Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

Mourning Continues for Pope John Paul II

Aired April 04, 2005 - 07:30   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.


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And before we toss to break, Bill, I want to bring our viewers up to date on the new developments this morning.
Joaquin Navarro-Valls, the Vatican spokesman, just came out and held a news conference. And basically, here is what he said. The pope's body is now in a small chapel. It will be carried to the larger basilica at around 11:00 a.m. our time.

At that point, or shortly thereafter, the basilica will be opened to the public, which means everybody who is there in Rome can go in and view the pope's body. They can do that all day and all night, except for two hours each day. And the reason that they're doing that is because they're getting so many calls from all over the world with people interested in coming to Rome. In fact, they're expecting two million people to come to view the pope's body.

The cardinals, 65 cardinals met twice today for a total of 21 and a half hours. There will be one more meeting tomorrow. Of course, we don't know exactly what will be discussed in that meeting. But we do know that the pope's funeral and his funeral mass will take place on Friday morning. And there will be huge video screens set up all over Rome so everybody can watch. And, of course, the funeral mass will be carried live here on CNN.

Let's head back to Rome for just a second -- Bill.

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Carol, thanks for that.

You mentioned these video screens, and many are already set up inside of St. Peter's Square. What we observed earlier today about two hours ago at our location, they set up another one here just inside -- just outside the walls of Vatican City. We can expect throughout the entire city of Rome that more of these screens will be set up for so many to view who are not fortunate enough and lucky enough to get inside of St. Peter's Square.

More on the conclave now, Carol. Looking at the calendar, you can expect this to happen in about two weeks' time. It is in that conclave when the next leader of the Roman Catholic Church will be chosen. And speaking with cardinals and hearing them talk about this meeting, they give us descriptions like "nervous" and also "excited" to choose the next leader.

What exactly happens, though? A very good question inside the Sistine Chapel.

Anderson Cooper has more on that for us this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Today, the leaders of the Catholic Church, its cardinals are remembering the pope they have lost. Most of them were chosen by John Paul II. Most of them share his view of the world and a view of him in it.

CARDINAL ROGER MICHAEL MAHONEY, ARCHBISHOP OF LOS ANGELES: He was such a brilliant light for the world.

COOPER: But in a matter of days, their thoughts will turn to electing the pope who will lead them into the future.

CARDINAL J. FRANCIS STAFFORD, FORMER ARCHBISHOP OF DENVER: And that future is unknown to us at this point. But it has to be radically rooted in the magnificent teachings that the holy father has given to us.

COOPER: They'll go into what's called the conclave, from the Latin "conclavis" -- "with key." Canon law dictates that this official election process begin 15 to 20 days after the pope dies.

(on camera): For many, the Vatican is a museum. But during this time, during this interregnum period, it is a living, breathing place. The cardinals from all around the world are coming here to Vatican City, where just a few hundred feet from here in the Sistine Chapel, they will meet behind closed doors. The doors will be locked, sealed with wax on either side. And inside, under Michelangelo's masterpiece, they will decide who is the next pope.

(voice over): But first, the Sistine Chapel will be swept for bugs, recording devices and any other means of electronic surveillance -- all in an effort to keep the proceedings completely secret.

The foundation for today's conclave traditions date all the way back to 1274, after the church went without a pope for nearly three years.

When Pope Gregory X was finally chosen, he decreed that in future elections, cardinals would be locked in the chapel until a new pope was named.

But this year, thanks to changes made by Pope John Paul II, the cardinals will be able to retire each night in comfort. That's because, for the first time in history, they'll be permitted to leave the chapel, so they can sleep in a nearby dormitory, known as Casa Santa Marta, which will also be swept for bugs.

During the daytime, the cardinals will vote twice in the morning and twice in the afternoon, hand writing their choice for pope on ballots, inscribed with the words, "Eligo in Summum Pontificem" -- I elect as supreme pontiff.

Between the votes, there'll be discussions -- genteel politicking. CARDINAL THEODORE E. MCCARRICK, ARCHBISHOP OF WASHINGTON: I can't do nuances in Italian. And, you know, sometimes nuances are the most important things in situations like this. So, I would hope that I could speak English or Spanish. I can do nuances in Spanish. But we'll see.

COOPER: If no candidate receives two-thirds of the vote, the ballots and tally sheets will be burned in a little stove just off the Sistine Chapel, sending black smoke up a 60-foot pipe. A plume of black smoke means, we are still without a pope.

But when a candidate does receive two-thirds of the vote, chemicals will be added to the burning ballots to make the smoke appear white, and signal that a new pontiff has been chosen.

The new pope will be asked if he accepts his appointment, and led into a small room just off the Sistine Chapel called the Chapel of Tears, to reflect the heavy burden the pope will carry.

Inside he'll find papal robes in small, medium and large. Once dressed, the new pope will greet the cardinals and walk toward this balcony, facing St. Peter's Square. Leading him will be the cardinal deacon, whose job it is to announce to the anxious crowd, "Habemus Papam" -- we have a pope.

Then the new pontiff will greet the faithful and give his first blessing to the City of Rome and the rest of the world.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HEMMER: Again, Anderson Cooper reporting on the conclave. Again, that will take place in about two weeks from now. But now, we know in five days, at the end of this week on Friday, the funeral will take place.

Alessio Vinci is now reporting, through Vatican officials also, that there was no papal will written or left behind.

I want to bring back in our Vatican analyst, John Allen, to ask him specifically about the significance of that.

Are you surprised to hear that, first of all?

JOHN ALLEN, CNN VATICAN ANALYST: I am, Bill. We know that John Paul's predecessor plus one, Paul XI, actually left a last will and testament, which he wrote in 1965. I personally had expected we would see one.

HEMMER: The significance is what, then? Does that indicate that possibly Pope John Paul II was not nearly laying things out in the way that we had all expected before this news?

ALLEN: Well, it may well indicate that John Paul was focused more ahead in terms of the continuation of his own life rather than what came next. I think immediately what it means are two things. One, obviously, the body will not be going to Poland, as many had speculated and some Poles had hoped. Secondly, it means that some of the reports in the Italian press that the video images we saw yesterday from the private chapel, some had speculated that might have been a personal instruction of John Paul II. It would seem that's not the case.

HEMMER: All right. We'll talk about it also with Cardinal Roger Mahoney, who will be my guest here in Rome in a moment as our coverage continues in moment here from Rome.

But back to Carol again in New York now -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Fascinating. Thank you, Bill.

Leaders and dignitaries from around the world are expected at Friday's funeral. Many leaders are reacting to the pope's death and reminiscing about his life.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Fighting poverty appeals to help the poor and educate children and to preserve their culture. I think his deepest humanism transpired through these appeals. I would call him the No. 1 humanist leader in the world.

ARIEL SHARON, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): The world lost yesterday one of the most important leaders of our generation, whose great contributions of bringing together hearts, uniting nations, understanding and tolerance will be with us for many years.

MANMOHAN SINGH, INDIAN PRIME MINISTER: Pope John Paul II was a reconciler of religions. He was, above all, a great humanist. We in India mourn his passing away and pray for peace for the departed soul.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Friday's funeral is expected to gather up to two million people, including some 200 state and religious leaders. An estimated 6,500 police officers, 600 medical staff and up to 5,000 volunteers will be on hand.

And one more note to tell you. The pope's body, again, will be moved from the chapel to the larger basilica around 11:00 this morning. We don't know if we'll be able to get any pictures, but that's when that will happen. And then shortly thereafter, the basilica will be open to the public so people can file by and pay their last respects to the pope.

Let's check on other stories now with Kelly Wallace.

Good morning.

KELLY WALLACE, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks, Carol. Good morning to you. And good morning, everyone.

Here are some other stories "Now in the News." Today, U.S. military officials are calling an insurgent attack near Baghdad -- quote -- "well-coordinated." As many as 60 insurgents set off two car bombs and fired rocket-propelled grenades at the Abu Ghraib prison facility. A total of 23 Americans and 13 detainees were wounded in that weekend attack. A group linked to Abu Musab al- Zarqawi is claiming responsibility.

A train track in Washington State is expected to be back up and running today after a train derailment. A passenger train derailed Sunday morning in the Columbia River Gorge. That's some 60 miles east of Portland, Oregon. Authorities say at least six people were injured, none of them seriously. Federal investigators are heading to the site to investigate.

In Florida officials say a faulty machine at a cancer treatment center in Florida exposed patients to radiation levels 50 percent stronger than prescribed. Federal inspectors detected a problem last month, almost a year after that machine was installed. Some 77 patients underwent treatment at the center during that time. Officials say some of them were having side effects.

And the first player named under baseball's new steroid policy, Tampa Bay outfielder Alex Sanchez has been suspended without pay for 10 days. Sanchez denies taking steroids, and says the positive test must have been from a milkshake or multivitamin he bought over the counter. No word yet on whether the Players' Union will appeal that suspension.

It's time to get your check of the forecast on this Monday.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HEMMER: In a moment, Cardinal Roger Mahoney is our guest here. He is also in Rome. We'll talk to him about the meeting of cardinals, the first one that took place earlier today. Now we know the funeral takes place on Friday. And the public viewing begins later today inside St. Peter's Basilica.

Our live coverage in Italy continues in a moment here on a Monday edition of CNN's AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: Welcome back to Rome, Italy. I'm Bill Hemmer.

We want to get a better clarification and a better idea about what we're talking about with this papal will that we mentioned about 10 minutes ago. John Allen is back with me.

And just for clarification's sake on this, without confusing people at home, the papal will that we understand only applies to the burial rights for the pope.

ALLEN: Well, I think it's probably better to say, Bill, that what we know for sure is that the pope has left no instructions about where he was to be buried. And because of that, the Vatican is following custom in burying him in the Grotto. We do not know anything about a papal will, whether it exists or not and what its contents are, although following custom, we would expect there probably is such a document.

You know, Bill, this is the way the Vatican works. You go long periods of time without any information, and then it all sort of rushes out at once. And you need a couple of seconds to pick through it. And that's what we're doing here in real time.

HEMMER: Indeed we are in real time. For the past hour we've been doing that. Thank you, John. We'll talk again.

Back to Carol again in New York now with more -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, thanks for the clarification, Bill. Actually, we were wondering about that ourselves. So thank you for clarifying.

We want to talk more about the pope now and the Catholic Church and the direction it's going with Jack.

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you, Carol.

When it comes to the direction of the Catholic Church following Pope John Paul II, Roman Catholics seem to be divided. This pope was a conservative leader. Fifty-nine percent of American Catholics think the next pope should take a similar approach, according to a new CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll. However, that same poll shows a majority of Catholics favoring progressive changes in the church, allowing priests to marry, women priests, birth control, the easing of the church's doctrine when it comes to stem cell research. All of these things were firmly rejected by Pope John Paul II.

The question is this: In what direction should a new pope guide the Catholic Church? Our e-mail address is am@cnn.com.

COSTELLO: I would be really interested to hear what people say.

CAFFERTY: Yes.

COSTELLO: Because many Catholics don't really follow the church edicts here in the United States, but they're still Catholic. You just ignore the stuff that they...

CAFFERTY: Well, yes, that's true. I mean, I guess you could have a debate about whether or not they're still Catholic if they don't follow the rules.

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Right. Lapsed Catholics, perhaps.

CAFFERTY: Yes.

COSTELLO: Well, some of them aren't lapsed.

SERWER: Right. COSTELLO: They just don't follow.

SERWER: Yes, the U.S. is a very different situation than the rest of the world, right?

COSTELLO: I'm not saying the majority of Catholics are like that. But on things like birth control pills...

SERWER: Right.

COSTELLO: ... they take them -- I mean, women. So it will be interesting.

SERWER: Thorny issues.

COSTELLO: Yes. Let's talk about business and oil prices, because I guess they're gushing once again.

SERWER: They are, Carol. This morning, the price of oil hitting another new high, $58 a barrel. No relief in sight. This has got OPEC -- here, you can see the price of oil this year, up 33 percent since the beginning of the year. And OPEC again talking about increasing production, which would put downward pressure on oil prices, which would put downward pressure on prices of gasoline at the pump. However, don't expect any of that to happen really soon. And I think that the price of gasoline will continue to climb.

Let's talk about the stock market quickly last week. The Dow down again, the fourth week in a row, you can see here. S&P up a little bit. But basically, the price of oil is wreaking havoc. Nasdaq down below 2,000, and futures are not looking good this morning.

So, I don't have a whole lot of positive news to share with you. Sorry about that.

COSTELLO: Thanks a lot, Andy. But thanks for informing us anyway.

SERWER: You're welcome. OK.

COSTELLO: Our special live coverage from Rome continues.

Later, we'll also take you live to the homeland of Pope John Paul II, which would be Poland. Stay with us on this AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: You're looking at touching and beautiful pictures from the pope's native land of Poland. Vigils held overnight. Poles singing and praying and crying in memory of their beloved Karol Wojtyla, because, as you know, before becoming pope, Cardinal Karol Wojtyla helped train priests in a seminary in Poland.

CNN's Chris Lawrence spoke with one of those seminarians, who now ministers to Chicago's huge Polish community. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): They started out student and teacher. One would become pastor of a powerful parish in America, and the other, the holy father himself. In the mid '70s, Father Michael Osuch was studying for the priesthood in Poland.

FATHER MICHAEL OSUCH, ST. HYACINTH BASILICA: I studied in his seminary. He was, you know, for a while our teacher before he became pope.

LAWRENCE: He remembers being a little nervous, just a young student praying with a cardinal, especially one with exceptional stamina.

OSUCH: I was participating a few times, you know, in his mass, and I, you know, drank water. I went to the bathroom. How he, you know, prayed for four hours, you know, not even thinking about, you know, like this, you know. So it is holy man. It is holy man.

LAWRENCE (on camera): For someone my age, as a Catholic, he's the only pope I can even remember. Can you imagine a world without him?

OSUCH: I can't imagine. I can't imagine his funeral even. I do not think about this.

LAWRENCE (voice over): More Polish people live in Chicago than anywhere outside Poland. So this Polish pope meant something special here to the parents and children and especially his student.

Father Michael was depressed after the pope's kidneys failed, until he went to the hospital to visit an old woman from his parish.

OSUCH: You know, she's very sick, practically she's dying. And she said, you know, "I am so happy to be in pain together with pope." You know, she had always the TV on news, you know. And she said, you know, he is inspiration for me. If he can handle, you know, the sickness or pain, you know, I have the same.

LAWRENCE: Pope John Paul II started teaching Father Michael nearly 30 years ago. And on his deathbed, taught him one last lesson.

Chris Lawrence, CNN, Chicago.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: And, of course, we know now that the pope's funeral is planned for Friday, Bill. Preparations are under way.

HEMMER: Carol, also getting information here a short time ago that right before the pope starts the lying-in-state process in St. Peter's Basilica, there will be a small procession that will come out of the Apostolic Palace, where the pope's body is now being held and come and circle through St. Peter's Square before going back in the main doors in the St. Peter's Basilica. That should happen in about three hours, right before the lying-in-state period begins.

So, as this news continues to trickle out through the hour, we'll give you more when we get more here in Rome.

A break here. Back in a moment on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: And we are learning new information this morning on this AMERICAN MORNING. You see the cardinals meeting earlier today, deciding when the funeral mass will be held for the pope. We did learn this morning that the pope's funeral will be held in the morning on Friday on this AMERICAN MORNING.

ANNOUNCER: This is AMERICAN MORNING with Bill Hemmer in Rome.

HEMMER: Welcome back, everyone. We're live in Rome, Italy, again today. It is day two of the official mourning period for the Vatican after the pope has passed away. Pope John Paul II, remembering his life again today. It's 2:00 in the afternoon local time here, 8:00 back in New York.

As our coverage continues, we continue to get a little more information about what will happen later today and again throughout the week. This is what we understand now.

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


Aired April 4, 2005 - 07:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And before we toss to break, Bill, I want to bring our viewers up to date on the new developments this morning.
Joaquin Navarro-Valls, the Vatican spokesman, just came out and held a news conference. And basically, here is what he said. The pope's body is now in a small chapel. It will be carried to the larger basilica at around 11:00 a.m. our time.

At that point, or shortly thereafter, the basilica will be opened to the public, which means everybody who is there in Rome can go in and view the pope's body. They can do that all day and all night, except for two hours each day. And the reason that they're doing that is because they're getting so many calls from all over the world with people interested in coming to Rome. In fact, they're expecting two million people to come to view the pope's body.

The cardinals, 65 cardinals met twice today for a total of 21 and a half hours. There will be one more meeting tomorrow. Of course, we don't know exactly what will be discussed in that meeting. But we do know that the pope's funeral and his funeral mass will take place on Friday morning. And there will be huge video screens set up all over Rome so everybody can watch. And, of course, the funeral mass will be carried live here on CNN.

Let's head back to Rome for just a second -- Bill.

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Carol, thanks for that.

You mentioned these video screens, and many are already set up inside of St. Peter's Square. What we observed earlier today about two hours ago at our location, they set up another one here just inside -- just outside the walls of Vatican City. We can expect throughout the entire city of Rome that more of these screens will be set up for so many to view who are not fortunate enough and lucky enough to get inside of St. Peter's Square.

More on the conclave now, Carol. Looking at the calendar, you can expect this to happen in about two weeks' time. It is in that conclave when the next leader of the Roman Catholic Church will be chosen. And speaking with cardinals and hearing them talk about this meeting, they give us descriptions like "nervous" and also "excited" to choose the next leader.

What exactly happens, though? A very good question inside the Sistine Chapel.

Anderson Cooper has more on that for us this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Today, the leaders of the Catholic Church, its cardinals are remembering the pope they have lost. Most of them were chosen by John Paul II. Most of them share his view of the world and a view of him in it.

CARDINAL ROGER MICHAEL MAHONEY, ARCHBISHOP OF LOS ANGELES: He was such a brilliant light for the world.

COOPER: But in a matter of days, their thoughts will turn to electing the pope who will lead them into the future.

CARDINAL J. FRANCIS STAFFORD, FORMER ARCHBISHOP OF DENVER: And that future is unknown to us at this point. But it has to be radically rooted in the magnificent teachings that the holy father has given to us.

COOPER: They'll go into what's called the conclave, from the Latin "conclavis" -- "with key." Canon law dictates that this official election process begin 15 to 20 days after the pope dies.

(on camera): For many, the Vatican is a museum. But during this time, during this interregnum period, it is a living, breathing place. The cardinals from all around the world are coming here to Vatican City, where just a few hundred feet from here in the Sistine Chapel, they will meet behind closed doors. The doors will be locked, sealed with wax on either side. And inside, under Michelangelo's masterpiece, they will decide who is the next pope.

(voice over): But first, the Sistine Chapel will be swept for bugs, recording devices and any other means of electronic surveillance -- all in an effort to keep the proceedings completely secret.

The foundation for today's conclave traditions date all the way back to 1274, after the church went without a pope for nearly three years.

When Pope Gregory X was finally chosen, he decreed that in future elections, cardinals would be locked in the chapel until a new pope was named.

But this year, thanks to changes made by Pope John Paul II, the cardinals will be able to retire each night in comfort. That's because, for the first time in history, they'll be permitted to leave the chapel, so they can sleep in a nearby dormitory, known as Casa Santa Marta, which will also be swept for bugs.

During the daytime, the cardinals will vote twice in the morning and twice in the afternoon, hand writing their choice for pope on ballots, inscribed with the words, "Eligo in Summum Pontificem" -- I elect as supreme pontiff.

Between the votes, there'll be discussions -- genteel politicking. CARDINAL THEODORE E. MCCARRICK, ARCHBISHOP OF WASHINGTON: I can't do nuances in Italian. And, you know, sometimes nuances are the most important things in situations like this. So, I would hope that I could speak English or Spanish. I can do nuances in Spanish. But we'll see.

COOPER: If no candidate receives two-thirds of the vote, the ballots and tally sheets will be burned in a little stove just off the Sistine Chapel, sending black smoke up a 60-foot pipe. A plume of black smoke means, we are still without a pope.

But when a candidate does receive two-thirds of the vote, chemicals will be added to the burning ballots to make the smoke appear white, and signal that a new pontiff has been chosen.

The new pope will be asked if he accepts his appointment, and led into a small room just off the Sistine Chapel called the Chapel of Tears, to reflect the heavy burden the pope will carry.

Inside he'll find papal robes in small, medium and large. Once dressed, the new pope will greet the cardinals and walk toward this balcony, facing St. Peter's Square. Leading him will be the cardinal deacon, whose job it is to announce to the anxious crowd, "Habemus Papam" -- we have a pope.

Then the new pontiff will greet the faithful and give his first blessing to the City of Rome and the rest of the world.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HEMMER: Again, Anderson Cooper reporting on the conclave. Again, that will take place in about two weeks from now. But now, we know in five days, at the end of this week on Friday, the funeral will take place.

Alessio Vinci is now reporting, through Vatican officials also, that there was no papal will written or left behind.

I want to bring back in our Vatican analyst, John Allen, to ask him specifically about the significance of that.

Are you surprised to hear that, first of all?

JOHN ALLEN, CNN VATICAN ANALYST: I am, Bill. We know that John Paul's predecessor plus one, Paul XI, actually left a last will and testament, which he wrote in 1965. I personally had expected we would see one.

HEMMER: The significance is what, then? Does that indicate that possibly Pope John Paul II was not nearly laying things out in the way that we had all expected before this news?

ALLEN: Well, it may well indicate that John Paul was focused more ahead in terms of the continuation of his own life rather than what came next. I think immediately what it means are two things. One, obviously, the body will not be going to Poland, as many had speculated and some Poles had hoped. Secondly, it means that some of the reports in the Italian press that the video images we saw yesterday from the private chapel, some had speculated that might have been a personal instruction of John Paul II. It would seem that's not the case.

HEMMER: All right. We'll talk about it also with Cardinal Roger Mahoney, who will be my guest here in Rome in a moment as our coverage continues in moment here from Rome.

But back to Carol again in New York now -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Fascinating. Thank you, Bill.

Leaders and dignitaries from around the world are expected at Friday's funeral. Many leaders are reacting to the pope's death and reminiscing about his life.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Fighting poverty appeals to help the poor and educate children and to preserve their culture. I think his deepest humanism transpired through these appeals. I would call him the No. 1 humanist leader in the world.

ARIEL SHARON, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): The world lost yesterday one of the most important leaders of our generation, whose great contributions of bringing together hearts, uniting nations, understanding and tolerance will be with us for many years.

MANMOHAN SINGH, INDIAN PRIME MINISTER: Pope John Paul II was a reconciler of religions. He was, above all, a great humanist. We in India mourn his passing away and pray for peace for the departed soul.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Friday's funeral is expected to gather up to two million people, including some 200 state and religious leaders. An estimated 6,500 police officers, 600 medical staff and up to 5,000 volunteers will be on hand.

And one more note to tell you. The pope's body, again, will be moved from the chapel to the larger basilica around 11:00 this morning. We don't know if we'll be able to get any pictures, but that's when that will happen. And then shortly thereafter, the basilica will be open to the public so people can file by and pay their last respects to the pope.

Let's check on other stories now with Kelly Wallace.

Good morning.

KELLY WALLACE, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks, Carol. Good morning to you. And good morning, everyone.

Here are some other stories "Now in the News." Today, U.S. military officials are calling an insurgent attack near Baghdad -- quote -- "well-coordinated." As many as 60 insurgents set off two car bombs and fired rocket-propelled grenades at the Abu Ghraib prison facility. A total of 23 Americans and 13 detainees were wounded in that weekend attack. A group linked to Abu Musab al- Zarqawi is claiming responsibility.

A train track in Washington State is expected to be back up and running today after a train derailment. A passenger train derailed Sunday morning in the Columbia River Gorge. That's some 60 miles east of Portland, Oregon. Authorities say at least six people were injured, none of them seriously. Federal investigators are heading to the site to investigate.

In Florida officials say a faulty machine at a cancer treatment center in Florida exposed patients to radiation levels 50 percent stronger than prescribed. Federal inspectors detected a problem last month, almost a year after that machine was installed. Some 77 patients underwent treatment at the center during that time. Officials say some of them were having side effects.

And the first player named under baseball's new steroid policy, Tampa Bay outfielder Alex Sanchez has been suspended without pay for 10 days. Sanchez denies taking steroids, and says the positive test must have been from a milkshake or multivitamin he bought over the counter. No word yet on whether the Players' Union will appeal that suspension.

It's time to get your check of the forecast on this Monday.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HEMMER: In a moment, Cardinal Roger Mahoney is our guest here. He is also in Rome. We'll talk to him about the meeting of cardinals, the first one that took place earlier today. Now we know the funeral takes place on Friday. And the public viewing begins later today inside St. Peter's Basilica.

Our live coverage in Italy continues in a moment here on a Monday edition of CNN's AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: Welcome back to Rome, Italy. I'm Bill Hemmer.

We want to get a better clarification and a better idea about what we're talking about with this papal will that we mentioned about 10 minutes ago. John Allen is back with me.

And just for clarification's sake on this, without confusing people at home, the papal will that we understand only applies to the burial rights for the pope.

ALLEN: Well, I think it's probably better to say, Bill, that what we know for sure is that the pope has left no instructions about where he was to be buried. And because of that, the Vatican is following custom in burying him in the Grotto. We do not know anything about a papal will, whether it exists or not and what its contents are, although following custom, we would expect there probably is such a document.

You know, Bill, this is the way the Vatican works. You go long periods of time without any information, and then it all sort of rushes out at once. And you need a couple of seconds to pick through it. And that's what we're doing here in real time.

HEMMER: Indeed we are in real time. For the past hour we've been doing that. Thank you, John. We'll talk again.

Back to Carol again in New York now with more -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, thanks for the clarification, Bill. Actually, we were wondering about that ourselves. So thank you for clarifying.

We want to talk more about the pope now and the Catholic Church and the direction it's going with Jack.

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you, Carol.

When it comes to the direction of the Catholic Church following Pope John Paul II, Roman Catholics seem to be divided. This pope was a conservative leader. Fifty-nine percent of American Catholics think the next pope should take a similar approach, according to a new CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll. However, that same poll shows a majority of Catholics favoring progressive changes in the church, allowing priests to marry, women priests, birth control, the easing of the church's doctrine when it comes to stem cell research. All of these things were firmly rejected by Pope John Paul II.

The question is this: In what direction should a new pope guide the Catholic Church? Our e-mail address is am@cnn.com.

COSTELLO: I would be really interested to hear what people say.

CAFFERTY: Yes.

COSTELLO: Because many Catholics don't really follow the church edicts here in the United States, but they're still Catholic. You just ignore the stuff that they...

CAFFERTY: Well, yes, that's true. I mean, I guess you could have a debate about whether or not they're still Catholic if they don't follow the rules.

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Right. Lapsed Catholics, perhaps.

CAFFERTY: Yes.

COSTELLO: Well, some of them aren't lapsed.

SERWER: Right. COSTELLO: They just don't follow.

SERWER: Yes, the U.S. is a very different situation than the rest of the world, right?

COSTELLO: I'm not saying the majority of Catholics are like that. But on things like birth control pills...

SERWER: Right.

COSTELLO: ... they take them -- I mean, women. So it will be interesting.

SERWER: Thorny issues.

COSTELLO: Yes. Let's talk about business and oil prices, because I guess they're gushing once again.

SERWER: They are, Carol. This morning, the price of oil hitting another new high, $58 a barrel. No relief in sight. This has got OPEC -- here, you can see the price of oil this year, up 33 percent since the beginning of the year. And OPEC again talking about increasing production, which would put downward pressure on oil prices, which would put downward pressure on prices of gasoline at the pump. However, don't expect any of that to happen really soon. And I think that the price of gasoline will continue to climb.

Let's talk about the stock market quickly last week. The Dow down again, the fourth week in a row, you can see here. S&P up a little bit. But basically, the price of oil is wreaking havoc. Nasdaq down below 2,000, and futures are not looking good this morning.

So, I don't have a whole lot of positive news to share with you. Sorry about that.

COSTELLO: Thanks a lot, Andy. But thanks for informing us anyway.

SERWER: You're welcome. OK.

COSTELLO: Our special live coverage from Rome continues.

Later, we'll also take you live to the homeland of Pope John Paul II, which would be Poland. Stay with us on this AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: You're looking at touching and beautiful pictures from the pope's native land of Poland. Vigils held overnight. Poles singing and praying and crying in memory of their beloved Karol Wojtyla, because, as you know, before becoming pope, Cardinal Karol Wojtyla helped train priests in a seminary in Poland.

CNN's Chris Lawrence spoke with one of those seminarians, who now ministers to Chicago's huge Polish community. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): They started out student and teacher. One would become pastor of a powerful parish in America, and the other, the holy father himself. In the mid '70s, Father Michael Osuch was studying for the priesthood in Poland.

FATHER MICHAEL OSUCH, ST. HYACINTH BASILICA: I studied in his seminary. He was, you know, for a while our teacher before he became pope.

LAWRENCE: He remembers being a little nervous, just a young student praying with a cardinal, especially one with exceptional stamina.

OSUCH: I was participating a few times, you know, in his mass, and I, you know, drank water. I went to the bathroom. How he, you know, prayed for four hours, you know, not even thinking about, you know, like this, you know. So it is holy man. It is holy man.

LAWRENCE (on camera): For someone my age, as a Catholic, he's the only pope I can even remember. Can you imagine a world without him?

OSUCH: I can't imagine. I can't imagine his funeral even. I do not think about this.

LAWRENCE (voice over): More Polish people live in Chicago than anywhere outside Poland. So this Polish pope meant something special here to the parents and children and especially his student.

Father Michael was depressed after the pope's kidneys failed, until he went to the hospital to visit an old woman from his parish.

OSUCH: You know, she's very sick, practically she's dying. And she said, you know, "I am so happy to be in pain together with pope." You know, she had always the TV on news, you know. And she said, you know, he is inspiration for me. If he can handle, you know, the sickness or pain, you know, I have the same.

LAWRENCE: Pope John Paul II started teaching Father Michael nearly 30 years ago. And on his deathbed, taught him one last lesson.

Chris Lawrence, CNN, Chicago.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: And, of course, we know now that the pope's funeral is planned for Friday, Bill. Preparations are under way.

HEMMER: Carol, also getting information here a short time ago that right before the pope starts the lying-in-state process in St. Peter's Basilica, there will be a small procession that will come out of the Apostolic Palace, where the pope's body is now being held and come and circle through St. Peter's Square before going back in the main doors in the St. Peter's Basilica. That should happen in about three hours, right before the lying-in-state period begins.

So, as this news continues to trickle out through the hour, we'll give you more when we get more here in Rome.

A break here. Back in a moment on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: And we are learning new information this morning on this AMERICAN MORNING. You see the cardinals meeting earlier today, deciding when the funeral mass will be held for the pope. We did learn this morning that the pope's funeral will be held in the morning on Friday on this AMERICAN MORNING.

ANNOUNCER: This is AMERICAN MORNING with Bill Hemmer in Rome.

HEMMER: Welcome back, everyone. We're live in Rome, Italy, again today. It is day two of the official mourning period for the Vatican after the pope has passed away. Pope John Paul II, remembering his life again today. It's 2:00 in the afternoon local time here, 8:00 back in New York.

As our coverage continues, we continue to get a little more information about what will happen later today and again throughout the week. This is what we understand now.

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