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Trump Defiant amid Muslim Ban Comments; Malik Stopped Quran Studies before Coming to U.S.; South African Judge Grants Pistorius Bail; Obama Warns of Dangers of Anti-Muslim Speech; Pope Francis Launches the Jubilee of Mercy. Aired 10-11a ET

Aired December 08, 2015 - 10:00   ET

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

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ROBYN CURNOW, CNN HOST: Hi, there, everyone, welcome to the INTERNATIONAL DESK. I'm Robyn Curnow at the CNN Center.

Our top story at this hour on the IDESK, U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump remains unapologetic and defiant, even though his

latest comments have been called hate speech, unconstitutional and un- American.

Trump is repeating his call for a ban on all Muslims entering the United States, speaking on CNN a short time ago to our Chris Cuomo.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Can you blame the GOP for moving against you after saying something like this?

Can you accuse them of being unfair if they say, listen, we can't have our nominee be someone who is tearing at the fabric of what America is?

We're going to have to do something against you at the convention or whatever they come up with.

Would you still hold to the pledge because you have created your own problem?

DONALD TRUMP, ENTREPRENEUR: Well, look, there's no problem. I'm just doing the right thing, Chris. See, I'm just doing the right thing. I

could have very well just rested on my poll numbers, which you just released and they're phenomenal.

I'm leading everybody and I could rest on them very nicely and there's no problem. And you know they go up, they go down. I have to do the right

thing.

I am talking about a measure, it's a measure that ends. It's not a measure that's in stone. We have to find out what we're doing.

We're letting people into our country, we don't know who they are. We have people here right now that are getting $28,000, miraculously, over the last

little while deposited in their account that they're using for very sinister purposes.

There are, like these two, this husband and wife, this horrendous, horrible husband and wife. You have many other people like that in this country,

you have many other people that are having checks deposited in their account to do destruction. And we have to find out what we're doing.

And if the Republican Party likes it, that's fine. If they don't like it, that's fine, also.

As you know I'm leading in virtually every single poll. I think you just came out with one yesterday in Iowa. I'm crushing it in Iowa. I'm doing

great with the people of Iowa, who I love. And frankly, I think that people will agree with me.

And look, I have thousands of people, you had your reporters there, I had thousands of people last night, right?

CUOMO: Yes.

TRUMP: At an event last night in South Carolina, a great place, thousands of people couldn't get in. We had standing ovations as soon as I mentioned

it. I hadn't even finished the sentence.

Now what I also said -- and it was very important, I made the statement, it's a shutdown until our country's representatives can figure out what is

going on. That's important. Because that doesn't mean it's permanent. It's temporary.

CUOMO: But I'll tell you what. One day --

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: -- and we don't want to be like Paris, where you can't go into the city, where you can't go into sections where there are police. Their

police are afraid to go into certain sections of Paris. They are petrified. They will not do it.

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: -- following, we're going, they're doing operations by the hundreds. They're getting a handle on the situation. But most

importantly, they're staying together.

And I think that your poll data actually reflects a responsibility on you, Mr. Trump, because people are listening to you. And America is great

because it is united. Our diversity is our greatest strength.

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: You know what, they're listening to me because I have common sense, that's why, because most of these politicians --

CUOMO: This doesn't sound like common sense to a lot of people.

TRUMP: -- common sense and that's why I'm doing well. I have common sense. I know what has to be done. And we don't want to have a situation

like Paris and we don't want to have another World Trade Center, which, by the way, they tried to knock down twice. The first time, they were

unsuccessful.

We don't want that, Chris. We need intelligence in this country, we need a certain toughness in this country or we're going to end up like a lot of

other places and we're not going to have a country left.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CURNOW: Well, Trump's comments have united other Republican presidential candidates, who have expressed dismay and disapproval across the board.

Here's a sampling of what some of his rivals had to say.

Jeb Bush tweeting, "Donald Trump is unhinged. His, quote, 'policy proposals' are not serious."

Marco Rubio said, "Donald Trump's habit of making offensive and outlandish statements will not bring Americans together."

Lindsey Graham had this to say. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R), S.C.: I think what you like about him, he appears to be strong when the rest of us are weak. He's a very successful

businessman and he's going to make everything great. He's going to take all the problems of the world and put them in a box and make your life

better. That's what he is selling.

Here's what you're buying. He's a race-baiting, xenophobic, religious bigot. He doesn't represent my party.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CURNOW: Well, Trump is also taking fire from Democrats. In a personally signed tweet, Hillary Clinton called his proposal "reprehensible,

prejudiced and divisive."

And, she said, "Donald Trump, you don't get it."

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CURNOW (voice-over): "This makes us less safe."

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CURNOW: But Donald Trump is not without his supporters as his poll numbers show. The Republican front-runner continues to get praise from his base.

Here's what some of them had to say about his comments.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Donald Trump is now saying Muslims should not be allowed to enter this country until the U.S. figures out what's going on.

Do you agree with that?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I do.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't want them here.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's a very prudent idea and I think that he's done due diligence when he makes that statement. We have to protect our

American citizens first and the vetting process in the whole program lacks integrity.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you in favor of bombing terrorists' homes?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Absolutely. Absolutely. People will continue to reproduce and they will raise children in their beliefs.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Somebody just needs to go in there and take control of this. I just think it's going rampant. And I'm worried about America,

worried about our safety. They're getting in. They need to be stopped.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CURNOW: Well, that's what some of Donald Trump's supporters have to say.

Still, international condemnation of Trump is also pouring in, as Muslims around the world react to his proposed ban. Sara Sidner joins us now from

Istanbul, Turkey, with that.

Hi, there, Sara.

SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Robyn. Yes, you know what you're hearing from people on the street, what you're seeing on social media from

across the Muslim world is really a condemnation. Some people are finding some of his comments ironic because here in Istanbul, for example, there's

a Trump Towers. His name was licensed to a business group. And there's a huge name posted on the side of the building.

They're saying, wait a minute, so Donald Trump is OK with taking money from Muslims but he's not OK with having Muslims in his own country?

He wants to stop Muslims from being able to come into the United States?

For some people, it's been shocking. It's also been disturbing to many, who worry that what he's doing is playing right into the hands of groups

like ISIS, who are trying to make this an us-against-them mentality and that's exactly what it sounds like, saying, OK, we're going to target

Muslims and they're not going to be allowed to come into the United States.

I want to let you listen to someone who we spoke to who has been to America, who has spent some time there, had a host family as a student.

And here's what he had to say about Trump's comments, that he, too, found disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a little bit about show business. So when you make these really radical ideas, you'll understand what he is saying, even

though it's a bad thing.

It's more like a fascist thinking. I think you have to understand what's the real solution but also understand the reaction against Muslims. And if

you act really emotional, you may say this kind of stuff.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: So he's talking about acting really emotional. He's calling him a fascist, those were fascist ideas. And you're hearing that a lot also on

social media.

But you're also, you know hearing from others that they are worried that's this is actually a security threat for Muslims, especially women who wear

the hijab, who might be targeted by people after they start hearing some of these comments from Donald Trump.

CURNOW: And with that in mind, we're also hearing outrage from government officials around the world, too.

SIDNER: Yes, that's true. David Cameron has probably come out the strongest, the British prime minister saying, what Trump said about

targeting Muslims, keeping them out of the country, using their religion to keep them away, was divisive, unhelpful and quite simply wrong. I think

that's the strongest statement that we have seen.

But we're also hearing from some in the Muslim countries, predominantly Muslim countries, from Indonesia, for example, who is saying this is not

the American way.

And while he is not an American official with official powers, hearing this kind of thing is damaging to America's brand and also damaging to its brand

across the world.

So you're certainly getting reaction and all of it has pretty much been negative except for one. And I want to mention this, online we saw someone

tweeting, you know perhaps it's our fault. It was a woman who was Muslim, who said, perhaps it's our fault. Perhaps we need to reach out to him to

try to get him to understand what a real Muslim is -- Robyn.

CURNOW: All right. And thanks so much for that global perspective.

And I want to bring in dean Obeidallah, he's a "Daily Beast" contributor and the host of a radio show and he often talks about being a Muslim in the

U.S.

Hi, Dean. Thanks so much for joining us. This is an unprecedented proposal by a presidential candidate.

What is your reaction?

What are the reactions of your listeners?

DEAN OBEIDALLAH, "THE DAILY BEAST": Well, I think that on some level, we're not surprised. Donald Trump's campaign has been based on demonizing

minorities. He kicked off his campaign by saying --

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OBEIDALLAH: -- Mexico is sending in drug dealers and rapists to stoke the flames of hate against Latinos. He defended his supporters' beating up a

black activist at one of his events.

He made fun of a disabled reporter and he has turned very hard on anti- Muslim bigotry. Donald Trump's entire campaign has been built on dividing Americans, demonizing minorities and, frankly, being a bully. So it's not

shocking. Yes, it's alarming but not shocking at all.

CURNOW: Sara Sidner was just saying, the reaction and the concern, what is the reaction and concern within the Muslim community?

Is there a worry that these kinds of comments will fuel more hatred, more backlash and it might endanger security, essentially, for a woman wearing a

hijab, for example?

OBEIDALLAH: Sure. No, I think on a very practical level, that's the biggest concern. We're not really fearful Donald Trump will be elected

president. I don't really think that can happen. It could but I think it's unlikely.

But the words of politicians can legitimize hate. We have seen it in America during the Civil Rights Movement, when you had conservative

Democrats saying horrible things about African Americans. It legitimizes hate and it can inspire violence.

So Donald Trump could radicalize Americans who are on the fringe or maybe are unhinged themselves, to go out, punch a woman wearing a hijab, attack a

mosque. We have had hate crimes spike against Muslims in the last few weeks since Paris. This is just going to escalate it.

So there is a concern that he is now telling Americans in this country, Muslims are not like us. They're a threat, all of them are. That's why we

have to ban every single one from coming to this country.

CURNOW: So, Dean, I was looking online and "The Onion," you know the satirical newspaper, has a fake story with the headline, "Trump Gives

Muslim on the Fence about Radicalizing Just the Push He Needed."

Now jokes aside, there is a real concern -- and you have just touched on it slightly -- that these kinds of comments empower radicalization. It's a

perfect recruiting tool for terror groups.

OBEIDALLAH: Well, it is and I've had numerous experts on my radio show and I've interviewed other ones. ISIS wants to frame our entire fight as Islam

versus the West. So when you Donald Trump saying no Muslims should be allowed in America, that feeds into the ISIS narrative.

So now they can go out and try to pick off young Muslims in the West, in the U.S., in Europe and say, look, the West hates you. They don't even

want you in their country. They don't view you as fellow Americans. So join us. Either come to our country and fight with us or do something in

your own country.

You know what's alarming, within the GOP, there was a poll about a few months ago, 30 percent of Republicans in America think Islam should be

banned as a matter of law. That's the despicable, bigoted base he's playing to. Donald Trump is a wake-up call for the good Americans to stand

up, not be silent.

CURNOW: Dean, thanks so much for your perspective.

And also I'm hearing from my producers that Paul Ryan, the House Speaker, is actually making comments now. And he said what Donald Trump has been

saying is not representative of the Republican Party.

There he is. He's just finished his speech. So the question is just what the Republican Party is going to do about him.

Are they going to distance themselves?

And that is what many political analysts are wondering, what happens next.

Well, still to come, piecing together the path of radicalization. Officials now believe the California attackers were radicalized even before

the rise of ISIS.

And the opening of these doors marks the beginning of a significant event in the Roman Catholic Church.

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CURNOW: U.S. investigators say the couple who carried out the massacre in California were radicalized for quite some time. Now it's believed Syed

Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik were on the path to radicalization even before ISIS proclaimed itself to be a caliphate.

Now officials are still piecing together the how and where the pair was influenced. Sources tell CNN Malik was likely radicalized at least two

years ago. She was studying in Pakistan before coming to the U.S. in 2014 on a fiance visa.

And authorities in Pakistan have seized religious instruction books and other documents from a home owned by Malik's father. Police say his

daughter lived there until around the time she married Farook.

Well, Tashfeen Malik was taking a course on the Quran in Pakistan before abruptly stopping her studies. Our Saima Mohsin has more from the city of

Multan.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SAIMA MOHSIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is the religious institute, Al-Huda International, where Tashfeen Malik came to study and take religious

education classes. It's known as a social movement as well. Now I have been inside and spoken to one of the teachers.

It's a pretty unassuming building. It has a minaret and it's a normal school with classrooms inside. Now the teachers didn't want to appear on

camera but they did tell me that Tashfeen Malik was a hard-working, helpful, obedient and positive-minded student, that she studied here from

2013 to 2014.

She took a test but then announced that she was leaving and couldn't end the course. And she was going to be married within two months. She said

she would continue the course by correspondence but never got back in touch again.

The school and the institute say that no one here could ever imagine that Tashfeen Malik or anyone at this institute could have carried out what they

describe as such a horrible, barbaric act. They say that this is 100 percent against Islam and the institute's teaching.

And we have spoken to a student at the university, Bahauddin Zakariya University, here in Multan, who studied alongside her, who described her as

a normal student, like any other girl at university, talking about the boys she liked, social networking, chatting online, saying that she never saw

her praying five times a day and didn't consider her a religious student, even though she wore the veil, the niqab that covers the face.

This is the mystery that surrounds Tashfeen Malik. And while investigators try to analyze if she was the one that radicalized her husband and if she

was radicalized perhaps here in Multan or in Saudi Arabia, where she also lived before moving to San Bernardino and the United States -- Saima

Mohsin, CNN, Multan, Pakistan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CURNOW: OK. Thanks to Saima for that report.

Next on the IDESK, Oscar Pistorius is granted bail while he waits to be sentenced for murdering his girlfriend. The latest twist in the Olympian's

legal saga next from South Africa.

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CURNOW: Welcome back. I'm Robyn Curnow.

Now a South African judge says Olympian Oscar Pistorius isn't a flight risk and he's granted him bail of less than $700. Now last week, South Africa's

court of appeal overturned the Olympian's conviction of culpable homicide and found Pistorius guilty of murdering his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp.

CNN's Eleni Giokos joins me now live from Johannesburg.

Hi, there. You're in court.

What happened today?

ELENI GIOKOS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Oscar Pistorius is going to remain under house arrest at his uncle's mansion until April 18th. And,

Robyn, the reality is that Oscar Pistorius walked into today's session feeling quite confident.

In fact, he was exchanging smiles and also laughs with his defense and his counsel, Barry Roux, and it seems that the reasoning behind his relaxed

demeanor was the fact that the defense as well as the prosecution had been in discussions ahead of today's bail hearing.

And of course, one of the big things that were put on the table was the fact that he would then adhere to a lot more stricter conditions, which

interestingly, the judge intervened at that point and said that it wasn't necessary, that Oscar Pistorius would still be allowed to leave his home

between 7:00 am in the morning as well as return at 12:00 pm. So at noon, with a 20-kilometer radius.

I guess right now many are asking the question, what about sentencing?

When is that going to come to the fore?

But as you said, a little earlier, a dramatic twist coming to the fore as well. And it's all about the fact that Pistorius plans to, of course,

appeal the conviction of murder.

Yes. Tell us about that. I mean, this legal saga isn't over. I covered it for nearly two years and, clearly, there's still a long way to go

because there's the constitutional court and the Pistorius team has confirmed that that's what -- that's their next move, essentially.

Absolutely. I mean, this is the next move. The big question is, is it going to be a long shot? The constitutional court is the highest court in

the country, as you know. And the question is, are they even going to hear the application? It might just be thrown out and the constitutional court,

it might not go to the constitutional court. And the Pistorius team has confirmed that that's what they're going to -- that's their next move

essentially.

GIOKOS: Absolutely. This is the next move. So this question is, is it going to be a long shot? The constitutional court is the highest court in

the country, as you know.

And the question is, are they even going to hear the application?

It might just be thrown out --

[10:25:00]

GIOKOS: -- and the constitutional court, it might not even go to the constitutional court.

But at the end of the day, they're trying to delay things as much as possible, it seems, so they can get some kind of clarity from the

constitutional court. Remember, Robyn, that today as well, behind this bail hearing, was a 20-page-long affidavit that was written by Oscar

Pistorius, saying that he's not a flight risk and, importantly, that he's very confident that this case will be heard at the constitutional court and

that he has a very strong chance of getting his case heard and, in fact, winning as well.

So quite a bit of confidence coming to the fore for a man that, just a week ago, had been convicted of murder and, just a year ago, that was culpable

homicide.

CURNOW: OK -- and, also, this is a case that really has divided South Africa.

What's public opinion like still?

GIOKOS: I mean, public opinion really ranges from people feeling relatively sympathetic towards what we know as the Blade Runner in South

Africa. But at the same time, we're seeing a lot of women's organizations coming out and saying that Oscar Pistorius deserves to go to jail and, in

fact, he is a convicted murderer.

And remember, this also happened in the 17 days of activism in South Africa as well. We have also seen a lot of lawyers coming out and saying that

this was a no-brainer from the very beginning, that a murder conviction should have come through a year ago.

CURNOW: Eleni, thanks so much for that update from JoBurg, thanks a lot.

Well, still ahead, more on our top story: U.S. presidential hopeful Donald Trump calls for a temporary ban on Muslims entering the United States.

We'll examine the potential impact on his campaign. Stay with us.

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CURNOW: Hi, everyone. Welcome to the INTERNATIONAL DESK. I'm Robyn Curnow. Here's a check of the headlines.

(HEADLINES)

CURNOW: Back to our top story. It appears that Donald Trump's recent comments have thrown him to the far right in the political campaign. And

this is a man who was once a Democrat. Here's more of his telephone interview with CNN's Chris Cuomo.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: -- get it through your head --

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: Look, everybody knows who we're at war with.

TRUMP: -- they could do great damage. You look at what's going on in the Middle East. They're chopping off heads, they are looking to come over to

other places, too. And they want the jihad. It's very simple. They want the jihad.

CUOMO: But you're saying -- you're saying -- who does -- what does that mean, they want the jihad? Well, you can't just throw out notions without

any kind of checking of them. This is what got you wound up on the "Philadelphia Inquirer" front page like Hitler. They got you in a

personage of Hitler right now, a characterization.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CURNOW: On Sunday, U.S. President Barack Obama said anti-Muslim actions and speech will only help terrorists in the long run. This is what he had

to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If we're to succeed in defeating terrorism, we must enlist Muslim communities as some of our

strongest allies rather than push them away through suspicion and hate.

That does not mean denying the fact that an extremist ideology has spread within some Muslim communities. There's a real problem that Muslims must

confront without excuse.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CURNOW: OK, President Barack Obama there.

So how will all of this affect Trump's campaign going forward?

Let's bring in CNN political correspondent Sara Murray in Washington for that angle.

CURNOW: Is this denting his poll numbers?

No.

SARA MURRAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know this just happened yesterday, so we don't have new poll numbers yet. But I think we have seen

before that the normal rules of politics have not applied to Donald Trump.

This is a political calculation on his part. This is not a policy he's putting forth based on a lot of recommendations, based on what a lot of

experts are calling for. This is something he's doing because he sees that it speaks to fears, to misunderstanding and even to hatred toward the

Muslim community among some of the core conservatives that are supporting him.

The calculation behind Donald Trump right now is that if he puts forth a policy like this, he could boost his poll numbers even higher among

conservatives in places like Iowa.

He's doing all portfolio this as our latest CNN poll shows him far ahead of the rest of the GOP field in Iowa. But another poll showed Trump lagging

behind Ted Cruz in Iowa. So you can sort of see here that this is a calculation for Donald Trump designed to appeal to core conservatives.

CURNOW: OK, so with all that in mind, Republicans, though, have been calling him unhinged, a race-baiting religious bigot. We just heard from

Paul Ryan saying that this is not conservatism, this is not what the party stands for. This is not what America is about.

So the question then is, what is the Republican Party going to do about him?

Do they distance themselves?

How do they do that?

Do they want to?

MURRAY: Yes. That's an excellent question. And I think we are seeing the broadest negative reaction to Donald Trump that we have since he got

into the race and since his poll numbers start rising.

It is notable, like you said, House Speaker Paul Ryan, who has said he's not commenting on the 2016 presidential race, came out and slammed Trump's

proposal.

We also heard from the Republican Party leaders in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, the first three states to vote, all of them condemned

Donald Trump's proposal.

So I think we are starting to see that the party, the leaders of the party, in some ways, have sort of hit their threshold with Donald Trump. They

feel like this proposal, this plan, these statements, are a bridge too far. And part of the issue with --

[10:35:00]

MURRAY: -- that is they believe that no matter who the Republican nominee is, whether it's Donald Trump or whether someone else emerges ahead of him,

they'll be painted with these same comments.

CURNOW: OK. Sara Murray, thank you so much for your perspective. Appreciate it.

Well, it may seem like an odd gift but many Americans are listing guns on their Christmas wish list.

Gun stores across the country are reporting brisk sales. Many buyers say they want to protect themselves and their families, especially after the

randomness of the Paris and San Bernardino attacks, which is exactly what Donald Trump is trying to capitalize on.

Other buyers say they want to stock up on weapons in case the government passes stricter laws.

Well, just ahead here at the INTERNATIONAL DESK, past and present popes appear together in public for the first time in a while. We'll explain the

extraordinary reason for that.

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CURNOW: Welcome back.

Well, Pope Francis has kicked off an important event in the Roman Catholic Church. He opened the holy doors of St. Peter's Basilica to launch the so-

called Holy Year of Mercy.

Our Vatican correspondent Delia Gallagher joins us from Rome to explain what the holy year is all about.

It's simple, isn't it? It's about mercy trumping moralizing.

DELIA GALLAGHER, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Robyn. This is a really rare event that's happened at the Vatican today. It's something

which only happens every 25 years or so or whenever a pope decides to call one, such as Pope Francis has decided to do this year, under the theme of

mercy and forgiveness.

We know that it is a theme that, from the very beginning of his pontificate, he has wanted to emphasize, that is God's mercy toward all of

us and our mercy and forgiveness of each other.

One of the traditions that is connected to the beginning of this holy year or jubilee year is the opening of the holy doors. These are two bronze

doors, which are on the front of St. Peter's that are normally shut. The pope opened them today, walked through them, followed by the Pope Emeritus,

Benedict XVI, who we haven't seen in public in a long time. He's 88 years old right now. He was the second person to follow the pope through the

doors.

And now pilgrims and tourists can come through these holy doors. And the symbolism here, Robyn, is a kind of leaving behind of the past, starting

afresh --

[10:40:00]

GALLAGHER: -- starting with a clean slate. That's the message of this pope's beginning of this year of mercy -- Robyn.

CURNOW: Well, he's trying to look forward but it was interesting to see former Pope Benedict there. He looks very frail.

Why was he invited?

Why did he come to this occasion?

GALLAGHER: Well, you know, Pope Francis invites the pope emeritus on these kind of special public events, particularly today, because it is also the

day of one of the feasts of Mary in the church, called the Immaculate Conception. It's an important feast day anyway in the Catholic Church.

And that is presumably one of the reasons why Pope Francis wanted him here.

But he also does try to include him in any of the major public events that he does. Of course, Pope Benedict, when he resigned, said he was going to

live quietly at the Vatican and he has done so. But we know that Pope Francis talks to him and consults with him from time to time and considers

him a kind of grandfather of the church, as he has said.

So certainly, his participation, I think, was important for Pope Francis' sort of global message and also for the church because, of course, he's

trying to install some reform here at the Vatican and he certainly needs Pope Benedict's support in that as well -- Robyn.

CURNOW: Delia Gallagher in Rome, thanks so much.

Well, it was emotional and triumphant, a night of music less than a month after the Paris terror attacks. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) on this stage three weeks ago and we would like to offer them ours tonight.

Would you welcome the Eagles of Death Metal.

(APPLAUSE)

CURNOW (voice-over): Hugs all around there as U2 frontman, Bono, shared the spotlight at his band's Paris show Monday night when he introduced

American rockers, Eagles of Death Metal. They were playing at the Bataclan theater when it was attacked.

The band thanked U2 for the chance to perform. U2 responded on Twitter, saying, "We lent you our stage but you earned it."

On that note, we're going to say goodbye. I'm Robyn Curnow. Thanks so much for watching. I'll be back in just over an hour. But don't go

anywhere. "WORLD SPORT" with Patrick Snell is up next.

END