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American Cardinal Robert Prevost Elected as Pope Leo XIV; Indian P.M. Calls for Continued Alertness Amid Continuing Tensions; Pope Leo XIV Becomes First American To Lead Catholic Church; Trump Announces New Trade Deal With the U.K.; Russia Preparing For WWII Victory Day Parade. Aired 2-2:45a ET

Aired May 09, 2025 - 02:00   ET

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

[02:00:00]

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KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to all of you watching us around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is "CNN Newsroom."

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UNKNOWN: I'm the first American Pope. I never thought I'd live to see this.

POPE LEO XVI, BISHOP-ELECT OF ROME (through translator): Peace be with you all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Shock and celebration around the world. The conclave elects the first American Pope.

Our Robert Prevost rose from Chicago's suburbs to the Vatican as Pope Leo XIV. We'll hear from some of the people closest to him.

And in their latest standoff, India and Pakistan trade blame and shelling. We're live in Delhi with the latest on Kashmir.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from Atlanta, this is "CNN Newsroom" with Kim Brunhuber.

BRUNHUBER: Pope Francis was never going to be an easy act to follow, but the cardinals have chosen another leader from the New World who's seen, in many ways, as a natural successor. Chicago-born Cardinal Robert Prevost is now Pope Leo XIV and the first American ever elected.

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The new Pope, making rounds earlier at the Vatican and making the sign of the cross. In a few hours, he'll celebrate Mass at the Sistine Chapel, where he appeared on Thursday with the cardinals who elected him, many of them clapping as he walked by. Back in the U.S. state of Illinois, the Pope's brother described his reaction to the news.

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JOHN PREVOST, BROTHER OF POPE LEO XIV: Shock, disbelief, a whole lot of pride, a whole lot of, is this for real?

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BRUNHUBER: Many millions of people worldwide have now watched Pope Leo's iconic debut on the famous balcony of St. Peter's Basilica. CNN's Anderson Cooper shows us the events leading up to that historic moment.

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ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): The seagulls hardly noticed what the whole world could not miss, but the smoke on the Sistine Chapel roof brought news.

It came at first from thin air, then in Latin, a language of the Church, but far older than that.

CARDINAL DOMINIQUE MAMBERTI, PROTODEACON OF THE COLLEGE OF CARDINALS (translated): I announce to you a great joy.

COOPER (voice-over): The first words brought a hush, then a roar, as the square and 1.4 billion members of the Catholic faith all around the world understood what was coming and waited for this.

MAMBERTI (translated): We have a Pope.

COOPER (voice-over): Habemus Papam, we have a Pope, historic words, then, in the very next breath, history made.

MAMBERTI (translated): The most eminent and reverend lord, Lord Robert Francis, Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church, Prevost

COOPER (voice-over): Robert Cardinal Prevost, American of Chicago, South American by way of Peru, and the first all-American Pope.

It took two days of voting for the conclave to make its choice, and for St. Peter's Square, which has gone in just weeks from Easter celebration to the mournful majesty of burying one Pope, to ring out in joy again at the naming of the next.

Leo XIV, his name, according to the Vatican, a nod to Leo XIII, who ushered in the Church's modern social mission, and was Pope for some 25 years before he died in 1903.

This Leo, our modern-day Leo, came to the balcony, wearing the traditional red cape that Pope Francis refused. And though raised in the U.S., and looking out on more than a few people waving American flags, he spoke first in Italian, then in Spanish, but not English.

POPE LEO XIV (through translator): Peace be with you all.

Dearest brothers and sisters, this is the first greetings of the resurrected Christ, the good shepherd who has given up his life for God.

[02:05:07]

And I should also like this greeting of peace to enter our hearts, and your families, and to all those people, wherever they are, all peoples throughout the world. Peace be with you.

COOPER (voice-over): He thanked Pope Francis, who was a close ally. He pledged to lead a missionary church, a bridge-building church. Then, in Spanish, the language of both Francis and his adopted country, Peru, the new Pope closed with this.

POPE LEO XIV (through translator): And I should like to, therefore, pray together with you. Let us pray for this new mission, for the entire Church, and for peace in the world. And let us ask for this special grace from Mary, our Virgin.

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BRUNHUBER: And CNN's Vatican correspondent, Christopher Lamb, gave us great insight earlier into how the Cardinals reached their decision.

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CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: I think the fact that this vote for Cardinal Prevost to be Pope, hopefully on the 14th, the fact that it took place in four, possibly five ballots, shows that a consensus emerged swiftly behind him. Now, the way the conclaves work is a secret ballot, and what happens is front-runners emerge quite quickly after the first vote, and then it becomes very much a two- horse race.

And because Pope Leo XIV emerged after four, possibly five ballots, shows that a consensus formed around him very swiftly, and the Cardinals felt and believed that Cardinal Prevost should be the 267th successor of St. Peter.

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BRUNHUBER: A college friend of Pope Leo XIV says the new pontiff strongly believes in bringing people together. Emily Maher of CNN affiliate WCVB has the story.

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FR. RAYMOND DLUGOS, MERRIMACK COLLEGE: We took a few philosophy classes together.

EMILY MAHER, WCVB REPORTER (through translator): Father Raymond Dlugos now works at Merrimack College in Andover. He knows Pope Leo XIV personally. The two went to college together at Villanova University. DLUGOS: The biggest impression I have of Leo XIV from his college days, and again, I'm going to betray my Philadelphia roots and become a New Englander and tell you he's wicked smart.

MAHER (voice-over): He says his holiness is also calm, not flashy, and has committed his life to helping others, a true representation of the Augustinian way, an order based in the teachings of St. Augustine of Hippo, a theological giant of early Christianity.

DLUGOS: Our main charism is this idea of helping people find a way to get along together, to share things together, to walk together in harmony. Leo XIV, who I keep wanting to call Bob, has been doing that for more than 50 years of his life.

MAHER (voice-over): While Father Dlugos says he was speechless when Pope Leo stepped out onto the balcony greeting the world, he believes the cardinals who elected him did so for a reason.

DLUGOS: What I'm taking out of it is they elected a pope who's going to emphasize that we're all in this together, and really bringing us together in conversation and dialogue is essential to an Augustinian.

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BRUNHUBER: Well another close friend says he expects Pope Leo to continue the legacy of Pope Francis by serving the world's poor and suffering people and advocating for environmental preservation. That's just some of what we're hearing from people who've known the new pope for years.

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FR. ROBERT HAGAN, FRIEND OF POPE LEO XIV: We were flabbergasted. I mean, it was just watching like a member of your family emerge from that balcony. There were just so many emotions. I'm here in our St. Augustine friary in kind of the administrative offices of the province of St. Augustine where we do a lot of work for the order.

And so the staff and some students and people were just crying and so excited to see someone that, the man that we know, the humility, the intellect, the approachability, the warmth, the humor, the depth of faith and love of people, the love of the poor, to see that person now be the gift to the world, really, as the Holy Father is the shepherd of this flock.

For Leo, I don't think people aspire to be pope. I think he loved God and he loved his neighbor, and it took him to places like the poorest of the poor in Peru and to places around the world where people just discovered this authenticity and this genuine love for people.

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FR. MARK FRANCIS, ATTENDED CATHOLIC THEOLOGICAL UNION WITH POPE LEO XIV: He was a person who was extremely thoughtful and really desirous of making a change in the world. And evoking that name, what he's evoking is the whole social doctrine of the church, social teaching of the church, that every human being is made in the image and likeness of God and that everyone has a place on this earth and should be welcomed as brothers and sisters by one another.

And so his experience in Latin America also, I'm sure, has tempered a lot of his world view and has enabled him to see all kinds of different perspectives that perhaps we in the United States don't see as often.

FRANCIS ROONEY, HAS KNOWN POPE LEO XIV SINCE THE 1990S: To see someone you know that well become the pope, and he's going to be a fantastic pope. He's very balanced, he's judicious, he's calm, but he's also very smart, and he knows the things that the church needs. I think that he's going to deliver a lot of the same messages of Pope Francis, but in a much more delicate way, maybe less confrontational at times, although he's going to be willing to mix it up on issues like immigration and the treatment of disadvantaged people. I would expect him to continue Pope Francis' work there.

But he also brings an organizational skill, which the church sadly needs right now, in terms of its finances and the organization of the Curia. And you know, the Augustinians have never had any organizational challenges or problems because they've had good leaders like Pope Leo.

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BRUNHUBER: Well, as we've heard, the first American pope has deep ties to Peru and dual citizenship. We'll have a closer look at his time there and his upbringing in the U.S.

Plus exchanging fire and trading blame. The conflict between India and Pakistan is spiraling. We'll have the latest in a live report from the region.

That's coming up next. Stay with us.

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BRUNHUBER: Well, you see the explosions in southern Lebanon following what appear to be Israel's largest airstrikes there in weeks. Lebanon says the strikes killed one person and wounded eight others on Thursday. Israel says the attacks destroyed an underground Hezbollah facility.

Now the IDF says under a ceasefire agreement, Lebanon was supposed to keep Hezbollah out of that area. Israel hasn't kept up its end of the deal. The Israeli military hasn't withdrawn from southern Lebanon, as it had agreed to do.

There's been new cross-border fire between India and Pakistan. It's raising fears the two nuclear-armed rivals are on the brink of a wider conflict.

Have a look here. A new video shows damage in the aftermath of attacks overnight in India.

The Indian army says it repelled multiple attacks from Pakistani drones and other munitions along the line of control. The de facto border in disputed Kashmir.

Pakistan says it destroyed several Indian army checkpoints along the border in response to what it calls unprovoked firing from the Indian side. Indian officials say air defenses intercepted missiles and drones launched from Pakistan on Thursday.

Pakistan denies those attacks, but earlier said it killed 40 to 50 Indian soldiers along the line of control. It also said it downed more than two dozen Indian drones.

In its first public comments on the crisis, India's Prime Minister called for continued alertness. Ambassadors from both India and Pakistan spoke with CNN earlier about the conflict.

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VINAY KWATRA, INDIAN AMBASSADOR TO THE U.S.: Pakistan tried to engage some military targets on our side. Now this was Pakistan's way of saying to the world, look, we stand with the terrorists, we will do what's good for the terrorists, not what's good for the rest of the country.

PAMELA BROWN, CO-ANCHOR, "THE SITUATION ROOM": But is India at war with Pakistan?

KWATRA: We are at war with the terrorists.

RIZWAN SAEED SHEIKH, PAKISTANI AMBASSADOR TO THE U.S.: Attacking Pakistan and expecting us to sit back like sacrificial lambs and not responding is something that they shouldn't even have thought of. And whatever is being done, it's the third night, has on each night been initiated by India. And Pakistan has only been responding in self- defense.

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BRUNHUBER: Alright. I want to bring in journalist Vedika Sud covering all of this live from Delhi. So Vedika, with the tensions heating up, where do things stand now?

VEDIKA SUD, JOURNALIST: Well, every day is a new day and every night, I would say, has some story of the other emerging from both sides of the India-Pakistan border where India claims there have been airstrikes by Pakistan last night, local time, which Pakistan has denied. And you have Pakistan also making claims that you've just mentioned.

But I want to start with what the Indian military had said overnight local time here in India. They said they repelled strikes by Pakistani missiles and munitions in the northwestern part of the country.

I want to read from a statement that was issued by the defense ministry of India. And it said, and I quote them here, "Military stations at Jammu, Pathankot and Udhampur were targeted by Pakistani- origin drones and missiles along the international border in Jammu and Kashmir today. The threats were swiftly neutralized."

Pakistan's also been talking about the cross-border shelling that has been taking place. And they claim that it was unprovoked from the Indian side. Meanwhile, the Indian military says it was unprovoked from the Pakistani side.

Again, trading charges there. But looking at the visuals that you see from along the line of control on the Indian side, we can see the damage done. Intense damage to the homes of the people there, to the schools, to the hospitals.

And a lot of people have been evacuating that area now. While the government has asked them to evacuate and they've been aiding them in evacuating, some of them have moved out on their own.

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CNN has been speaking to these people. And one of them, while speaking to CNN, did say that he moved out with a part of his family while others stayed back. And about 60 of them were in one bunker.

It's been intense in terms of the cross-border shelling between the two countries. They've been accusing each other of entering their territory with missiles and conducting airstrikes.

So the tension is palpable as of now on both sides of the border, especially along the line of control. But there is tension even in the larger area of India because you also have the airports now on high alert.

And also a lot of people, civil servants here in India, from the central government, have been asked not to go on leave. So clearly there are steps that are being taken, even by India at this point, further away from the line of control, more towards Delhi and the rest of the country. Back to you.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, I appreciate you highlighting the effect on so many civilians caught in the middle of this. Vedika Sud live in Delhi, thank you so much.

I want to bring in Chietigj Bajpaee, who joins us now from London. He's a Senior Research Fellow for South Asia in the Asia-Pacific Program at Chatham House. Thank you so much for being here with us.

So, these two countries have fought, you know, three wars and several other, you know, smaller clashes over Kashmir. But some have argued that this conflict is different than it's been in years past, sort of escalating more quickly because of domestic factors in both countries that are fueling this escalation. Do you agree? CHIETIGJ BAJPAEE, SR. RESEARCH FELLOW, CHATHAM HOUSE: Yes, I think you

can't divorce these developments from broader political developments in both countries. So I think in the case of Pakistan, I think the Pakistani state, and in particular the Pakistani military and intelligence establishment, essentially derives its legitimacy from maintaining this anti-India position.

I mean, it uses the India threat to justify the military's overwhelming influence in Pakistani politics and the economy. The army chief and the intelligence chief, the ISI chief, they are the real sources of authority in Pakistan, not the Prime Minister, not the President.

And essentially, if relations were good with India, there would be no justification for the military to have such a dominating role in Pakistani politics and the economy. And on the Indian side, India has clearly adopted a tough on security posture since the Modi government assumed power just over a decade ago. We've seen this with its response to previous attacks in 2016 and 2019.

And there's also been, you know, evidence of this in the rhetoric by the government that it would pursue the terrorists wherever they may be.

That, plus the decision, yes, sorry, just to rescind the special autonomous status of Jammu and Kashmir, in 2019, I think that has also added to the bad blood in the bilateral relationship.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, given all that, it's no surprise so many people are worried about where this might lead this time around.

Now, I want to take a little bit of a detour here. India suspended the Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan, and Pakistan has warned that any action affecting water resources would be considered an act of war. So how significant is the water dimension of this conflict?

BAJPAEE: It's undoubtedly a very significant dimension. I mean, this is a World Bank-brokered water-sharing agreement, which has been in place since 1960. It's survived several periods of tension between both countries.

Both countries have subsequently been to war in 1965, 1971, 1999, and the water treaty has held together. And this treaty is vital for Pakistan, 80 percent of the country's cultivated land is dependent on water, which is coming from the Indus River system.

And the government has stated that it considers any suspension of the treaty or any violation of the treaty to be an act of war. So it's clearly a game-changer of sorts in the bilateral relationship.

BRUNHUBER: All right. So let's look at where this is heading now. I mean, the U.S. has historically been very important in de-escalating tensions between the two countries.

The Trump administration has been sort of active this time around in trying to urge restraint. But what do you make of the Vice President's comments that the ongoing conflict is, quote, "fundamentally none of our business"?

BAJPAEE: Well, I think, you know, the Trump administration has taken some actions. We've seen Secretary of State Marco Rubio has spoken to both the Indian and Pakistani national security advisors. Trump has made statements that if there's anything he could do to help, that he would be there.

But at the same time, he said that, you know, both countries would sort this out one way or the other. I think this partially reflects, I think, the Trump administration's world view, but also, I think, a change in the geopolitical context.

You know, particularly after the U.S. and NATO withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. I think that has further diminished Pakistan and also, in particular, South Asia's importance for the United States.

BRUNHUBER: All right. So many anxious eyes on this conflict. I really appreciate you breaking it all down for us.

Chietigj Bajpaee, thank you for your analysis.

BAJPAEE: Thank you for having me.

[02:25:00]

BRUNHUBER: Well, a dual citizen who likes math and baseball now leads the Catholic Church. We'll look at the life of Robert Prevost before he became Pope. Stay with us.

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[02:30:01]

BRUNHUBER: You hear them there. The bells ringing out at the largest Roman Catholic Church in the U.S. after the Vatican announced the election of American Robert Prevost as Pope Leo XIV.

This is the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington. The new pope attended Villanova University in Pennsylvania, the only Augustinian Catholic University in the U.S.

CNN asked students at the Catholic University of America in Washington what they think about the first American pope.

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BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Okay, what's your reaction? A first American pope in history.

JACK FARRELL, CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY FRESHMAN: I was stunned to be honest. I mean, I knew we had so many amazing cardinals from the U.S., but I knew there were so many options from all around the world. And the fact that he's American was just I did not expect in the slightest. It's just really, really awesome. LEO ENGBERT, CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY FRESHMAN: We definitely need a

reformer. I would agree with Tristan in saying that we really need unity and peace right now in the church, and I think its great that he's from America, because we need a figure -- a world figure like that from America to spread the true meaning of Christ's gospel around the world.

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BRUNHUBER: Now, before he became Pope Leo, or even a cardinal, he was Bob from Chicago.

CNN's Whitney Wild has a look at his background in the U.S. and beyond.

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WHITNEY WILD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Pope Leo XIV, the first American pope in history, presenting himself to the world.

POPE LEO XIV, CATHOLIC CHURCH: Peace be with you.

WILD: The 69-year-old Robert Prevost was born in Chicago. His father, Louis, an educator. His mother, Mildred, a librarian, according to "The Chicago Sun-Times".

He spoke about his early years in this interview with the Midwest Augustinians 10 years ago.

POPE LEO XIV: From a young age, I had sort of a sense that I would like to do some kind of service in the church. Priesthood was a part of that. Both of my older brothers studied at an Augustinian high school, Mendel High School, here in Chicago.

WILD: He attended Villanova University in Pennsylvania, earning a bachelors in mathematics before going on to receive his master of divinity from the Catholic Theological Union of Chicago.

SR. BARBARA REID, OP, PRESIDENT, CATHOLIC THEOLOGICAL UNION: I have absolutely no doubt that our new pope, Leo XIV, will just be an extraordinary leader. We didn't think it was possible for an American to -- to be the person that the cardinals would choose. But he's a person that really has the heart of the whole church.

WILD: Today, we got a tour of where the pope lived during some of his time at the Catholic Theological Union.

FATHER JOHN LYDON, ORDER OF SAINT AUGUSTINE: Pope Leo actually worked here after he was our friar general, and he finished his term. He came and lived in this house and had the job that I presently have, the director of formation.

WILD: Pope Leo XIV has spent much of his life and career as a missionary in South America. He spent a decade in Trujillo, Peru, and served as a bishop in Chiclayo, another Peruvian city, from 2014 to 2023. Pope Leo XIV is a dual U.S. and Peruvian national. According to Peru's

National Migration Registry, he became a Peruvian citizen in August of 2015. Today, he outlined his vision for the church, echoing his path to becoming the 267th leader of the Catholic Church.

POPE LEO XIV: We have to seek together to be a missionary church, a church that builds bridges and dialogue.

WILD: Prevost just last year spoke at a Chicago area Catholic Church about how the church picks the pope it needs.

POPE LEO XIV: I truly believe that Pope Francis was elected by the College of Cardinals in 2013 because of the church at this time needs Francis. At a different time, we needed Pope Benedict. And at a different time, we needed Saint John Paul II, et cetera, et cetera.

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WILD (on camera): Father John Lydon told us that, yes, he is an American by birth, but he is not an American pope. He says he has a global mindset, a universal mindset. And in fact, it was last summer here in Illinois when now, Pope Leo said that he's -- the time that was the most impactful for him was the time he spent in Peru, those 20 years were the most important in shaping who he is as a leader. Now, as we know, the leader of all the Catholic Church.

Whitney Wild, CNN, Chicago.

BRUNHUBER: Russia is celebrating Victory Day today. When we come back, well check in on activities in Moscow as President Vladimir Putin welcomes world leaders for a massive military parade.

That and more coming up. Stay with us.

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KEIR STARMER, UK PRIME MINISTER: This is a really fantastic, historic day in which we can announce this deal between our two great countries. And I think it's a real tribute to the history that we have of working so closely together.

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BRUNHUBER: Well, that was British Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaking to U.S. President Donald Trump Thursday after he announced a new trade deal with the U.K. It could mean some relief for the presidents historically high tariffs. Starmer says the deal will remove tariffs on steel and aluminum. It will also cut tariffs on British cars. But he said there are still some details that need to be ironed out.

Russia is celebrating what is considered to be the most sacred day on the calendar, with a huge military parade in Moscow. Today is Victory Day, marking 80 years since the allies defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II. World leaders friendly to Russia are joining Vladimir Putin for the event, including Chinas Xi Jinping and President Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus.

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President Putin declared a three day unilateral ceasefire in Ukraine to coincide with the celebrations, but Ukrainian officials say Russian forces have repeatedly violated their own truce.

I'm Kim Brunhuber. "WORLD SPORT" is next, and I'll be back at the top of the hour with more news.

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(WORLD SPORT)