of people that John Paul II had. He doesn't have it yet. He may develop it. Or he may not. We may see a papacy which is a bit more serious, and not a great jamboree as Pope John Paul II was capable of conducting. But on the other hand, I think that nonetheless one will see Cardinal Ratzinger becoming Pope Ratzinger at that point. And we even saw it when he came out on the balcony tonight. The big smile and the raised hand sort of in a sense we'd never really seen him in that way. So I think we're seeing this transition from the doctrinal authority, which of course will remain, can't help but remain, he's a very intellectual man, but we will see him becoming pope. He has to become pope of this universal church, and that requires great, great pastoral skill, something which he will probably be showing in August in Cologne at that appointment for World Youth Day.

BLITZER: And briefly, Delia, in his words, the words that he uttered on that balcony today, the brief statement that he made, what if anything did we learn from this new pope?

GALLAGHER: Well, that was just a clear indication of how he is. He's a very humble, quiet, private sort of man. And he said, you know, I came from all of my defects, as it were, I hope that God and I hope that your prayers will help me. So a great sense of humility, and I think that that's something that the cardinals in the college recognize, personally knowing him here at the Vatican. They came to see that maybe this was the right choice for someone to carry on the legacy of Pope John Paul II, who was also himself of course a very holy, humble type of pope. So I think that that's an essential element to begin with for a pope, and then he will build on that.

BLITZER: Delia Gallagher, our Vatican analyst. Delia, thank you very much.

When we come back, well-known inside the Vatican, less so to the rest of the world. But who exactly is Joseph Ratzinger?

CNN's Paula Zahn will introduce us to the man who is now pope.

Also, who were the other 15 popes named Benedict? Some of their stories might surprise you.

Plus, we'll get reaction from around the world to this historic election.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: With millions of Roman Catholics around the world watching the presentation of the new pope, reaction came in very quickly.

Our Zain Verjee is keeping track of what's being said around the world. She joining us now live from the CNN Center -- Zain

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, many world leaders and Catholic parishioners praised the election of Pope Benedict XVI. In France the bells of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris rang to celebrate the election of the new pope. Crowds watching large television screens broke into applause when the new papal name was announced. It was a scene repeated in many other countries. Bells pealed at a cathedral in Mexico City. John Paul II was the first pope to visit Mexico, and many Mexican Catholics hope Benedict XVI will follow in his footsteps.

Similar sentiments were expressed in other Latin American countries. One Catholic worshiper in Buenos Aires, Argentina said, she took comfort in the new pope's long friendship with the old pope. One worshiper in Rio De Janeiro predicted that the new pope will set a conservative course. The acting president of the Brazilian Bishops Conference said the election of a European was not a surprise. But in Honduras some Catholics expressed disappointment that one of theirs was not selected. In Berlin German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder praised the selection of a German-born pope as a great honor for our whole country. A mass was scheduled in the German state of Bavaria, where the new pope was born 78-years-ago. And Wolf, a government statement from Israel expressed hope that as a German the new pope would be committed to fighting anti-Semitism -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Zain Verjee reporting for us. Zain, thank you very much. You didn't have to travel far to find international reaction to the election of the new pope. St. Peter's Square was filled with people from different countries, many of them waving flags from their various homelands. No doubt virtually all of them will remember today for the rest of their lives.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BROTHER CHARBEL GRBAVAC, NORBENTINE FRIAR: I got home and then some of my brothers were saying they're going to blow the smoke, they're going to blow the smoke. So we jumped on our mountain bikes, which is the quickest way to get around here in Rome, and then we went through the river, we got here all sweaty, got into the piazza, and then about 15, 20 minutes later we saw the pope come out.

We made jokes before we came on our honeymoon when we knew that the pope was ill and then of course had passed that we -- that John Paul II had ruined our honeymoon, that we would be sharing Rome with millions and millions and, you know, it was sort of unjust. And we're so glad and so blessed to have been here on this day to be able to see what has been going on here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Best wishes from the White House as well. The president offers praise and prayers for the new leader of the Catholic Church.

Also, when we come back, he was an uncompromising cardinal and a vigorous defender of the faith. We'll take a closer look at the man who became pope.

And what's in a name? When it comes to a pope, apparently a lot. We'll look to see what lies behind the name Benedict. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back. As we've mentioned, the new pope was a conservative cardinal, a defender and enforcer of church doctrine. For a closer look let's turn to our own Paula Zahn. She's standing by in New York. Paula?

PAULA ZAHN, HOST, "PAULA ZAHN NOW": Thanks so much, Wolf.

The sea of conjecture, I guess, is one thing that is pretty certain. Pope Benedict XVI isn't expected to shy away from his reputation as supreme keeper of the faith, and many theologians who've observed him over the years believe he will use his papacy to reaffirm Catholic traditions and stress the church's roots in Europe, even if that means having a smaller, more pure church.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ZAHN (voice-over): As a cardinal, Joseph Ratzinger headed one of the most important departments in the Vatican bureaucracy for more than 20 years. It's called the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. It's the office that three-and-a-half centuries ago was in charge of the Inquisition. Cardinal Ratzinger forcefully guarded the absolutes of the church, whether you're talking about theology or morality.

In his Monday sermon, before the beginning of the conclave, he argued that there are some truths that do not change, that can't be compromised, and criticized what he called the "dictatorship of relativism," which disregards the Catholic Church's teachings about god's eternal truths.

Over the years he has butted heads with theologians and teachers, silencing dissent, shutting down debate over issues such as homosexuality and the ordination of women.

The cardinal's critics accused him of helping Pope John Paul II put brakes on some of the reforms undertaken at the Second Vatican Council, to which Ratzinger was an adviser. He was considered a liberal back then. But his thinking changed in the turmoil of the student revolts of the late 1960s.

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger has been described by church watchers as a conservative's conservative. It's a reputation that follows him as he assumes his new job -- Pope of the Roman Catholic Church.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(on camera): One of the main criticisms aimed at the new pope involves his response to the church sex abuse scandal here in the United States. Back in 2002 he told a Catholic news service the scandal was, quote, "an intentional, manipulated desire to discredit the church," and blamed the press for overplaying the crisis. But today, despite that reputation and his polarizing stands, many church officials wish him well in his new role. Wolf?

BLITZER: Paula Zahn reporting for us. Paula, thank you very much.

He was a controversial cardinal, as Paula just reported. Plenty of critics. So what happened? Paula will be back in prime time 8:00 p.m. Eastern, a special edition of "PAULA ZAHN NOW," when CNN takes you behind the scenes for the intrigue, and looks to where Pope Benedict XVI will take the church. Our prime time coverage will begin at 7:00 p.m. Eastern, 7:00 p.m. Eastern, with "ANDERSON COOPER 360."

We just heard only a few moments ago from Bishop William Skylstad. He's the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. He spoke out and offered this reaction to the new pope.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BISHOP WILLIAM SKYLSTAD, PRES. US CONF. OF BISHOPS: I've had the pleasure of meeting Pope Benedict in his role as prefect of the Congregation of the Faith. In my conversation with him, I have found him to be a man of great humility, keen intellect, and a good listener, with a fine sense of humor. His extensive experience in church leadership is combined with a profound academic background. His intellectual curiosity is wide-ranging. He has a genuine grasp of the theological and social issues which we have faced -- which have faced the church for the last two centuries. He is a scholar as well as a committed churchman.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Bishop William Skylstad, the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, speaking out only a few moments ago.

Day one of the new pontificate coming to a close at the Vatican. We'll take you back there live for more on the day's historic events.

Also, it's a name loaded with history. We'll look at the other popes named Benedict.

Plus, what American Catholics are saying about their new spiritual leader. We'll go live to St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: From our studios in Washington, once again, Wolf Blitzer.

BLITZER: Welcome back.

An historic day at the Vatican for the Roman Catholic Church and for Catholics around the world. Plumes of smoke from the roof of the Sistine Chapel, the first sign of a new papacy. But it was hard to tell the color, at least initially.

It was only about 10 minutes later when the designated bells of St. Peter's began to ring, that we knew for absolute certain a new pope had in fact been elected. Minutes later the announcement in Latin.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MEDINA ESTEVEZ: Josephum.

(SPEAKING IN LATIN) Cardinal Ratzinger.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: It was then that we learned the German Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger had been elected pontiff, taking the name Benedict XVI. And a few minutes after that, he made his first appearance as pope, offering his greetings and blessings to the city and the world.

For more on the day's events, we're joined now by our CNN Vatican analyst John Allen. He's also the author of a book on the former Cardinal Ratzinger called, "the Vatican's Enforcer of Faith."

You know a great deal about this man. Talk a little bit about this definition of "enforcer of faith."

JOHN ALLEN, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT, AUTHOR "THE VATICAN'S ENFORCER OF FAITH": Hi, Wolf.

Well, you know, to some extent, of course, this has been, the pope, the former Cardinal Ratzinger's job description for the last 24 years. He's been the head of the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. That's the historical successor to the Holy Inquisition. And it has been his job to police the doctrinal boundaries of Roman Catholicism, on issues such as liberation theology in the '80s, this movement to align Catholicism with movements for social change in Latin America; on issues such as homosexuality, which a famous document of his in 1986 referred to as an "inclination to intrinsic moral evil;" on issues such as religious pluralism, reinforcing his view that Christianity is a privileged religious system and that followers of other religions are in what he called a "gravely deficient" position with respect to Christians.

Now, all of these are strong stands, to some extent polarizing stands, that have made the former Cardinal Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, somewhat of a divisive figure both in Roman Catholicism and also internationally. I think it will be fascinating to see, in the coming days, how he makes this transition from being, in effect, the Vatican's chief enforcer to now being pope, not just of those who agree with those positions, but, frankly of many Roman Catholics who do not. And of course as pope he has to be the pastor of everyone.

So, I'm sure that elements in the church and outside it, in the coming days, will be watching for indications of how he intends to engineer this transition that lies ahead of him.

BLITZER: John Allen, our Vatican analyst, helping us better understand the new pope. John, thank you very much.

When Joseph Ratzinger decided to call himself Benedict XVI, he may have given us a clue about his goals for his own papacy and for the church he leads.

Our Brian Todd is live at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception here in Washington with more on that -- Brian.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, church historians say that when popes are elected they are very conscious of history and often look back to the great popes in their selection of a name. But a look at history in this case may provide more questions than answers.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(SINGING)

TODD (voice-over): He calls himself a simple, humble worker in the vineyard of the Lord, but the new pope's choice of a name is a surprise to church historians.

KEN PENNINGTON, HISTORIAN, CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY: Although there have been many Benedicts, there's never been a great Benedict in the past. TODD: But could this be an effort to soften his image as a doctrinal hard-liner, resistant to reform? Consider his predecessor in name. Pope Benedict XV was widely known as a moderate, who quelled a campaign started by his immediate predecessor to crack down on church reformists.

PENNINGTON: Benedict was a pope who tried to bring the church into the modern age, and he did it relatively successfully.

TODD: But for Benedict XV, the pontificate was dominated by World War I and its turbulent aftermath. An Italian, born Giacomo della Chiesa, he was elected to the papacy right after the war's outbreak in 1914. He called it "the suicide of civilized Europe," and did everything he could to end the destruction. But in his effort to remain neutral, Benedict himself was neutralized.

PENNINGTON: He attempted to bring both sides to the peace table, unsuccessfully, and unfortunately, both sides were enormously suspicious of him for doing it.

TODD: The major powers largely ignored an elaborate peace plan Benedict drew up, and he was given virtually no role in post-war negotiations. Benedict did try to improve Vatican relations with France after the war by canonizing the French heroine Joan of Arc. Benedict XV died of pneumonia in 1922.

Other pope Benedicts date back to the year 575. One of them, Benedict VI, was strangled to death on orders from a rival aristocratic Roman family. Benedict IX, selected pope as a teenager, was considered so lacking in moral restraint that he was forced out of Rome twice, resigned three separate times and ended up selling his papacy to a rival.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(on camera): But that was almost 10 centuries ago, and historians believe it's the legacy of Benedict XV, his spirit of unity and peace, that the man formerly known as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger seeks to emulate. Wolf?

BLITZER: Brian Todd reporting for us. Thank you, Brian. Very interesting material.

When we come back, U.S. reaction: we'll hear what the American president said and American Catholics, what they have to say about the new pope.

Catholic controversy: we'll hear from a critic of the new pope as well and from a long-time defender of this defender of the faith.

And it's been a day of dramatic images and sounds, which for many will last a lifetime. We take one more look and listen.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Returning from a trip to Illinois just a short while ago, president and Mrs. Bush stopped on the south lawn of the White House to offer their best wishes to the new pope.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Laura and I offer our congratulations to Pope Benedict XVI. He's a man of great wisdom and knowledge. He's a man who serves the Lord. We remember well a sermon at the pope's funeral in Rome, how his words touched our hearts and the hearts of millions. We join with our fellow citizens and millions around the world who pray for continued strength and wisdom as His Holiness leads the Catholic Church.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: For reaction from everyday people our Mary Snow went to St. Patrick's Cathedral. She's joining us live from there now. That's in New York City -- Mary.

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, here outside New York's largest Catholic church there is no shortage of opinion about the selection of the new pope. That opinion split between optimism and disappointment.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SNOW (voice-over): On New York's 5th Avenue outside St. Patrick's Cathedral there were no white smoke signals to announce the choice of the new pope, Benedict XVI. Instead reporters delivered the news and quickly people weighed in on the choice of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of Germany. Freia Thoman, a native German, said part of her is proud because she shares the same heritage with Ratzinger.

FREIA THOMAN, GERMANY: A German cardinal is pope. I am proud. The other part, I am a little -- I think this is not so good.

SNOW: Thoman thinks Ratzinger is too conservative and too similar to Pope John Paul II. That closeness brought both praise and disappointment.

MARY SULIVAN, CONNECTICUT: I think it's great because he's going to follow along in Pope John II's footsteps.

CHUCK BRADY, NEW JERSEY: I was just hoping for somebody who's more open to people with problems and birth control. And, you know, women in the church and, you know -- the last pope wasn't that way.

SNOW: Others noted that Ratzinger's age sent a message in himself.

RICHARD DOWD, CONNECTICUT: He's 78-years-old. So it does say that they're not looking for someone who's going to be pope for the next 20 years.

MARY DOWD, CONNECTICUT: It seems like a safe thing to do at the moment. They're carrying on John Paul's legacy until they decide which way they want to go.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SNOW: And New York's Cardinal Edward Egan speaking in Rome, calling Ratzinger one of the great theological minds of our time. He says he's known him for many years, calling him a humble and lovely gentleman -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Mary Snow, very interesting comments from those Catholics in New York.

Thanks, Mary, very, very much.

And not everyone agrees that the new pope, Benedict XVI, is the kind of leader the Roman Catholic Church needs right now.

Joining us now from Vatican City to talk about that is Father Mark Francis. He's head of the Clerics of St. Viator. Father, thank you very much for joining us.

You would have wanted someone more open to reform, is that right?

REV. MARK FRANCIS, CLERICS OF ST. VIATOR: Well, I was kind of in a certain sense disappointed, though obviously after the short number of ballots that was the opinion of the majority of the cardinals. And they apparently are opting for kind of a caretaker pope for a number of years before the dust settles, and they can decide on someone who perhaps would be a bit more dynamic.

BLITZER: Did you really expect in the immediate aftermath of Pope John Paul II they would take that dramatic step right away, to get a reformer, if you will, someone who would move away from the orthodoxy of John Paul II?

FRANCIS: I don't think they would have chosen someone who was a flaming liberal, if you will. But I think that after John Paul II he's a very difficult act to follow. I think that the hardest thing that this pope has got to contend with is the way in which the previous pope, John Paul II, has really used the papacy as a way of bringing people together and reaching out in terms of the faith.

This pope is much more retiring, he's more academic, and he's a good theologian in his own way. But the kinds of solutions he's offering for the church these days is probably not going to be accepted as well in -- especially in the North Atlantic world, in Europe and the United States, as it would be perhaps in other places.

BLITZER: Some of his supporters point out that the description you just brought was in part, at least in large part the result of the job that he had in the past 20 years, in effect as enforcer of the Catholic doctrine. Now that he is pope, Pope Benedict XVI, we might see a different side of this man.

FRANCIS: I think that's very possible. And given his new responsibilities, he is the Holy Father for all Catholics. He's not just concerned with trying to maintain discipline within the church and the theological ranks. And to a large extent, I know from many people that he is a wonderfully warm person in private. And so I think perhaps we may be surprised by the kind of posture he'll be taking in the future in regard to many kinds of issues, at least a softer kind of pastoral approach than kind of the hard-line approach that he took as -- in charge of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

BLITZER: So Father, I suppose what I'm hearing from you is you have an open mind right now and you're willing to wait and see what happens.

FRANCIS: Well, I think we all need to do that. As just people who love the church, we need to wish the best for this Holy Father, that he start off on a good foot, that he have our support. And that we in a real sense accompany him in prayer right now and try to hope for the best.

BLITZER: Father Mark Francis, appreciate your thoughts tonight. Thank you very much for joining us.

And coming up at the top of the hour, "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT."

Lou standing by in New York with a preview -- Lou.

LOU DOBBS, HOST "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT": Wolf, thank you. We'll also have much more on the new pontiff. At 6:00 p.m. Eastern, at the top of the hour here on CNN. We'll also be reporting tonight on the theft of personal financial information. One and half million Americans have lost all of that information as a result of a shoe company. Identity theft is now a national epidemic.

Also, illegal alien give away, U.S. Senators appear now ready to support legalization of nearly a million illegal aliens. In this country some are saying they're selling out to agricultural interests, while those same senators are absolutely unwilling to move forward with a bill to tighten our border security and immigration laws despite the promises of the Republican leadership in the U.S. Senate.

And China's unfair trade practices, nothing less than a threat to our economy and national security. Tonight I'll be talking with two leading congressmen who say China's time for excuses has ended.

All of that and a great deal more coming up at the top of the hour. Please join us.

Now back to Wolf Blitzer -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Thank you very much, Lou. We will be joining you. "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT," that starts in about 12 minutes or so from now.

So what is the new pope really like? David Schindler has known Cardinal Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, for 20 years. We'll talk with him right after the break.

Also ahead, another look at the sights and sounds of this very historic and dramatic day.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BLITZER: Welcome back. We're continuing our analysis of Pope Benedict XVI. Our next guest is someone who knows this man, has known him for some time, about 20 years. David Schindler is the dean of the John Paul II Institute for the Study of Marriage and Family here in Washington at Catholic University. He's also the editor of "Communio," a journal co-founded by former Cardinal Ratzinger. You've known this man. What do you make of this selection?

DAVID SCHINDLER, JOHN PAUL II INSTITUTE: I think it's a wonderful selection. I think he's really a man of God, and as many people have said, he's a humble man and simple man, and very a self- effacing man.

BLITZER: So he's the right man at the right time for this job?

SCHINDLER: I think so. I think he's an excellent teacher. And he's very clear. And he has one of the finest minds of any person I've ever met, really. He's acute.

BLITZER: What was he like to work with? Because you got to know him in that sense.

SCHINDLER: He is so interested in what you have to say, and the man has a kind of child-like wonder and a keen interest in what you have to say. And he gets immediately really engaged in that, and you forget. There are no trappings of power. He's so unpretentious.

BLITZER: Does he understand American Catholics and the problems -- shall we say, some of the unique problems that American Catholics, the Catholic Church in the United States has had to go through these past few years?

SCHINDLER: I'm sure he does. And I think the essential thing, I think he has a deep understanding of the faith, and in that context he's very eager to learn about the various cultural situations and to interpret them in light of the faith.

BLITZER: What was his reaction in dealing with the whole allegations that priests were abusing -- were engaging in sexual abuse over the years? It was a huge scandal and still remains to many Catholics a source of deep concern.

SCHINDLER: You know, I've spoken with him a number of times since then, but not about this. But I would say, you know, there's a lot of discussion about this question of relativism, and I think it's important to see that it's precisely his non-relativism that enables him to really make an unequivocal distinction between moral right and moral wrong in the case of the abuse of -- sexual abuse of children.

BLITZER: Is there a sense right now that -- and we've been -- this has been a theme that we've been hearing now for the past several hours, since he's 78 years old -- Pope John Paul II was 58 years old when he became the pontiff -- that he is in effect a transitional pope.

SCHINDLER: It's scarcely possible to think, if you know this man, to think of him as a transitional anything or merely a caretaker. He's not that kind of a person. And I think he will be decisive, but he will be decisive in a humble way, and in a way that carries forward, I think, the legacy of the man that he worked with, John Paul II.

BLITZER: And the criticism that we've heard, he's conservative, he's a hard-liner, that he really doesn't have an open mind on some of these very sensitive issues.

SCHINDLER: Well, he's going to be a guardian of the faith, the integrity of the faith of the church, and that's clear, and he's very clear about that. But he's clear about that in the context of a service to the truth in love.

BLITZER: So when American Catholics and the rest of the world get to know him, they will like him. Is that what you're saying?

SCHINDLER: You know, I think in an interesting way, people contrast him with the pope who was very -- the former pope, who was very effervescent, not shy in the way that Ratzinger, now Benedict XVI, is shy. But he has a simplicity and a directness and this child- likeness that is extremely engaging, and I think people will be surprised at how engaging he is, and find him very attractive, as just as a warm human being.

BLITZER: Professor Schindler, we'll be anxious to get to know him. Thank you very much for sharing some thoughts with us.

SCHINDLER: Thank you very much for having me.

BLITZER: Appreciate it very much, professor David Schindler.

When we come back, modern technology beams ancient rites around the world. We'll show you the highlights of this historic day at the Vatican.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: The selection of a pope is an event that often occurs just once in a generation. Here's one more look at today's events.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MEDINA ESTEVEZ: Habemus papam.

(CHEERS)

MEDINA ESTEVEZ: Sante Romane Eglizio (ph), Cardinale Ratzinger.

(CHEERS)

POPE BENEDICT XVI, LEADER OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH (through translator): Dear brothers and sisters, after the great John Paul II, the cardinals have elected me, a simple and humble worker on the vine of the Lord. It consoles me, the fact that the Lord knows how to work and to act even with insufficient instruments. And above all, I trust in your prayers.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: And I think I speak on behalf of all of our viewers, we wish the new pope well.

A reminder: You can catch us again tomorrow at this time, 5:00 p.m. Eastern. See you at noon as well. Until then, thanks very much for joining us.

"LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" starts right now. Lou standing by -- Lou.

DOBBS: Thank you, Wolf, have a great evening.

END

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com


Aired April 19, 2005 - 17:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, Vatican rejoicing. A new leader sits on the throne of St. Peter's.
Stand by for hard news on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS.

White smoke, and ringing bells break the news. A billion Roman Catholics have a new leader: Pope Benedict XVI.

As a conservative cardinal, he was the Vatican's enforcer. As Holy Father, where will he lead the church? Does his name offer a clue?

ANNOUNCER: This is a special edition of WOLF BLITZER REPORTS. Pope Benedict XVI.

BLITZER: To our viewers in the United States and around the world, thanks very much for joining us. He's the 265th pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church, a successor to the Apostle Peter. Joseph Ratzinger, a German cardinal who worked closely with the late Pope John Paul II to make their church more conservative, now is the leader to some 1.1 billion Catholics worldwide. CNN's Jim Bittermann was at the Vatican today when a plume of white smoke and the peeling of bells announced the election of Pope Benedict XVI. Jim's joining us now live. Jim, what was it like?

JIM BITTERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, after days when things moved at a glacial pace, the election of the new pope came very quick.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BITTERMANN: At first, there was confusion. The smoke looked black, meaning no pope had been elected. Then the smoke looked white, suggesting a new pope had been elected. The crowd in St. Peter's Square cheered. But the bells that were supposed to mark the election of a new pope remained silent. For 10 minutes, the world waited and wondered. Then finally, just after 6:00 p.m. Rome time, 12:00 noon, in the Eastern United States, the bells began to ring. A new pope had been elected after only about 24 hours of deliberations. But who? The crowd in St. Peter's Square and television cameras beaming pictures around the world focused on the Vatican balcony.

Another 40 minutes passed. Then the doors open. Cardinal Jorge Arturo Medina Estevez of Chile made the dramatic announcement.

CARDINAL JORGE MEDINA ESTEVEZ, SENIOR CARDINAL DEACON: Ratzinger. BITTERMANN: Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger had been elected the 265th leader of the Roman Catholic church, the first Germanic pope in nearly a thousand years. The balcony of St. Peter's was draped, and it was announced that Cardinal Ratzinger had chosen the papal name Benedict XVI.

Just moments later, a huge cheer as the new pope emerged on the balcony. Pope Benedict XVI addressed the crowd. "Dear brothers and sisters," he said. "After the great Pope John Paul II, the cardinals have elected me, a simple humble worker in the vineyard of the Lord. I entrust myself," he continued, "to your prayers." After that, a blessing.

The crowd chanted, "Viva el Papa," Italian for "Long live the pope." Then with a final wave to the crowd, the new pope disappeared back inside the Vatican to have dinner with the cardinals who elected him.

Jim Bittermann, CNN, Rome.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BITTERMANN: And Wolf, we now know who was elected. The question now is, why he was elected. We expect to hear from the cardinals over the next few days, including the North American cardinals, who'll be holding a news conference tomorrow at 11:00 Rome time -- Wolf?

BLITZER: We'll be watching that. Jim Bittermann reporting for us from Rome. Thank you, Jim, very much.

The man now known as Benedict XVI has been a fixture in the Vatican for two decades, where his staunch defense of orthodox teachings sometimes won him the nickname "Cardinal No."

Joseph Ratzinger was born 78 years ago in Germany. He was ordained as a priest in 1951 and appointed cardinal in 1977. Four years later, Pope John Paul II made him head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, a body which defends Vatican guidelines. And it was as dean of the College of Cardinals that Ratzinger called his colleagues to Rome upon the death of John Paul.

For more on all this, we turn, as we often do, to Father David O'Connell. He's the president of the Catholic University of America right here in Washington. Yesterday, 24 hours ago exactly, Father, you were on this program. You said you would be surprised if it happened this quickly, although you thought by Thursday it would happen. Were you surprised that they selected Cardinal Ratzinger?

FATHER DAVID O'CONNELL, PRESIDENT, CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY: I was surprised by the quickness and also surprised by the choice. As you know, I mentioned once before, I didn't think -- I thought they were moving away from this momentum. And the fact that it happened so quickly, and it happened to the person whom everyone was saying was going to get it, was a surprise to me.

BLITZER: Because usually they pick someone who's pretty much of a surprise. Pope John Paul II, that was a huge surprise way back 26 years ago.

O'CONNELL: Yeah. I was very surprised. But then again, as I said once before, you know, I would have been surprised anyway. We don't have any way of knowing who is actually going to be selected, what was on the cardinals' minds as they walked through that door. But obviously, the fact that it happened so quickly is an indication of consensus. And I think it's an affirmation of what Pope Benedict XVI said in his homily as the conclave began.

BLITZER: Pretty speedy consensus reached indeed, 24 hours after the conclave opened, or closed, depending on your perspective. They closed those doors.

He's 78 years old. Pope John Paul II was 58 years old when he was elected pope. Does this mean that Pope Benedict XVI is a transitional pope, given his age?

O'CONNELL: Well, I think the label transitional would have probably been appropriate to whomever had been elected to follow John Paul II. But I don't think that the thought is so much that at the age of 78, we don't expect him to last. I think the cardinals in the conclave wanted to select someone who represented a perspective and a point of view. And the fact that this happened so quickly, once again, I think it solidified a spirit that was at work in that conclave.

BLITZER: I don't know about you, but when we heard those bells peal, we saw the white smoke, and a half-hour, 40 minutes later, they made the announcement, my initial reaction was they picked Ratzinger because they all knew him, the 114 other cardinal electors who were attending that conclave. He emerged very quickly as the consensus choice.

O'CONNELL: You know, he probably was one of the better-known cardinals in the group, given his position and also his reputation for closeness to Pope John Paul II. I mean, after all, as prefect of the doctrine -- Congregation of the Doctrine of Faith, he was the man who whispered in the ear of the pope what it was that he needed to say and what he needed to do in order to be the teacher of the universal church.

BLITZER: There are some already suggesting this is an opportunity lost for the Vatican. They could have picked a Latin American cardinal, someone to reach out outside of Europe. This was a moment, a historic moment to do so. Do you accept that argument, that it would have been a good opportunity to build bridges outside of Europe?

O'CONNELL: Well, it certainly would have been an opportunity, and much more than just a symbolic nod to other regions of the world. But the choice of a man whose primary responsibility was to guard and was to interpret and was to pronounce church teaching I think is a very telling thing as well. It obviously showed what was in the minds and the hearts of those cardinals as important for the church: clarity of teaching; clarity of point of view. BLITZER: You have a letter that he recently wrote to you -- and I don't know if you want to show our viewers that letter, but you were nice enough to show it to me a little while ago. He wrote to you, what?, last October, and he asked you to do something specifically. If you can tell our viewers what he asked you to do.

O'CONNELL: Sure. In October of last year, late October, Cardinal Ratzinger wrote to me. I'll just read you the first paragraph. "The Catholic Church has become increasingly concerned by the contemporary difficulty in finding a common denominator among moral principles held by all people." You see, this is very much in his mind.

BLITZER: Well, explain what he's driving at. What does he want you to do specifically?

O'CONNELL: Well, what he wants us to do, he wants Catholic University of America and some other universities in the United States to host a conference on the natural law, which he believes is the fundamental undergirding of our moral teaching in the church, and to do so not just in a way that says, "Well, this is the Catholic law or the Catholic doctrine," but to show how it's universally accessible to people of intellect and good will.

BLITZER: So you're going to do it?

O'CONNELL: Yes, I'm going to do it.

BLITZER: What are you going to do specifically?

O'CONNELL: Well, I'm going to learn German very quickly. That's for sure.

BLITZER: He speaks English, we're told, quite well.

O'CONNELL: He speaks English beautifully.

BLITZER: You've met him on a few occasions.

O'CONNELL: A couple occasions.

BLITZER: But you're going to hold this conference at Catholic University?

O'CONNELL: Hold this conference and join with some other universities in the United States and really try to do a very, very good job at presenting the fundamentals of moral teaching. And already our school of philosophy at Catholic University plans to devote the whole of next year, its lecture series, to this topic.

BLITZER: The inauguration mass is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. Rome time Sunday morning. That would be 4:00 a.m. Eastern time. You're going to be getting up early once again this Sunday.

O'CONNELL: You'd better believe it.

BLITZER: I'm sure many of your students will as well. Father David O'Connell, thanks very much for joining us as usual.

Let's get some more insight into what is happening. Our Vatican analyst Delia Gallagher is joining us now live. She's at the Vatican. Delia, walk us through. Between now and Sunday what happens?

DELIA GALLAGHER, CNN VATICAN ANALYST: Well, the first time we will probably officially see Pope Benedict XVI will be on Sunday morning for his inauguration mass. Tomorrow he will be having a mass in the Sistine Chapel with the cardinals. We hope to be able to see some of that as well. And of course we know that tonight he is having dinner with those same cardinals in their residence, the Casa Santa Marta where they have been staying for the duration of the conclave.

Obviously, quite a lot for Cardinal Ratzinger, Pope Ratzinger now, to think about in the next few days. He's got to reorganize his internal church, and he has got to think about how he's going to present himself to the world on Sunday. We'll be looking for his homily on Sunday to get some pointers as to what he considers the top issues for his papacy.

BLITZER: And Delia, there's already talk of this pope, Pope Benedict XVI, traveling outside of the Vatican. Tell our viewers what we know.

GALLAGHER: Well, of course there's the big World Youth Day appointment in August in Cologne in Germany in the pope's home country. And so that's surely an appointment that he's not going to miss, and it will be a very important appointment for him, because Pope John Paul II instituted World Youth Day, and it was a great success.

Now, this pope doesn't quite have that same presence in front of a huge crowd of people that John Paul II had. He doesn't have it yet. He may develop it. Or he may not. We may see a papacy which is a bit more serious, and not a great jamboree as Pope John Paul II was capable of conducting. But on the other hand, I think that nonetheless one will see Cardinal Ratzinger becoming Pope Ratzinger at that point. And we even saw it when he came out on the balcony tonight. The big smile and the raised hand sort of in a sense we'd never really seen him in that way. So I think we're seeing this transition from the doctrinal authority, which of course will remain, can't help but remain, he's a very intellectual man, but we will see him becoming pope. He has to become pope of this universal church, and that requires great, great pastoral skill, something which he will probably be showing in August in Cologne at that appointment for World Youth Day.

BLITZER: And briefly, Delia, in his words, the words that he uttered on that balcony today, the brief statement that he made, what if anything did we learn from this new pope?

GALLAGHER: Well, that was just a clear indication of how he is. He's a very humble, quiet, private sort of man. And he said, you know, I came from all of my defects, as it were, I hope that God and I hope that your prayers will help me. So a great sense of humility, and I think that that's something that the cardinals in the college recognize, personally knowing him here at the Vatican. They came to see that maybe this was the right choice for someone to carry on the legacy of Pope John Paul II, who was also himself of course a very holy, humble type of pope. So I think that that's an essential element to begin with for a pope, and then he will build on that.

BLITZER: Delia Gallagher, our Vatican analyst. Delia, thank you very much.

When we come back, well-known inside the Vatican, less so to the rest of the world. But who exactly is Joseph Ratzinger?

CNN's Paula Zahn will introduce us to the man who is now pope.

Also, who were the other 15 popes named Benedict? Some of their stories might surprise you.

Plus, we'll get reaction from around the world to this historic election.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: With millions of Roman Catholics around the world watching the presentation of the new pope, reaction came in very quickly.

Our Zain Verjee is keeping track of what's being said around the world. She joining us now live from the CNN Center -- Zain

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, many world leaders and Catholic parishioners praised the election of Pope Benedict XVI. In France the bells of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris rang to celebrate the election of the new pope. Crowds watching large television screens broke into applause when the new papal name was announced. It was a scene repeated in many other countries. Bells pealed at a cathedral in Mexico City. John Paul II was the first pope to visit Mexico, and many Mexican Catholics hope Benedict XVI will follow in his footsteps.

Similar sentiments were expressed in other Latin American countries. One Catholic worshiper in Buenos Aires, Argentina said, she took comfort in the new pope's long friendship with the old pope. One worshiper in Rio De Janeiro predicted that the new pope will set a conservative course. The acting president of the Brazilian Bishops Conference said the election of a European was not a surprise. But in Honduras some Catholics expressed disappointment that one of theirs was not selected. In Berlin German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder praised the selection of a German-born pope as a great honor for our whole country. A mass was scheduled in the German state of Bavaria, where the new pope was born 78-years-ago. And Wolf, a government statement from Israel expressed hope that as a German the new pope would be committed to fighting anti-Semitism -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Zain Verjee reporting for us. Zain, thank you very much. You didn't have to travel far to find international reaction to the election of the new pope. St. Peter's Square was filled with people from different countries, many of them waving flags from their various homelands. No doubt virtually all of them will remember today for the rest of their lives.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BROTHER CHARBEL GRBAVAC, NORBENTINE FRIAR: I got home and then some of my brothers were saying they're going to blow the smoke, they're going to blow the smoke. So we jumped on our mountain bikes, which is the quickest way to get around here in Rome, and then we went through the river, we got here all sweaty, got into the piazza, and then about 15, 20 minutes later we saw the pope come out.

We made jokes before we came on our honeymoon when we knew that the pope was ill and then of course had passed that we -- that John Paul II had ruined our honeymoon, that we would be sharing Rome with millions and millions and, you know, it was sort of unjust. And we're so glad and so blessed to have been here on this day to be able to see what has been going on here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Best wishes from the White House as well. The president offers praise and prayers for the new leader of the Catholic Church.

Also, when we come back, he was an uncompromising cardinal and a vigorous defender of the faith. We'll take a closer look at the man who became pope.

And what's in a name? When it comes to a pope, apparently a lot. We'll look to see what lies behind the name Benedict. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back. As we've mentioned, the new pope was a conservative cardinal, a defender and enforcer of church doctrine. For a closer look let's turn to our own Paula Zahn. She's standing by in New York. Paula?

PAULA ZAHN, HOST, "PAULA ZAHN NOW": Thanks so much, Wolf.

The sea of conjecture, I guess, is one thing that is pretty certain. Pope Benedict XVI isn't expected to shy away from his reputation as supreme keeper of the faith, and many theologians who've observed him over the years believe he will use his papacy to reaffirm Catholic traditions and stress the church's roots in Europe, even if that means having a smaller, more pure church.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ZAHN (voice-over): As a cardinal, Joseph Ratzinger headed one of the most important departments in the Vatican bureaucracy for more than 20 years. It's called the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. It's the office that three-and-a-half centuries ago was in charge of the Inquisition. Cardinal Ratzinger forcefully guarded the absolutes of the church, whether you're talking about theology or morality.

In his Monday sermon, before the beginning of the conclave, he argued that there are some truths that do not change, that can't be compromised, and criticized what he called the "dictatorship of relativism," which disregards the Catholic Church's teachings about god's eternal truths.

Over the years he has butted heads with theologians and teachers, silencing dissent, shutting down debate over issues such as homosexuality and the ordination of women.

The cardinal's critics accused him of helping Pope John Paul II put brakes on some of the reforms undertaken at the Second Vatican Council, to which Ratzinger was an adviser. He was considered a liberal back then. But his thinking changed in the turmoil of the student revolts of the late 1960s.

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger has been described by church watchers as a conservative's conservative. It's a reputation that follows him as he assumes his new job -- Pope of the Roman Catholic Church.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(on camera): One of the main criticisms aimed at the new pope involves his response to the church sex abuse scandal here in the United States. Back in 2002 he told a Catholic news service the scandal was, quote, "an intentional, manipulated desire to discredit the church," and blamed the press for overplaying the crisis. But today, despite that reputation and his polarizing stands, many church officials wish him well in his new role. Wolf?

BLITZER: Paula Zahn reporting for us. Paula, thank you very much.

He was a controversial cardinal, as Paula just reported. Plenty of critics. So what happened? Paula will be back in prime time 8:00 p.m. Eastern, a special edition of "PAULA ZAHN NOW," when CNN takes you behind the scenes for the intrigue, and looks to where Pope Benedict XVI will take the church. Our prime time coverage will begin at 7:00 p.m. Eastern, 7:00 p.m. Eastern, with "ANDERSON COOPER 360."

We just heard only a few moments ago from Bishop William Skylstad. He's the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. He spoke out and offered this reaction to the new pope.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BISHOP WILLIAM SKYLSTAD, PRES. US CONF. OF BISHOPS: I've had the pleasure of meeting Pope Benedict in his role as prefect of the Congregation of the Faith. In my conversation with him, I have found him to be a man of great humility, keen intellect, and a good listener, with a fine sense of humor. His extensive experience in church leadership is combined with a profound academic background. His intellectual curiosity is wide-ranging. He has a genuine grasp of the theological and social issues which we have faced -- which have faced the church for the last two centuries. He is a scholar as well as a committed churchman.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Bishop William Skylstad, the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, speaking out only a few moments ago.

Day one of the new pontificate coming to a close at the Vatican. We'll take you back there live for more on the day's historic events.

Also, it's a name loaded with history. We'll look at the other popes named Benedict.

Plus, what American Catholics are saying about their new spiritual leader. We'll go live to St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: From our studios in Washington, once again, Wolf Blitzer.

BLITZER: Welcome back.

An historic day at the Vatican for the Roman Catholic Church and for Catholics around the world. Plumes of smoke from the roof of the Sistine Chapel, the first sign of a new papacy. But it was hard to tell the color, at least initially.

It was only about 10 minutes later when the designated bells of St. Peter's began to ring, that we knew for absolute certain a new pope had in fact been elected. Minutes later the announcement in Latin.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MEDINA ESTEVEZ: Josephum.

(SPEAKING IN LATIN) Cardinal Ratzinger.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: It was then that we learned the German Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger had been elected pontiff, taking the name Benedict XVI. And a few minutes after that, he made his first appearance as pope, offering his greetings and blessings to the city and the world.

For more on the day's events, we're joined now by our CNN Vatican analyst John Allen. He's also the author of a book on the former Cardinal Ratzinger called, "the Vatican's Enforcer of Faith."

You know a great deal about this man. Talk a little bit about this definition of "enforcer of faith."

JOHN ALLEN, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT, AUTHOR "THE VATICAN'S ENFORCER OF FAITH": Hi, Wolf.

Well, you know, to some extent, of course, this has been, the pope, the former Cardinal Ratzinger's job description for the last 24 years. He's been the head of the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. That's the historical successor to the Holy Inquisition. And it has been his job to police the doctrinal boundaries of Roman Catholicism, on issues such as liberation theology in the '80s, this movement to align Catholicism with movements for social change in Latin America; on issues such as homosexuality, which a famous document of his in 1986 referred to as an "inclination to intrinsic moral evil;" on issues such as religious pluralism, reinforcing his view that Christianity is a privileged religious system and that followers of other religions are in what he called a "gravely deficient" position with respect to Christians.

Now, all of these are strong stands, to some extent polarizing stands, that have made the former Cardinal Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, somewhat of a divisive figure both in Roman Catholicism and also internationally. I think it will be fascinating to see, in the coming days, how he makes this transition from being, in effect, the Vatican's chief enforcer to now being pope, not just of those who agree with those positions, but, frankly of many Roman Catholics who do not. And of course as pope he has to be the pastor of everyone.

So, I'm sure that elements in the church and outside it, in the coming days, will be watching for indications of how he intends to engineer this transition that lies ahead of him.

BLITZER: John Allen, our Vatican analyst, helping us better understand the new pope. John, thank you very much.

When Joseph Ratzinger decided to call himself Benedict XVI, he may have given us a clue about his goals for his own papacy and for the church he leads.

Our Brian Todd is live at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception here in Washington with more on that -- Brian.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, church historians say that when popes are elected they are very conscious of history and often look back to the great popes in their selection of a name. But a look at history in this case may provide more questions than answers.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(SINGING)

TODD (voice-over): He calls himself a simple, humble worker in the vineyard of the Lord, but the new pope's choice of a name is a surprise to church historians.

KEN PENNINGTON, HISTORIAN, CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY: Although there have been many Benedicts, there's never been a great Benedict in the past. TODD: But could this be an effort to soften his image as a doctrinal hard-liner, resistant to reform? Consider his predecessor in name. Pope Benedict XV was widely known as a moderate, who quelled a campaign started by his immediate predecessor to crack down on church reformists.

PENNINGTON: Benedict was a pope who tried to bring the church into the modern age, and he did it relatively successfully.

TODD: But for Benedict XV, the pontificate was dominated by World War I and its turbulent aftermath. An Italian, born Giacomo della Chiesa, he was elected to the papacy right after the war's outbreak in 1914. He called it "the suicide of civilized Europe," and did everything he could to end the destruction. But in his effort to remain neutral, Benedict himself was neutralized.

PENNINGTON: He attempted to bring both sides to the peace table, unsuccessfully, and unfortunately, both sides were enormously suspicious of him for doing it.

TODD: The major powers largely ignored an elaborate peace plan Benedict drew up, and he was given virtually no role in post-war negotiations. Benedict did try to improve Vatican relations with France after the war by canonizing the French heroine Joan of Arc. Benedict XV died of pneumonia in 1922.

Other pope Benedicts date back to the year 575. One of them, Benedict VI, was strangled to death on orders from a rival aristocratic Roman family. Benedict IX, selected pope as a teenager, was considered so lacking in moral restraint that he was forced out of Rome twice, resigned three separate times and ended up selling his papacy to a rival.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(on camera): But that was almost 10 centuries ago, and historians believe it's the legacy of Benedict XV, his spirit of unity and peace, that the man formerly known as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger seeks to emulate. Wolf?

BLITZER: Brian Todd reporting for us. Thank you, Brian. Very interesting material.

When we come back, U.S. reaction: we'll hear what the American president said and American Catholics, what they have to say about the new pope.

Catholic controversy: we'll hear from a critic of the new pope as well and from a long-time defender of this defender of the faith.

And it's been a day of dramatic images and sounds, which for many will last a lifetime. We take one more look and listen.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Returning from a trip to Illinois just a short while ago, president and Mrs. Bush stopped on the south lawn of the White House to offer their best wishes to the new pope.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Laura and I offer our congratulations to Pope Benedict XVI. He's a man of great wisdom and knowledge. He's a man who serves the Lord. We remember well a sermon at the pope's funeral in Rome, how his words touched our hearts and the hearts of millions. We join with our fellow citizens and millions around the world who pray for continued strength and wisdom as His Holiness leads the Catholic Church.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: For reaction from everyday people our Mary Snow went to St. Patrick's Cathedral. She's joining us live from there now. That's in New York City -- Mary.

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, here outside New York's largest Catholic church there is no shortage of opinion about the selection of the new pope. That opinion split between optimism and disappointment.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SNOW (voice-over): On New York's 5th Avenue outside St. Patrick's Cathedral there were no white smoke signals to announce the choice of the new pope, Benedict XVI. Instead reporters delivered the news and quickly people weighed in on the choice of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of Germany. Freia Thoman, a native German, said part of her is proud because she shares the same heritage with Ratzinger.

FREIA THOMAN, GERMANY: A German cardinal is pope. I am proud. The other part, I am a little -- I think this is not so good.

SNOW: Thoman thinks Ratzinger is too conservative and too similar to Pope John Paul II. That closeness brought both praise and disappointment.

MARY SULIVAN, CONNECTICUT: I think it's great because he's going to follow along in Pope John II's footsteps.

CHUCK BRADY, NEW JERSEY: I was just hoping for somebody who's more open to people with problems and birth control. And, you know, women in the church and, you know -- the last pope wasn't that way.

SNOW: Others noted that Ratzinger's age sent a message in himself.

RICHARD DOWD, CONNECTICUT: He's 78-years-old. So it does say that they're not looking for someone who's going to be pope for the next 20 years.

MARY DOWD, CONNECTICUT: It seems like a safe thing to do at the moment. They're carrying on John Paul's legacy until they decide which way they want to go.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SNOW: And New York's Cardinal Edward Egan speaking in Rome, calling Ratzinger one of the great theological minds of our time. He says he's known him for many years, calling him a humble and lovely gentleman -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Mary Snow, very interesting comments from those Catholics in New York.

Thanks, Mary, very, very much.

And not everyone agrees that the new pope, Benedict XVI, is the kind of leader the Roman Catholic Church needs right now.

Joining us now from Vatican City to talk about that is Father Mark Francis. He's head of the Clerics of St. Viator. Father, thank you very much for joining us.

You would have wanted someone more open to reform, is that right?

REV. MARK FRANCIS, CLERICS OF ST. VIATOR: Well, I was kind of in a certain sense disappointed, though obviously after the short number of ballots that was the opinion of the majority of the cardinals. And they apparently are opting for kind of a caretaker pope for a number of years before the dust settles, and they can decide on someone who perhaps would be a bit more dynamic.

BLITZER: Did you really expect in the immediate aftermath of Pope John Paul II they would take that dramatic step right away, to get a reformer, if you will, someone who would move away from the orthodoxy of John Paul II?

FRANCIS: I don't think they would have chosen someone who was a flaming liberal, if you will. But I think that after John Paul II he's a very difficult act to follow. I think that the hardest thing that this pope has got to contend with is the way in which the previous pope, John Paul II, has really used the papacy as a way of bringing people together and reaching out in terms of the faith.

This pope is much more retiring, he's more academic, and he's a good theologian in his own way. But the kinds of solutions he's offering for the church these days is probably not going to be accepted as well in -- especially in the North Atlantic world, in Europe and the United States, as it would be perhaps in other places.

BLITZER: Some of his supporters point out that the description you just brought was in part, at least in large part the result of the job that he had in the past 20 years, in effect as enforcer of the Catholic doctrine. Now that he is pope, Pope Benedict XVI, we might see a different side of this man.

FRANCIS: I think that's very possible. And given his new responsibilities, he is the Holy Father for all Catholics. He's not just concerned with trying to maintain discipline within the church and the theological ranks. And to a large extent, I know from many people that he is a wonderfully warm person in private. And so I think perhaps we may be surprised by the kind of posture he'll be taking in the future in regard to many kinds of issues, at least a softer kind of pastoral approach than kind of the hard-line approach that he took as -- in charge of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

BLITZER: So Father, I suppose what I'm hearing from you is you have an open mind right now and you're willing to wait and see what happens.

FRANCIS: Well, I think we all need to do that. As just people who love the church, we need to wish the best for this Holy Father, that he start off on a good foot, that he have our support. And that we in a real sense accompany him in prayer right now and try to hope for the best.

BLITZER: Father Mark Francis, appreciate your thoughts tonight. Thank you very much for joining us.

And coming up at the top of the hour, "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT."

Lou standing by in New York with a preview -- Lou.

LOU DOBBS, HOST "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT": Wolf, thank you. We'll also have much more on the new pontiff. At 6:00 p.m. Eastern, at the top of the hour here on CNN. We'll also be reporting tonight on the theft of personal financial information. One and half million Americans have lost all of that information as a result of a shoe company. Identity theft is now a national epidemic.

Also, illegal alien give away, U.S. Senators appear now ready to support legalization of nearly a million illegal aliens. In this country some are saying they're selling out to agricultural interests, while those same senators are absolutely unwilling to move forward with a bill to tighten our border security and immigration laws despite the promises of the Republican leadership in the U.S. Senate.

And China's unfair trade practices, nothing less than a threat to our economy and national security. Tonight I'll be talking with two leading congressmen who say China's time for excuses has ended.

All of that and a great deal more coming up at the top of the hour. Please join us.

Now back to Wolf Blitzer -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Thank you very much, Lou. We will be joining you. "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT," that starts in about 12 minutes or so from now.

So what is the new pope really like? David Schindler has known Cardinal Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, for 20 years. We'll talk with him right after the break.

Also ahead, another look at the sights and sounds of this very historic and dramatic day.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BLITZER: Welcome back. We're continuing our analysis of Pope Benedict XVI. Our next guest is someone who knows this man, has known him for some time, about 20 years. David Schindler is the dean of the John Paul II Institute for the Study of Marriage and Family here in Washington at Catholic University. He's also the editor of "Communio," a journal co-founded by former Cardinal Ratzinger. You've known this man. What do you make of this selection?

DAVID SCHINDLER, JOHN PAUL II INSTITUTE: I think it's a wonderful selection. I think he's really a man of God, and as many people have said, he's a humble man and simple man, and very a self- effacing man.

BLITZER: So he's the right man at the right time for this job?

SCHINDLER: I think so. I think he's an excellent teacher. And he's very clear. And he has one of the finest minds of any person I've ever met, really. He's acute.

BLITZER: What was he like to work with? Because you got to know him in that sense.

SCHINDLER: He is so interested in what you have to say, and the man has a kind of child-like wonder and a keen interest in what you have to say. And he gets immediately really engaged in that, and you forget. There are no trappings of power. He's so unpretentious.

BLITZER: Does he understand American Catholics and the problems -- shall we say, some of the unique problems that American Catholics, the Catholic Church in the United States has had to go through these past few years?

SCHINDLER: I'm sure he does. And I think the essential thing, I think he has a deep understanding of the faith, and in that context he's very eager to learn about the various cultural situations and to interpret them in light of the faith.

BLITZER: What was his reaction in dealing with the whole allegations that priests were abusing -- were engaging in sexual abuse over the years? It was a huge scandal and still remains to many Catholics a source of deep concern.

SCHINDLER: You know, I've spoken with him a number of times since then, but not about this. But I would say, you know, there's a lot of discussion about this question of relativism, and I think it's important to see that it's precisely his non-relativism that enables him to really make an unequivocal distinction between moral right and moral wrong in the case of the abuse of -- sexual abuse of children.

BLITZER: Is there a sense right now that -- and we've been -- this has been a theme that we've been hearing now for the past several hours, since he's 78 years old -- Pope John Paul II was 58 years old when he became the pontiff -- that he is in effect a transitional pope.

SCHINDLER: It's scarcely possible to think, if you know this man, to think of him as a transitional anything or merely a caretaker. He's not that kind of a person. And I think he will be decisive, but he will be decisive in a humble way, and in a way that carries forward, I think, the legacy of the man that he worked with, John Paul II.

BLITZER: And the criticism that we've heard, he's conservative, he's a hard-liner, that he really doesn't have an open mind on some of these very sensitive issues.

SCHINDLER: Well, he's going to be a guardian of the faith, the integrity of the faith of the church, and that's clear, and he's very clear about that. But he's clear about that in the context of a service to the truth in love.

BLITZER: So when American Catholics and the rest of the world get to know him, they will like him. Is that what you're saying?

SCHINDLER: You know, I think in an interesting way, people contrast him with the pope who was very -- the former pope, who was very effervescent, not shy in the way that Ratzinger, now Benedict XVI, is shy. But he has a simplicity and a directness and this child- likeness that is extremely engaging, and I think people will be surprised at how engaging he is, and find him very attractive, as just as a warm human being.

BLITZER: Professor Schindler, we'll be anxious to get to know him. Thank you very much for sharing some thoughts with us.

SCHINDLER: Thank you very much for having me.

BLITZER: Appreciate it very much, professor David Schindler.

When we come back, modern technology beams ancient rites around the world. We'll show you the highlights of this historic day at the Vatican.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: The selection of a pope is an event that often occurs just once in a generation. Here's one more look at today's events.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MEDINA ESTEVEZ: Habemus papam.

(CHEERS)

MEDINA ESTEVEZ: Sante Romane Eglizio (ph), Cardinale Ratzinger.

(CHEERS)

POPE BENEDICT XVI, LEADER OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH (through translator): Dear brothers and sisters, after the great John Paul II, the cardinals have elected me, a simple and humble worker on the vine of the Lord. It consoles me, the fact that the Lord knows how to work and to act even with insufficient instruments. And above all, I trust in your prayers.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: And I think I speak on behalf of all of our viewers, we wish the new pope well.

A reminder: You can catch us again tomorrow at this time, 5:00 p.m. Eastern. See you at noon as well. Until then, thanks very much for joining us.

"LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" starts right now. Lou standing by -- Lou.

DOBBS: Thank you, Wolf, have a great evening.

END

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