Return to Transcripts main page

Early Start with Rahel Solomon

Pope Leo XIV Celebrates First Mass As Pontiff; Russians Mark Victory Day; Indian, Pakistan Exchange Cross-Border Fire. Aired 5:30- 6a ET

Aired May 09, 2025 - 05:30   ET

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

[05:30:00]

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: So I think the reception -- what we're seeing in the media here at least is they're giving him the benefit of the doubt stressing that he's talking about building bridges which, of course, has been juxtaposed with the position of the current resident of the White House who seems to be more interested in building walls than bridges -- Erin.

ERIN BURNETT, CNN ANCHOR, "ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT": All right, Ben Wedeman. Thank you very much.

And so fair of Ben to say, Christopher, that the use -- when the pope came out and addressed -- to talk about bridges.

CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Yes.

BURNETT: It is not a word that you use as an incoming pope --

LAMB: Yes.

BURNETT: -- without knowledge of the weight it carries around the world, especially in the United States, when you are the first American pope to talk about building bridges people will hear as opposed to walls.

LAMB: Yes. I think that's significant given the geopolitical global situation and what's happening in the United States.

I think the sense I get from Pope Leo is he is not a culture warrior. He's not going to tell you what he's against. He's not going to try and convince people. He wants to listen. He wants to dialogue. He wants to be that bridge builder, and I think that is quite a significant statement.

BURNETT: And it's so important the way that you put it because by saying bridge builder you are juxtaposing yourself with a wall builder. And yet, the way that he presents it that he has seen, that we have heard from describe is as somebody -- that he would build that bridge not to wall himself off from others who would prefer to build walls, right, if I'm -- if I'm making sense here.

FATHER PATRICK MARY BRISCOE, EDITOR, OUR SUNDAY VISITOR: Yes. BURNETT: But that seems to fit --

BRISCOE: Yes.

BURNETT: -- who he is.

BRISCOE: Yes, and he certainly has all of this contemporary resonance. And what I like about it is that it's an -- it's an idea that comes from the tradition. It's not something that Pope Leo has made up. It's one of the great titles of the pope and has been for centuries as the great bridge builder. The pontifex maximus.

LAMB: Pontifex means bridge.

BRISCOE: And so when we talk about the pope --

BURNETT: Quite literally means bridge.

BRISCOE: Yes. This is a really -- this is a core understanding of what it means to be a pope actually. That he embodies the kind of union of the church. The union of the world, in fact, in a certain way.

BURNETT: We are going to listen in because we are about to hear Pope Leo XIV gives his first homily as pope. This would have been what he has chosen to say in his first mass as pope. Let's listen to the mass.

(Holy mass with the cardinals)

POPE LEO XIV: I'll begin with a word in English and the rest is in Italian. But I want to repeat the words from the responsorial Psalm. I will sing a new song to the lord because he has done marvels -- and, indeed, not just with me but with all of us, my brother cardinals as we celebrate this morning. I invite you to recognize the marvels that the Lord has done. The blessings that the Lord continues to pour out upon all of us.

Through the ministry of Peter you have called me to carry that cross and to be blessed with that mission. And I know I can rely on each and every one of you to walk with me as we continue as a church, as a community of friends of Jesus, as believers, to announce the good news. To announce the gospel.

POPE LEO XIV (through translator): Christ is the son of living God. In these words Peter asked the master, together with the other disciples, about his faith in him. He expressed the patrimony that the church, through the apostolic succession, has preserved, deepened, and handed on for 2,000 years.

[05:35:00]

Jesus is the Christ, the son of the living God. The only savior who alone reveals the face of the father in him, God, in order to make himself close and accessible to men and women, revealed himself to us in the trusting eyes of a child, in the lively mind of a young person, and in the mature features of a man, finally appearing to his disciples after the resurrection with his glorious body. He thus showed us a model of human holiness that we can all imitate together with the promise of an eternal destiny that transcends all our limits and abilities.

Peter, in his response, understands both of these things -- the gift of God and the path to follow in order to allow himself to be changed by that God gift. They are two inseparable aspects of salvation entrusted to the church to be proclaimed for the good of the human race. Indeed, they are entrusted to us who were chosen by him before we were formed in our mother's wombs, reborn in the waters of baptism, and surpassing our limitations, and with no merit of our own brought here and sent forth from here so that the gospel might be proclaimed to every creature.

In a particular way, therefore, God has called me by your election to succeed the prince of the apostles and has entrusted this treasure to me so that with his help I may be its faithful administrator for the sake of the entire mystical body of the church. He has done so in order that she may be forever fully a city set on a hill, an ark of salvation sailing through the waters of history, and a beacon that illumines the dark nights of this world.

And this not so much through the magnificence of her structures or the grandeur of her buildings, like the monuments among which we find ourselves today, but rather through the holiness of her members. For we are the people whom God has chosen as his own so that we may declare the wondrous deeds of him who called us out of the darkness into his marvelous light.

Peter, however, makes his profession of faith in reply to a specific question. Who do people say that the son of man is? The question is not insignificant. It concerns, on the contrary, an essential aspect of our ministry, namely the world in which we live with its limitations and its potential, its questions, and its convictions.

Who do people say that the son man is? If we reflect on the scene, we are considering we might find two possible -- two possible answers which characterize two different attitudes.

First of all, there is the world's response. Matthew tells us that this conversation between Jesus and his disciples takes place in the beautiful town of Caesarea Philippi filled with luxurious palaces set in a magnificent natural landscape at the foot of Mount Hermon. But also a place of cruel powerplays and the scene of betrayals and infidelity.

This setting speaks to us of a world that considers Jesus a completely insignificant person. At best, someone with an unusual and striking way of speaking and acting. And so once his presence becomes irksome because of his demands for honesty and his stern moral requirements, this world will not hesitate to reject and eliminate him.

Then there is the other possible response to Jesus' question, that of ordinary people. For them, the Nazarene is not a charlatan but an upright man -- one who has courage, who speaks well, and who says the right things like other great prophets in the history of Israel. [05:40:13]

That is why they follow him, at least for as long as they can do so without too much risk or inconvenience. But to them he is only a man and therefore in times of danger during the passion they too abandon him and depart disappointed.

What is striking about these two attitudes is their relevance today. They embody notions that we could easily find on the lips of many men and women in our own time. Even while essentially identical, they're expressed in different languages.

Even today, there are many settings in which the Christian faith is considered absurd, meant for weak and unintelligent folk. Settings where other securities are preferred, like technology, money, success, power, or pleasure.

These are contexts where it is not easy to preach the gospel and bear witness for its truth where believers are mocked, opposed, despised, or at best tolerated and pitied. Yet, precisely for this reason they are the places where our missionary outreach is desperately needed. A lack of faith is often tragically accompanied by the loss of meaning in life, the neglect of mercy, appalling violations of human dignity, the crisis of the family, and so many other wounds which afflict our society.

Today, too, there are many settings in which Jesus, although appreciated as a man, is reduced to a kind of charismatic leader or superman. This is true not only among nonbelievers but also among many baptized Christians who thus end up living at this level in a state of practical atheism.

This is the world that has been entrusted to us -- a world in which as Pope Francis taught us so many times, we are called to bear witness to our joyful faith in Jesus the savior. Therefore, it is essential that we too repeat with Peter, "You are the Christ, the son of the living God."

It is essential to do this, first of all, in our personal relationship with the Lord. In our commitment to a daily journey of conversion. Then to do so as a church, experiencing together our fidelity to the Lord and bringing the good news to all.

I say this, first of all, to myself, as the successor of Peter, as I begin my mission as bishop of Rome. And according to the well-known expression of Saint Ignatius of Antioch, I'm called to preside. Led in chains in this. Saint Ignatius, who was led in chains to the city -- the place of his impending sacrifice, wrote to the Christians there "Then I will truly be a disciple of Jesus Christ when the world no longer sees my body."

Ignatius was speaking about being devoured by wild beasts it the arena. And so it happened that his words apply more generally to an indispensable commitment for all those in the church who exercise a ministry of authority. It is to move aside so that Christ may remain. To make one's self small so that he may be known and glorified. To spend one's self to the utmost so that all may have the opportunity to know and love him.

[05:45:00]

May God grant me this grace today and always through the loving intercession of Mary, mother of the church.

BURNETT: Pope Leo XIV concluding his first homily as pope, addressing the cardinals in the Sistine Chapel in this first mass. You heard him there at the end asking God to grant him the grace through the loving intercession of Mary.

His homily in Italian, as you heard, but began in English, and began in a way that would be familiar to Americans who are now seeing the first American pope in what would seem a -- culturally such an American recognized way, opening his arms and talking to his brother cardinals. Choosing the significance of beginning his homily in English, a first such -- we're aware that would have ever happened for a pope and in the Sistine Chapel, nodding to the fact that he is the first American pope. Then he switched into Italian for his homily as this first mass continues.

We are going to take a very brief break. Our breaking news coverage of the mass of the first American pope here in Rome continues after this, along with the breaking news out of India and Pakistan. We'll be back in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL)

[05:51:00]

RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back. I'm Rahel Solomon, and here are some of the stories we are watching for you this morning.

Newly elected Pope Leo XIV celebrating his first mass as pontiff in the Sistine Chapel. He's the first American to become pope. In first address in Saint Peter's Square on Thursday, Pope Leo called on people to show charity to others, and he vowed that the church will be one that builds bridges and dialogue.

Vladimir Putin is marking 80 years since the allies' victory in World War II. The Russian president speaking at a huge military parade in Moscow. He also laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. China's Xi Jinping and Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro were among 29 world leaders in attendance.

And there has been new cross-border fire between India and Pakistan. The Indian army says that it repelled multiple attacks from Pakistani drones and other munitions along the line of control -- the de facto border in disputed Kashmir. Pakistan says that it destroyed several Indian army checkpoints along the border in response to what it calls unprovoked firing from the Indian side.

Let's stay with this story now and bring in CNN's Nic Robertson, covering all of this live this hour from Rawalpindi in northern Pakistan. Nic, give us a sense of what the latest is on the ground this morning. NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yeah. When you're looking at Kashmir across that line of control, there has been intense shelling. People are fleeing the border area right now. That's what we're understanding.

Overnight, Pakistani officials told us that India sent more drones into Pakistan. They sent 29. According to Pakistani officials, India sent 29 drones into Pakistan yesterday. One of them came down here.

And I'm going to ask Javed just to give us a show-and-tell here. This is a cafe area. You see some of the metal work ripped down here. Javed, if you can pan up you can see there where the drone impacted on the building up there above us. And if you come here, you get a sense of -- look, the shrapnel literally splashed all across the wall here. It came down. There's shrapnel marks all over the ground here. A piece of shrapnel lying on the ground.

Now, it was about 10:30 in the morning when that happened yesterday. This area here is known as Food Street. Fortunately, at that time it wasn't too busy, but the windowfronts in all these restaurants were blown out. They're being tidied up today.

But right behind, what you're looking at there is the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, and there is a major cricketing event going on here -- or there was. The Pakistan Super League bringing in international players. It's the sort of -- it's the main cricketing event of the year inside Pakistan. That -- because the foreign minister said actually it was the stadium that was the target of the drone.

The organizers of this cricketing event have put it on pause. They're moving it to the UAE. That's going to cost several millions of dollars to do.

India, in the meantime, is also now pausing matches in the Indian Premier League -- a major sporting even there as well.

And it's ironic if you will that cricket -- the sort of unifying thing for the youth of these two nations is getting affected by these attacks.

But this is what people are living in fear of. Here, yesterday, one man in his mid-20s was killed. Two people were injured.

SOLOMON: Yeah. Nic Robertson reporting live for us there in northern Pakistan as we continue to see the ripple effects of this conflict, and as many world leaders around the world watch to see if this continues even further into a wider conflict.

Nic Robertson, thank you.

Let's go back now live to our top story of the day, the first pope of St. Francis. I want to bring in Erin Burnett who is at the Vatican -- Erin.

BURNETT: All right. And Rahel, here at the Vatican people are gathered in the square because the first mass is underway that is being led by Pope Leo XIV. And a few historic things have happened in this already historic moment of the first American pope. That is, in this first mass.

[05:55:10]

He began his homily in English, speaking to his brother cardinals, talking about what he sees as the marvels of faith, choosing to speak in such an American way. Opening his arms. Touching his heart. Deeply culturally American.

Then switching into Italian for his homily in which he speaks of Jesus as reduced to a charismatic leader or superman in the minds of many, making it clear that is something he wants to change speaking to the cardinals.

As this mass concludes in the Sistine Chapel they will be going to lunch together. And Pope Leo XIV will be formally beginning his reign, which could be 20-25 years. A serious and significant commitment by these cardinals to this historic first American pope here in Rome.

Thanks so much for joining us here on EARLY START. I'm Erin Burnett continuing our live coverage of the Vatican. We have coverage continuing as the first mass wraps up. That is right after this break.

(COMMERCIAL)