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Faithful say Goodbye to Beloved Leader; Man Detained in Mosul had CBS News Credentials; Interview With Gilbert Levine

Aired April 08, 2005 - 14:01   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.


KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Applause and an outpouring of adoration for Pope John Paul II as the faithful say goodbye to a beloved leader.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: And this is the part of the funeral you did not see. The Vatican releases photos of the burial ceremony. And we are going to have more.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At the very first meeting I remember saying to him that I thought he was sent by the lord to heal the relationship between Catholics and Jews.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: And the man known as the pope's conductor joins us live to talk about how the pontiff helped him deepen his Jewish faith.

From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Kyra Phillips.

LIN: And I'm Carol Lin, in for Miles O'Brien.

CNN LIVE FROM brings you extensive coverage of the pope's funeral.

PHILLIPS: "A seed of immortality," the words of a cardinal referring to the earthly remains of a pope, interred not in above- ground crypts, like many of his predecessors, but in the earth as a sign of humility. This is John Paul II buried in the grotto under St. Peter's Basilica after a funeral, an event unmatched in human history. John Paul II's place in history may be assured if those chants in St. Peter's Square prove prophetic.

Let's listen to a bit of CNN's coverage this morning with Anderson Cooper and CNN Vatican analyst John Allen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CROWD: Santo! Santo! Santo!

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: An extraordinary moment, John Allen. What are they chanting?

JOHN ALLEN, CNN VATICAN ANALYST: The word is "Santo," which is the Italian word for "saint," obviously expressing their desire to see John Paul canonized. And, you know, this is how a process of sainthood is supposed to work in the Catholic Church. '

It's supposed to be the most democratic process. It starts with spontaneous public devotion, and then it's ratified after the church. And here we see those signs. "Santo subito," a saint soon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Now, in the mass itself, presiding Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger said that the historic throngs share hearts filled with sadness, joyful hope and profound gratitude.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(SINGING)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): The lord is my shepherd. I shall not want.

CARDINAL JOSEPH RATZINGER (through translator): Brothers and sisters, present here in St. Peter's Square is the very spirit of Christ in the ways of silver, in the roads of Rome, especially in this huge crowd which is silent and in prayer.

From the moment he was a young student, John Paul, Karol Wojtyla, was a great lover of literature and poetry. Working in a chemical factory surrounded by the Nazi terror, he heard the voice of the lord saying, "Follow me."

In 1978, Cardinal Wojtyla heeded once again the voice of the lord. He renewed his dialogue with Peter, and as it says in the gospel, "Dost thousand love me, Simon, son of Peter? In that case, feed my flock." The archbishop of Krakow asks him the same question in the name of Christ, and Karol Wojtyla replies in exactly the same way as Simon, son of Peter.

(APPLAUSE)

The life of Christ was the dominant feature of our beloved Holy Father. And he who has seen him pray and preach knows that full well. And it is his thanks to being profoundly entrenched in Christ we can be sure that our beloved pope is now at the window of the house of his father, and he sees us, and he blesses us.

(APPLAUSE)

He is looking at us and blessing us.

(SINGING)

For him, with him and in him, in the unity of the holy spirit, let us in the spirit of the resurrected Christ give each other a sign of peace.

The lamb of god, who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us.

(SINGING)

Christ has risen from the dead, destroying death by death and to those in the tombs he has given life.

(SINGING)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: It is just after 8:00 p.m. in Vatican City, and night has fallen. And so, finally, has the rain after a week of fair weather.

CNN's Diana Muriel is still out and about.

Diana, what a spectacular day. And I think you are best to actually put it in words of what it was like to be there.

DIANA MURIEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It was quite the most amazing experience, Carol. I walked from my hotel to the live location in the early part of the morning simply because the roads have been closed and traffic had come to a standstill. And it was possibly the most good-natured crowd I have ever walked through, despite the fact they were there in so many numbers, standing shoulder to shoulder in the long avenue leading away from the piazza and filling the piazza, of course, waiting for hours in this fresh breeze that has sprung up after so many days of hot weather, waiting to say their final farewell and witness the service.

Some able to see a little of what was going to, but most relying on the large screens that had been erected both near the piazza and indeed all around Rome. And as I walked through, there were the sounds of all these different languages, from Polish to English to Italian. Almost every language under the sun was represented in that piazza and in that long avenue this day.

And, of course, the pictures that were released by the Vatican so quickly after the burial gave the whole crowd the final look, the final moment when Pope John Paul II was finally laid to rest in the ground in the basilica -- in the grotto underneath the basilica. This 264th pope, who joins more than a hundred of his predecessors, in the space occupied by a much-loved pope, John XXIII, who indeed, this pope, Pope John Paul II, had requested his body be moved in the late 1970s, in 1979, moved up into the basilica. And he occupies that space that has been freed there.

A very, very intimate picture released by the Vatican and released so quickly, and coming at the end of this elaborate funeral service which, indeed, in total, lasted around seven hours -- Carol.

LIN: Yes. And some of those pictures, as you say, a very intimate feel and illustrating some of the pope's last wishes. Like the silk cloth to cover his face, and that his burial be in the earth, he be interred in the ground and not above in a tomb.

Diana, one of the observations that many of our analysts have made was the remarkable -- and you just touched on it, the remarkable calm and the silence, actually, in St. Peter's Square with so many people --what, a couple hundred thousand people gathered in one location -- the silence as people took in the ceremony.

MURIEL: Indeed, Carol, there was. There was this sense of serenity and peace that descended upon this crowd.

But this crowd was also able to find its own voice. And if you followed the homily that was given by Cardinal Ratzinger, then you noticed that the crowd would break into applause from time to time, punctuating his remarks and making certain that their voice was also being heard.

And then at the end of communion service, they actually interrupted that part of the service to shout "Santo subito," which means "sanctification now," calling for the sanctification of their beloved pope, John Paul II. So the crowd, even though they were quiet and they were somber, they were also enthusiastic in their support for their pope -- Carol.

LIN: Diana, thank you very much. Diana Muriel reporting live on this historic event.

In fact, I'm going to be talking more about the potential sainthood of Pope John Paul II with our Vatican analyst later in this program. But tonight, in our primetime coverage of the funeral of Pope John Paul II, tune in because we are going to replay the entire ceremony.

Anderson cooper kicks it all off at 7:00 Eastern. Paula Zahn and Larry King and Aaron Brown also join that lineup.

PHILLIPS: Straight ahead, when a Jewish conductor met the pope little did he know how much his life would be transformed by that meeting. Just ahead on LIVE FROM, we're going to talk with the man that the pope simply called "our maestro."

Sacred symbols rich with meaning like these drops of water on a coffin. We're going to show you some of the significance of the symbolism later on LIVE FROM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: All right. This just in to the CNN Center. Multinational forces are detaining an individual, but there is a back story to this. So let's go to Barbara Starr live at the Pentagon.

Barbara, this is a report that I'm getting here at the anchor desk. A detainee out of Mosul, Iraq, but someone who was carrying CBS News credentials but may be an insurgent. What do you know about this?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Carol, a very disturbing story for all of the news media operating in Iraq and in combat zones around the world, of course. The multinational forces in Iraq have just announced that they are detaining a man who was wounded in an engagement in Mosul on Wednesday when U.S. forces went after some insurgents.

There was a bit of a firefight. This man was standing nearby. He was wounded, and he was carrying a video camera at the time.

He was injured, U.S. forces treated him. They were very sorry that they injured this man carrying a video camera. He was carrying credentials as a freelance cameraman working for CBS News in Iraq.

Well, now he is under detention, and the coalition is saying this man who was carrying CBS News credentials poses an imperative threat to forces in Iraq.

Sources telling CNN that when they looked at his video camera they found a number of incidents of what they believe to be IED attacks against U.S. forces on his video camera. And they believe that he possibly was pre-positioned to film and video those attacks, that he had knowledge of them.

The indications, again, are this man is an Iraqi national, or certainly not an American, it is not believed. He was carrying credentials for CBS News. He is now under detention by coalition forces -- Carol.

LIN: Very quickly, Barbara, I mean, we've interviewed -- as journalists, we've interviewed other journalists who have been embedded with the insurgents. Number one, is there a question that he is -- he is an insurgent posing as a journalist and that's the threat, or number two, that he had prior knowledge as a journalist that he should have given up to multinational Forces, which is a whole different other question?

STARR: What the coalition is saying at this point -- and, of course, it's very early on. Let me quote from the statement they have issued. That they are investigating, "his previous activities, as a well as his alleged support of anti-Iraqi insurgency activity."

So, clearly, a very intense investigation going on -- Carol.

LIN: All right. And obviously, on our end we're going to be pursuing some sort of comment out of CBS News to see what they have to say about this individual.

STARR: Indeed.

LIN: All right. Thanks very much, Barbara, live at the Pentagon -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Now we're going to switch gears once again.

He was known as the pope's conductor. As a matter of fact, the pope called him "our maestro." Gilbert Levine was definitely blessed with two gifts in his life, a gift of music and a unique relationship with John Paul II.

Gilbert Levine organized papal concerts for 17 years, music to the pope's and many others' ears. Levine joins us now live from Vatican City.

Our maestro, good to be see you. GILBERT LEVINE, CONDUCTOR, PITTSBURGH SYMPHONY: Good to be here with you.

PHILLIPS: You first met the pope when you were the director of Krakow Symphony. And you said that you instantly connected with him when you met him. Tell me about that experience.

LEVINE: He instantly connected with me. And what was remarkable was that I was meeting the fourth priest I ever met in my life. And he put me at ease.

This was the pope in his public library in a tete a tete. And he put me at ease within seconds.

And with minutes, we were two citizens of Krakow, one who had lived his -- largely his life there before going to Rome, and me, who had just been there for two months. But he made us bond. It was really absolutely remarkable, and that bond which he created and fostered lasted for 17 years until today, obviously.

PHILLIPS: You said that you had lacked a spiritual dimension in your life. You are Jewish by birth, then you developed this relationship with him. How did he affect your spirituality?

LEVINE: Well, it wasn't a spirituality. It was that -- the spirituality for me was musical.

There was a central place for my spirituality, and it was music. And what the pope did, really quite astonishingly to me, is brought out my Jewishness and made me much more conscious of my Jewish heritage, much more religious, much more deeply faith-filled.

The faith was there. He blew on the ember and really made it glow. And never once tried to convert me, to evangelize me, but saw me and my Jewish faith as very, very important to him.

He wants people --he wanted people of faith to develop their faith, to deepen their faith. It was a very important part of his -- his ability to reach across lines to other faiths was the fact that he respected your faith. He wasn't trying to convert you.

PHILLIPS: Gilbert, you and I have talked before, talked about how music is extremely spiritual in so many ways. How do you think that the pope used music to express his ideas, the missions that he wanted to accomplish?

LEVINE: Only certain things did he think music could serve. And it was very important.

In 1995, I went to him and said I wanted to do a concert for him at the United Nations. He was going and speaking there. He said, "Not possible." Two words, (SPEAKING POLISH) in Polish, and it was over.

With respect to interfaith relations, with respect to things where words failed, even his words failed, he saw music. And he used me and my music to foster his agenda. It was quite a remarkable union of music and spirit that he fostered. And he wanted these things to transcend words. It was remarkable, really.

PHILLIPS: Well, and it was remarkable, too, the Holocaust survivor's concert that you did. You said you believed the pope was sent by god to heal relationships between Catholics and Jews. We saw what he did. It was pretty amazing.

Did the pope have a favorite type of music? A favorite song?

LEVINE: Well, it was really interesting. He loved music from Renaissance music, from chant, which we heard today at the funeral, to some of the most contemporary music. He loved the music of a Polish composer named Goretski (ph), writing today, alive today.

So he had a tremendous range of music that he loved. But I came to understand that it was music that spoke spirituality, was revealing of the human spirit in a profound way, and maybe of god's voice in some way. And he used that for his purposes.

Music was never there just to be listened to for its beauty, but for its deeper meaning. And he used it to reach out to people of other faiths, to reach across boundaries in remarkable ways. And I think the most important things to understand, that these were his ideas, his concepts which he wanted in his pontificate that he used music to bridge.

And it was just an incredible honor to me as an artist to have him as a patron, as a believer in the gift of music. It was life- fulfilling in a certain way.

PHILLIPS: Speaking of gift of music, he received a lot of gifts, too. We came across a picture, Gilbert, of B.B. King actually giving one of his guitars to the pope. I just thought it was so fantastic.

He truly did love every type of musician. I'm just curious if he ever got a chance to play the guitar. Do you know?

LEVINE: No, I'm not privy to that. I don't think so.

PHILLIPS: Well, it just doesn't get any better than being the pope's conductor. Do you know what's next for you?

LEVINE: Well, there are many things next. But I have two concerts that in fact were planned with him which will take place in the future.

I'm doing a concert on the 30th of July to honor him in Cologne Cathedral that we had talked about for the last six months, maybe a year. And I'm doing a concert in November in the United States which will also honor his lifelong commitment to interfaith.

So I'm hoping that that aspect of my life will deepen and grow and be part of my life forever, because it's been the most remarkable experience an artist could ever hope for.

PHILLIPS: I can just imagine. I hope that you'll let us accompany you on that concert, Gilbert. We'd love to cover it.

LEVINE: Thanks so much.

PHILLIPS: Cologne Cathedral, I'm going to remember that. Gilbert Levine, thanks so much.

LEVINE: Thanks.

LIN: That was wonderful.

You know, around the world, across religious and cultural lines, clearly today was the day to remember the pope. So straight ahead on LIVE FROM, from India to Indiana, how the world paid tribute.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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Aired April 8, 2005 - 14:01   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Applause and an outpouring of adoration for Pope John Paul II as the faithful say goodbye to a beloved leader.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: And this is the part of the funeral you did not see. The Vatican releases photos of the burial ceremony. And we are going to have more.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At the very first meeting I remember saying to him that I thought he was sent by the lord to heal the relationship between Catholics and Jews.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: And the man known as the pope's conductor joins us live to talk about how the pontiff helped him deepen his Jewish faith.

From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Kyra Phillips.

LIN: And I'm Carol Lin, in for Miles O'Brien.

CNN LIVE FROM brings you extensive coverage of the pope's funeral.

PHILLIPS: "A seed of immortality," the words of a cardinal referring to the earthly remains of a pope, interred not in above- ground crypts, like many of his predecessors, but in the earth as a sign of humility. This is John Paul II buried in the grotto under St. Peter's Basilica after a funeral, an event unmatched in human history. John Paul II's place in history may be assured if those chants in St. Peter's Square prove prophetic.

Let's listen to a bit of CNN's coverage this morning with Anderson Cooper and CNN Vatican analyst John Allen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CROWD: Santo! Santo! Santo!

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: An extraordinary moment, John Allen. What are they chanting?

JOHN ALLEN, CNN VATICAN ANALYST: The word is "Santo," which is the Italian word for "saint," obviously expressing their desire to see John Paul canonized. And, you know, this is how a process of sainthood is supposed to work in the Catholic Church. '

It's supposed to be the most democratic process. It starts with spontaneous public devotion, and then it's ratified after the church. And here we see those signs. "Santo subito," a saint soon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Now, in the mass itself, presiding Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger said that the historic throngs share hearts filled with sadness, joyful hope and profound gratitude.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(SINGING)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): The lord is my shepherd. I shall not want.

CARDINAL JOSEPH RATZINGER (through translator): Brothers and sisters, present here in St. Peter's Square is the very spirit of Christ in the ways of silver, in the roads of Rome, especially in this huge crowd which is silent and in prayer.

From the moment he was a young student, John Paul, Karol Wojtyla, was a great lover of literature and poetry. Working in a chemical factory surrounded by the Nazi terror, he heard the voice of the lord saying, "Follow me."

In 1978, Cardinal Wojtyla heeded once again the voice of the lord. He renewed his dialogue with Peter, and as it says in the gospel, "Dost thousand love me, Simon, son of Peter? In that case, feed my flock." The archbishop of Krakow asks him the same question in the name of Christ, and Karol Wojtyla replies in exactly the same way as Simon, son of Peter.

(APPLAUSE)

The life of Christ was the dominant feature of our beloved Holy Father. And he who has seen him pray and preach knows that full well. And it is his thanks to being profoundly entrenched in Christ we can be sure that our beloved pope is now at the window of the house of his father, and he sees us, and he blesses us.

(APPLAUSE)

He is looking at us and blessing us.

(SINGING)

For him, with him and in him, in the unity of the holy spirit, let us in the spirit of the resurrected Christ give each other a sign of peace.

The lamb of god, who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us.

(SINGING)

Christ has risen from the dead, destroying death by death and to those in the tombs he has given life.

(SINGING)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: It is just after 8:00 p.m. in Vatican City, and night has fallen. And so, finally, has the rain after a week of fair weather.

CNN's Diana Muriel is still out and about.

Diana, what a spectacular day. And I think you are best to actually put it in words of what it was like to be there.

DIANA MURIEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It was quite the most amazing experience, Carol. I walked from my hotel to the live location in the early part of the morning simply because the roads have been closed and traffic had come to a standstill. And it was possibly the most good-natured crowd I have ever walked through, despite the fact they were there in so many numbers, standing shoulder to shoulder in the long avenue leading away from the piazza and filling the piazza, of course, waiting for hours in this fresh breeze that has sprung up after so many days of hot weather, waiting to say their final farewell and witness the service.

Some able to see a little of what was going to, but most relying on the large screens that had been erected both near the piazza and indeed all around Rome. And as I walked through, there were the sounds of all these different languages, from Polish to English to Italian. Almost every language under the sun was represented in that piazza and in that long avenue this day.

And, of course, the pictures that were released by the Vatican so quickly after the burial gave the whole crowd the final look, the final moment when Pope John Paul II was finally laid to rest in the ground in the basilica -- in the grotto underneath the basilica. This 264th pope, who joins more than a hundred of his predecessors, in the space occupied by a much-loved pope, John XXIII, who indeed, this pope, Pope John Paul II, had requested his body be moved in the late 1970s, in 1979, moved up into the basilica. And he occupies that space that has been freed there.

A very, very intimate picture released by the Vatican and released so quickly, and coming at the end of this elaborate funeral service which, indeed, in total, lasted around seven hours -- Carol.

LIN: Yes. And some of those pictures, as you say, a very intimate feel and illustrating some of the pope's last wishes. Like the silk cloth to cover his face, and that his burial be in the earth, he be interred in the ground and not above in a tomb.

Diana, one of the observations that many of our analysts have made was the remarkable -- and you just touched on it, the remarkable calm and the silence, actually, in St. Peter's Square with so many people --what, a couple hundred thousand people gathered in one location -- the silence as people took in the ceremony.

MURIEL: Indeed, Carol, there was. There was this sense of serenity and peace that descended upon this crowd.

But this crowd was also able to find its own voice. And if you followed the homily that was given by Cardinal Ratzinger, then you noticed that the crowd would break into applause from time to time, punctuating his remarks and making certain that their voice was also being heard.

And then at the end of communion service, they actually interrupted that part of the service to shout "Santo subito," which means "sanctification now," calling for the sanctification of their beloved pope, John Paul II. So the crowd, even though they were quiet and they were somber, they were also enthusiastic in their support for their pope -- Carol.

LIN: Diana, thank you very much. Diana Muriel reporting live on this historic event.

In fact, I'm going to be talking more about the potential sainthood of Pope John Paul II with our Vatican analyst later in this program. But tonight, in our primetime coverage of the funeral of Pope John Paul II, tune in because we are going to replay the entire ceremony.

Anderson cooper kicks it all off at 7:00 Eastern. Paula Zahn and Larry King and Aaron Brown also join that lineup.

PHILLIPS: Straight ahead, when a Jewish conductor met the pope little did he know how much his life would be transformed by that meeting. Just ahead on LIVE FROM, we're going to talk with the man that the pope simply called "our maestro."

Sacred symbols rich with meaning like these drops of water on a coffin. We're going to show you some of the significance of the symbolism later on LIVE FROM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: All right. This just in to the CNN Center. Multinational forces are detaining an individual, but there is a back story to this. So let's go to Barbara Starr live at the Pentagon.

Barbara, this is a report that I'm getting here at the anchor desk. A detainee out of Mosul, Iraq, but someone who was carrying CBS News credentials but may be an insurgent. What do you know about this?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Carol, a very disturbing story for all of the news media operating in Iraq and in combat zones around the world, of course. The multinational forces in Iraq have just announced that they are detaining a man who was wounded in an engagement in Mosul on Wednesday when U.S. forces went after some insurgents.

There was a bit of a firefight. This man was standing nearby. He was wounded, and he was carrying a video camera at the time.

He was injured, U.S. forces treated him. They were very sorry that they injured this man carrying a video camera. He was carrying credentials as a freelance cameraman working for CBS News in Iraq.

Well, now he is under detention, and the coalition is saying this man who was carrying CBS News credentials poses an imperative threat to forces in Iraq.

Sources telling CNN that when they looked at his video camera they found a number of incidents of what they believe to be IED attacks against U.S. forces on his video camera. And they believe that he possibly was pre-positioned to film and video those attacks, that he had knowledge of them.

The indications, again, are this man is an Iraqi national, or certainly not an American, it is not believed. He was carrying credentials for CBS News. He is now under detention by coalition forces -- Carol.

LIN: Very quickly, Barbara, I mean, we've interviewed -- as journalists, we've interviewed other journalists who have been embedded with the insurgents. Number one, is there a question that he is -- he is an insurgent posing as a journalist and that's the threat, or number two, that he had prior knowledge as a journalist that he should have given up to multinational Forces, which is a whole different other question?

STARR: What the coalition is saying at this point -- and, of course, it's very early on. Let me quote from the statement they have issued. That they are investigating, "his previous activities, as a well as his alleged support of anti-Iraqi insurgency activity."

So, clearly, a very intense investigation going on -- Carol.

LIN: All right. And obviously, on our end we're going to be pursuing some sort of comment out of CBS News to see what they have to say about this individual.

STARR: Indeed.

LIN: All right. Thanks very much, Barbara, live at the Pentagon -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Now we're going to switch gears once again.

He was known as the pope's conductor. As a matter of fact, the pope called him "our maestro." Gilbert Levine was definitely blessed with two gifts in his life, a gift of music and a unique relationship with John Paul II.

Gilbert Levine organized papal concerts for 17 years, music to the pope's and many others' ears. Levine joins us now live from Vatican City.

Our maestro, good to be see you. GILBERT LEVINE, CONDUCTOR, PITTSBURGH SYMPHONY: Good to be here with you.

PHILLIPS: You first met the pope when you were the director of Krakow Symphony. And you said that you instantly connected with him when you met him. Tell me about that experience.

LEVINE: He instantly connected with me. And what was remarkable was that I was meeting the fourth priest I ever met in my life. And he put me at ease.

This was the pope in his public library in a tete a tete. And he put me at ease within seconds.

And with minutes, we were two citizens of Krakow, one who had lived his -- largely his life there before going to Rome, and me, who had just been there for two months. But he made us bond. It was really absolutely remarkable, and that bond which he created and fostered lasted for 17 years until today, obviously.

PHILLIPS: You said that you had lacked a spiritual dimension in your life. You are Jewish by birth, then you developed this relationship with him. How did he affect your spirituality?

LEVINE: Well, it wasn't a spirituality. It was that -- the spirituality for me was musical.

There was a central place for my spirituality, and it was music. And what the pope did, really quite astonishingly to me, is brought out my Jewishness and made me much more conscious of my Jewish heritage, much more religious, much more deeply faith-filled.

The faith was there. He blew on the ember and really made it glow. And never once tried to convert me, to evangelize me, but saw me and my Jewish faith as very, very important to him.

He wants people --he wanted people of faith to develop their faith, to deepen their faith. It was a very important part of his -- his ability to reach across lines to other faiths was the fact that he respected your faith. He wasn't trying to convert you.

PHILLIPS: Gilbert, you and I have talked before, talked about how music is extremely spiritual in so many ways. How do you think that the pope used music to express his ideas, the missions that he wanted to accomplish?

LEVINE: Only certain things did he think music could serve. And it was very important.

In 1995, I went to him and said I wanted to do a concert for him at the United Nations. He was going and speaking there. He said, "Not possible." Two words, (SPEAKING POLISH) in Polish, and it was over.

With respect to interfaith relations, with respect to things where words failed, even his words failed, he saw music. And he used me and my music to foster his agenda. It was quite a remarkable union of music and spirit that he fostered. And he wanted these things to transcend words. It was remarkable, really.

PHILLIPS: Well, and it was remarkable, too, the Holocaust survivor's concert that you did. You said you believed the pope was sent by god to heal relationships between Catholics and Jews. We saw what he did. It was pretty amazing.

Did the pope have a favorite type of music? A favorite song?

LEVINE: Well, it was really interesting. He loved music from Renaissance music, from chant, which we heard today at the funeral, to some of the most contemporary music. He loved the music of a Polish composer named Goretski (ph), writing today, alive today.

So he had a tremendous range of music that he loved. But I came to understand that it was music that spoke spirituality, was revealing of the human spirit in a profound way, and maybe of god's voice in some way. And he used that for his purposes.

Music was never there just to be listened to for its beauty, but for its deeper meaning. And he used it to reach out to people of other faiths, to reach across boundaries in remarkable ways. And I think the most important things to understand, that these were his ideas, his concepts which he wanted in his pontificate that he used music to bridge.

And it was just an incredible honor to me as an artist to have him as a patron, as a believer in the gift of music. It was life- fulfilling in a certain way.

PHILLIPS: Speaking of gift of music, he received a lot of gifts, too. We came across a picture, Gilbert, of B.B. King actually giving one of his guitars to the pope. I just thought it was so fantastic.

He truly did love every type of musician. I'm just curious if he ever got a chance to play the guitar. Do you know?

LEVINE: No, I'm not privy to that. I don't think so.

PHILLIPS: Well, it just doesn't get any better than being the pope's conductor. Do you know what's next for you?

LEVINE: Well, there are many things next. But I have two concerts that in fact were planned with him which will take place in the future.

I'm doing a concert on the 30th of July to honor him in Cologne Cathedral that we had talked about for the last six months, maybe a year. And I'm doing a concert in November in the United States which will also honor his lifelong commitment to interfaith.

So I'm hoping that that aspect of my life will deepen and grow and be part of my life forever, because it's been the most remarkable experience an artist could ever hope for.

PHILLIPS: I can just imagine. I hope that you'll let us accompany you on that concert, Gilbert. We'd love to cover it.

LEVINE: Thanks so much.

PHILLIPS: Cologne Cathedral, I'm going to remember that. Gilbert Levine, thanks so much.

LEVINE: Thanks.

LIN: That was wonderful.

You know, around the world, across religious and cultural lines, clearly today was the day to remember the pope. So straight ahead on LIVE FROM, from India to Indiana, how the world paid tribute.

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