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One World with Zain Asher
CNN International: Funeral For Pope Francis To Be Held Saturday; Mourners Pay Respects As Papal Transition Begins; Pope Francis Championed The Poor, Migrants, Environment. Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired April 22, 2025 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[11:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ZAIN ASHER, HOST, "ONE WORLD": All right. The date is set for Pope Francis' funerals, as Cardinals prepare to choose the next pontiff.
BIANNA GOLODRYGA, HOST, "ONE WORLD": One World starts right now.
Catholic cardinals from around the world are gathering at the Vatican, as they plan the next steps following the death of Pope Francis.
ASHER: Plus, the U.S. Defense Secretary remains defiant after reports he shared sensitive military plans in a second Signal chat.
GOLODRYGA: And President Trump is expected to mark Earth Day by signing executive orders cutting back on environmental protections. We'll speak
with a climate scientist about the impact.
Hello, everyone. Live from New York, Bianna Golodryga.
ASHER: And I'm Zain Asher. You are watching One World.
All right. It is five o'clock in the afternoon, and mourners have been gathering all day in St. Peter's Square, as the world really grieves and
remembers the life and legacy of Pope Francis. The Vatican says the funeral will be here at the square, at the piazza outside the Vatican's main
basilica on Saturday morning.
GOLODRYGA: Now, the 88-year-old died Easter Monday, after suffering a stroke and cardiac arrest. The Vatican has released these images of the
pontiff lying in a coffin at his papal residence. Tomorrow, the coffin will be moved to St. Peter's Basilica to lie in state before the funeral.
ASHER: The Vatican is also preparing for the Conclave to choose his successor. Cardinals from around the world will meet in the Sistine Chapel
to conduct a secret vote. Four out of five of the cardinals were chosen by Pope Francis. Meantime, those gathering at the Vatican are remembering the
man who built bridges and embraced the role of a peacemaker.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MOHAMED REHMAN, VISITOR FROM NEW YORK: We respect him as a religious person, and personally, I love him, his thought, his vision, because he
always talk about the peace. He always talk about the -- like the peaceful country, not only for in one faith, talk about the whole humanity, and his
voice is really, really good, and we love him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: Cecilia Dominguez joins us live now in Argentina, of course, Pope Francis' home country. Cecilia, this is the world's essentially first Latin
American Pope. And when you think about his legacy, and we talk a lot about the fact that there are 1.4 billion Catholics around the world, but he
meant so much, especially just because of his humility, the fact that he had this common touch. He meant so much to the world beyond Catholics. Talk
to us about that.
CECILIA DOMINGUEZ, CNN REPORTER: Hello. How are you? We are working at the Metropolitan Cathedral in Buenos Aires, and as you said, the atmosphere is
filled with tears, with sadness, with grief, but also with joy and with love, because of what Pope Francis meant for many Argentinians, but not
only Argentinians, but also tourists that happened to be here. Many of them were traveling all over the country, and they happened to be here, and they
wanted to be here also. They wanted to come to the Metropolitan Cathedral to pay tribute, to pray in silence, and also to honor the legacy of Pope
Francis.
This is the entrance of the cathedral. Many mourners have come all day long, and the cathedral was closed during the night, but it opened its
doors really early this morning, and many, as you can see, they are lighting some candles here at the entrance of the cathedral where they have
built, mourners that have come, have built kind of a memorial site for Pope Francis to pray for him, to say goodbye. There are a lot of pictures,
flowers and also letters.
And today, inside the cathedral, people can write a message to Pope Francis, to say goodbye to Pope Francis, because there are two notebooks
there just for people to say goodbye to Pope Francis. Today is a special day at the cathedral because at 04:00 p.m. local time, there will be an
interreligious encounter, and after that, there will be a mass held and presided over by the Arch Bishop of the city of Buenos Aires.
[11:05:00]
That will be at 05:30 local time, and they expect a lot of people to come to pay tribute, to honor the legacy of Pope Francis. As you can see, many
people are coming to the cathedral to say goodbye and also to share personal stories. Many have met Pope Francis. Many have had the chance to
talk to him. Many say that they had conversations before becoming a Pope. Pope Francis was a priest here in the city of Buenos Aires. He was the
Archbishop of Buenos Aires, and he worked with a lot of people, and he walked across many poor neighborhoods in Buenos Aires. That's why many are
very, very sad about his -- about the loss of Pope Francis.
GOLODRYGA: Yeah. He may have been known as the people's Pope, but as we noted, he was the first Latin American Pope, and obviously Argentine as
well. So, so many Argentinians there mourning the loss of their beloved Pope Francis, who, as you noted, and we should say again, the son of
migrants --
ASHER: Right. Right.
GOLODRYGA: -- who had moved to the country. He had taken on the plight of migrants, moved -- his parents moved there from Italy to escape fascism.
So, well beloved in Argentina, and especially poignant and sad time for them.
Cecilia Dominguez, thank you so much.
ASHER: Thank you.
GOLODRYGA: Well, now to the looming question, who will fill the shoes of the fishermen taking up the responsibilities of the papacy, which dates
back to St. Peter, a fisherman and disciple viewed as the first Pope?
CNN's Jim Bittermann, sorry, Bittermann looks at the global outpouring.
(CROSSTALK)
GOLODRYGA: Like, do you want us to weigh in? Jim is looking at the global outpouring of love for Pope Francis as the Vatican faces a momentous
decision.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIM BITTERMANN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From St. Peter's Basilica to Notre Dame in Paris to Catholic churches around the
world, resounding bells brought the news.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (Interpreted): Dear Brothers and Sisters, with deep sorrow, I must announce the death of our Holy Father, Francis.
BITTERMANN (voice-over): Almost immediately, crowds began gathering to mourn, to pray, and join together with fellow Catholics. The death of Pope
Francis started a time line of papal transition established over centuries, his funeral and then a nine-day mourning period known as Novendiales.
During this time, the faithful will be able to travel to the Vatican to see the post body lying in state.
When Pope John Paul II passed away in 2005, hundreds of thousands traveled to St. Peters to pay their respects. Abbeys and convents sent
representatives, train loads of mourners came from his native Poland. Sometimes the lines to get into the basilica were miles long.
But, as much as events will follow, as tradition demands, there will be changes. Pope Francis said he didn't want to be buried in the crypts
beneath St. Peter's, as most other popes have been, but in one of Rome's major churches.
POPE FRANCIS, HEAD OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH AND SOVEREIGN OF THE VATICAN CITY STATE (Interpreted): I want to be buried in Santa Maria Maggiore. I always
went there on Sunday mornings when I was in Rome. There is a very strong connection.
BITTERMANN (voice-over): One tradition is certain to hold, heads of state, heads of government and royalty from around the world would gather to honor
and remember Pope Francis, even some who perhaps didn't always agree with his teachings.
After the funeral, the work of choosing a new Pope begins, as cardinals from all over the world will arrive for the Conclave. It's an election
process cloaked in tradition and secrecy. Conclave meaning, with the key, the procedure by which the cardinals are locked away in the Sistine Chapel
to begin voting. Anyone violating the secrecy of the voting risks excommunication. Inconclusive ballots are burned with a chemical which
produces black smoke, but when the next Pope is picked, another chemical is used, producing white smoke, the signal to all that the spiritual head of
the world's 1.4 billion Catholics has been chosen, with words echoing from St. Peter's balcony. A famous Popham, Latin for we have a Pope, the way
popes, including Pope Francis himself, have been introduced for centuries.
Jim Bittermann, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GOLODRYGA: Matthew Bunson is a leading authority on the papacy and the Catholic Church. He is the Executive Editor of EWTN News, a Catholic
television network, and joins us now live from Rome.
[11:10:00]
Matthew, thank you so much for joining us. It's interesting, our writers here, Christopher Lamb, wrote a piece here suggesting that the old saying
in terms of papal elections goes as follows. He who enters the Conclave as Pope leaves it as a cardinal. In other words, this may have well been a
Pope who appointed the majority of the cardinals who will now appoint his successor. But, anybody who thinks that they can speculate as to who that
successor will be, will likely be mistaken. Just walk us through this process.
MATTHEW BUNSON, EXECUTIVE EDITOR, EWTN NEWS: Yeah. Well, I think you're making a very important point. It is absolutely correct that of the 135
cardinal electors, in other words, cardinals who are under the age of 80, who will be eligible to vote, Pope Francis named 110 of them. But, that
also brings with it a pretty steep bar, because in order to be elected Pope in a conclave by secret vote, you have to have a two thirds majority.
That's unchanged by Pope Francis. That means you have to basically have 90 votes.
And the assumption has always been that the cardinals who were picked by Pope Francis are very uniform, sort of ideologically, to use sort of
political terms, when, in fact, they not only are incredibly diverse geographically, they do hail from literally every corner of the globe,
which was something that was very deliberate on the part of Pope Francis, but they are also holding of opinions that are all over the map as well,
again, reflecting in many ways Pope Francis' desire to have every corner of the church heard.
So, this process, then, is in many ways underway. We have noted that the cardinals are on their way to Rome right now. Almost all of them are
certain to be here for the papal funeral on Saturday morning. But, right now, everything here in Rome is focused on Pope Francis and saying farewell
to the Pope who created (inaudible) cardinals.
ASHER: And Matthew. One of the things that I found quite interesting was the Vatican essentially releasing the Pope's will, in which he said --
BUNSON: Yes.
ASHER: -- where he wanted to be laid to rest in Rome, the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major. But, I think also interesting is the fact that he
requested an undecorated tomb with only the inscription "Franciscus", and he specified that the tomb --
BUNSON: Yes.
ASHER: -- had to be in the earth, simple, without any kind of particular decoration. No decoration, a simple tomb.
BUNSON: That's right.
ASHER: Just -- explain to us what this will tells us about the character of this man.
BUNSON: Well, when we think of a will, what Pope Francis wrote, and we have seen this from other posts, we saw this, in fact, from Pope Benedict XVI
and Pope Saint John Paul II, it's a kind of spiritual testament that gives us a snapshot into not just how they want to be remembered, but how they
want to be laid to rest. And in Francis' case, this is incredibly consistent with everything that we saw from him, not just as he was Pope
for over 12 years, but even as he governed, and we just heard from the faithful in Buenos Aires, in Argentina, his homeland, that he was this
individual who cultivated the belief in humility, in service, in reaching out to those peripheries, and I think that's exactly how he wants to be
laid to rest here in Santa Maria Maggiore.
Not only is it something of an interesting innovation, he will be the first Pope not buried in St. Peters since 1903, and that was all the way back to
Pope Leo XIII. But, he wants to be buried near something that was very dear to him. First, the basilica, Santa Maria Maggiore, is one of the greatest
of the Marian basilicas, and Pope Francis had a deep devotion to the Blessed Mother, to the Virgin Mary. But then he also wants to be buried
very close to what's called the Salus Populi Romani, which is an icon of the Blessed Mother.
For over 100 times throughout his pontificate in his 12 years, every time he went on a trip, he would stop at the basilica and pray before this Salus
Populi Romani, and then when he came back from a trip, he would always stop there as well. So, it's very fitting, I think certainly in Francis' mind,
that not only does he want to be very buried in a very different way from his predecessors, but he wants to be close to that which is most important
to him, and that was a basilica of tomb (ph) Mary with an icon that had deep personal meaning to him. So, it's very personal to Francis, but it's,
in many ways, so wonderfully in keeping with his spirit and his temperament.
GOLODRYGA: And his modesty as well, just a plain wooden coffin, hear so many stories --
BUNSON: That's right.
GOLODRYGA: -- about how he relinquished a 12-room apartment at the Vatican.
ASHER: And how he used to take the bus.
GOLODRYGA: Yeah. He paid his own bills. Instead, chose to live in a two- room hostel there, and often eating in the dining hall with others, not by himself. Matthew --
BUNSON: But, there is a secret to that too.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. Go ahead.
BUNSON: There is a secret to that too. One of the reasons he didn't want to live in the Apostolic Palace was that he loved to be around people. He
seemed, at first, very shy, and yet he was somebody who was incredibly outgoing, who wanted to be with his people.
[11:15:00]
We saw that in the last weeks of his life, when he was so grievously ill, so frail, it was so manifest to all of us in the world that he was frail,
but he wanted to have that connection with his people. And I think that was one of the reasons why he liked to live in the Casa Santa Marta, because
that's where the people worked. He didn't want to be isolated from the faithful up in the Apostolic Palace.
GOLODRYGA: And Matthew, I was going to say, when he was elected to the papacy, the church was experiencing very fraught times, both internally and
externally. You had the sex abuse crisis, obviously, massive financial disarray within the church, and lack of transparency on not just the
finances, but the health of a Pope. He really focused on cleaning up the finances, cutting costs, and becoming more transparent about his own
health. But, he also chose to wade into subjects that were viewed as quite controversial, if not political, going head to head with the President of
the United States, both in his first term and a second, and even with President Obama and Biden on issues, specifically like immigration.
Talk about where he has left the church right now and the decision these cardinals are going to have to weigh when electing his successor as to
whether or not they want to carry on some of his policies.
BUNSON: Yeah. I think one of the major questions facing the cardinals who are going to be gathering in the Sistine Chapel in now just days, a couple
of weeks, is the question of continuity. What does the church need at this moment, as we begin this process after the funeral on Saturday, of looking
for a successor to Pope Francis? One of the big questions they're going to ask is, is the person that they're looking for going to carry forward the
agenda, so to speak, the division for the church of Pope Francis, of so- called synodality of reaching out to the peripheries? Are they going to look for somebody who has that vision, but who also recognizes the
necessity of certain institutional stability?
Pope Francis brought a whole lot of reforms, and at times, it has seemed at least that some of them were somewhat haphazard or not necessarily as
successful as he might have wanted in their implementation, or are some of the cardinals going to be proposing that we do a shift away from the vision
of Pope Francis, and I think that's on the table for discussions. That's not going to be a major element, I think, in what are called the general
congregations that will be starting in the days after the funeral, as all of the cardinals gathered together, all 135 plus, those who are over the
age of 80 and therefore cannot vote in the Conclave, they're all going to be meeting together, and they're going to have very frank conversations
with each other about what the church needs.
And I think one of the other major aspects of this is that Francis rarely brought the cardinals together as a body. So, in other words, the cardinals
don't really know each other. So, part of the task of the general congregations is to get to know each other, to get a sense of each other,
to find among themselves who they might want to lead us forward, and how closely they're going to hew to the vision and ideals of Pope Francis.
But then, we're also going to have a lot of the quiet dinners of gatherings of cardinals, as again, they avail themselves of every opportunity in these
dinners, in these meetings, to get to know each other and to ask each other, who are you looking for? Who do you recommend who might be suitable,
as you put it a while ago, to fill the shoes of the fishermen? It's an immense task, and I think all the cardinals are very much aware of the
enormity of the responsibility that's been placed on them.
ASHER: I mean, it is going to be interesting who ends up being chosen here, because this Pope was so extraordinary in just how ordinary he was. And so,
if we're going to find anyone, is there anyone that can live up to the legacy of just sheer humility of this Pope? I think it was just one of the
things that stands out to me about who he was as a person.
GOLODRYGA: Be prepared for surprises. Right? Matthew Bunson, thank you.
BUNSON: He was the Pope of surprises.
ASHER: Yeah. Exactly.
BUNSON: Very good to be with you.
GOLODRYGA: Thank you so much.
ASHER: Thank you so much.
All right. Still to come, the U.S. Defense Secretary comes out swinging amid allegations of a second Signal chat scandal. What Pete Hegseth had to
say and who he says is to blame.
GOLODRYGA: Plus, the International Monetary Fund is out with its latest World Economic Outlook, and it's not pretty. It's saying there is one
country that will be hit particularly hard by Donald Trump's trade war. That country may surprise you. We'll have details ahead.
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[11:20:00]
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GOLODRYGA: All right. So, let's take a look at how the markets are performing this hour on Wall Street. U.S. stocks are rebounding after that
massive sell-off Monday, and gold continues to be the story here, another record high. Right now, you see the Dow up about two percentage points. The
same for the S&P 500, and the NASDAQ, up about 2.5 percent. Meantime, Asian markets struggled to make gains on Tuesday and closed the day mixed, as
investors remain jittery about Donald Trump's trade war. This continues to be the focus of traders, and more and more so everyday Americans concerned
about a recession. Meantime, European markets returned from the long Easter weekend on a negative note. Right now, you see, they too up, not as much as
the U.S. markets. But, listen, we'll take it.
ASHER: A lot little green, actually --
GOLODRYGA: Exactly.
ASHER: -- across global markets.
Well, U.S. stocks may be calm for now, but all three indices are on track for their worst month since 2022, as economic uncertainty grows and
investor confidence plummets, and now there is another flashing warning sign. The International Monetary Fund is predicting that global economies
will slow down sharply as a result of Trump's trade war, with American prosperity hit particularly hard. The IMF says the worldwide economy will
grow just 2.8 percent this year, down from its forecast in January of 3.3 percent.
CNN's Vanessa Yurkevich joins us live now from New York. So, it's been an interesting couple of days here, because obviously yesterday you had
markets tanking. Obviously, they rallied a little bit towards the end. They sort of dipped to the sell-off towards the end, but overall, markets were
really down yesterday. Today, you're getting not so good news from the IMF, essentially saying that there is going to be a bit of a slowdown in
projected growth across the world, but especially in the U.S. But, despite that news, we're seeing the Dow up 800 points. Can you make sense of it for
us, Vanessa?
VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. I think - -
ASHER: She is laughing. She can't make sense of it at all.
(CROSSTALK)
YURKEVICH: Here we go. I'm going to try. So, essentially, I think that people were expecting this downgrade from the IMF. This probably wasn't a
surprise. They downgraded the global economic outlook to 2.8 percent this year compared to 3.3 percent last year, and then for the United States, a
steeper decline in growth, 1.8 percent compared to 2.8 percent last year. But, it's really the wording around the messaging of this outlook, the IMF
saying that the escalation of trade tensions and extremely high levels of policy uncertainty is what contributed to this revision and that they put
together this report, this outlook with, quote, "under", quote, "exceptional circumstances".
But, as you mentioned, the markets right now really not paying attention to that downgraded outlook.
[11:25:00]
They're really just rallying off of yesterday's lows, and that's to be expected, right? The markets go up and down, but I think in this space that
we're in right now, they're just so much more volatile. The swings are so much more dramatic. So, you see the Dow up more than 800 points there,
nearly erasing all of its losses yesterday.
But, investors still, let's not forget what's happened in the last couple of weeks, investors still really shaken about the uncertainty, and of
course, the President's comments about potentially terminating the head of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell. So, investors looking for safe places
to put their money right now, and gold has always been that. Over the course of history, really, gold prices hitting another record. They've just
really increased over the last century or so, and that is because gold is really something that's inflation-proof, recession-proof, and really is a
resilient asset in the face of economic uncertainty. But, of course, that comes at the same time that the dollar has weakened to its lowest level in
three years.
So, you just kind of have to look at everything altogether and try to make sense of what's going on. And I think the problem that a lot of traders and
investors are having on Wall Street right now is that it is very difficult to make sense of what's going on, especially when there is very little
predictability. I think that investors probably, as I mentioned, were predicting that these economic outlooks would be revised down, and that's
probably why it's not shaking markets right now.
GOLODRYGA: Yeah. A little predictability out of one source --
ASHER: Yeah.
GOLODRYGA: -- and that is, of course, the President of the United States. And what also is causing a lot of jitters is the fact that we have yet to
see any concrete trade deals made, even though the Treasury Secretary and other officials said they're coming. They're coming. They're coming. We
haven't seen anything yet, and that's rattling markets as well.
Vanessa, interesting to see earlier this morning, and we talked about the IMF officials and World Bank officials in Washington as well, also in
Washington, ECB chief Christine Lagarde, and she was asked about the President's constant threat about how Jerome Powell needs to leave and
vacate his job and continued attacks on him. Another issue rattling markets is the stability and independence going forward of an institution like the
Federal Reserve. What did she say?
YURKEVICH: Well, she said what is to be predicted, that she hopes that he doesn't go, that he doesn't get fired, because that would rattle markets
even more. And as you mentioned, the Federal Reserve was set up by Congress to be independent, to be sort of a checks and balances system, a safety net
for the U.S. economy when it saw moments of recession or economic uncertainty or inflation.
And so, when you have the -- someone from the federal government, the President of the United States, trying to direct what the Federal Reserve
should do, intervene in monetary policy, that makes investors very nervous, because this is supposed to be the institution that acts on its own, that
can make independent decisions. And President Trump said, according to his White House Counsel, that he is studying whether or not he can remove the
Chair of the Federal Reserve. So, if you're studying that, you're obviously potentially looking to do so, but according to, as you mentioned, the head
of the European Central Bank, that would just wreak havoc on the U.S. economy, and then would, of course, ripple into the overall global economy.
It's just not something that's been done before. It would certainly be unprecedented.
ASHER: Yeah, beyond unprecedented. I mean, when you think about what it would do to markets --
YURKEVICH: Yeah.
ASHER: -- what it would do to markets, I mean, markets would tank if the President even went there. I mean, obviously the legality is still in
question. But, as you point out, the very fact that they're looking into it, that they're studying it, certainly makes us believe right.
Vanessa Yurkevich live for us. Thank you so much.
GOLODRYGA: Thanks, Vanessa.
YURKEVICH: Thanks.
ASHER: All right. The world is showing its love as it mourns the death of Pope France. Just ahead, we'll look at what happens next with a live report
from St. Peters Square.
GOLODRYGA: That beautiful shot right there as well.
Plus, coming up for us, another round of protests set for Earth Day, as Donald Trump doubles down on environmental rollbacks. That's next.
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[11:30:00]
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ASHER: All right. Welcome back to One World. I'm Zain Asher.
GOLODRYGA: And I'm Bianna Golodryga. Here are some international headlines we're watching today.
ASHER: U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance is in India today. His goals are to hammer down a trade deal with the country. During a speech in Jaipur, he
touted India's vitality. He added, the groundwork for a trade deal has already been finalized.
GOLODRYGA: Harvard University is suing the Trump administration over those federal frozen funds. Now it accuses the White House of a pressure campaign
to force the school to submit to government control. It's just the latest salvo after Harvard rejected a list of demands, the White House claims is
aimed at fighting antisemitism and DEI on campuses.
ASHER: And for the first time in years, Russia's President says he is open to direct talks with Ukraine. This as pressure mounts from the U.S. to
reach a peace deal soon. The White House is threatening it may abandon efforts to reach a resolution. Russia and Ukraine have not held talks since
the beginning of Moscow's invasion in 2022.
GOLODRYGA: All right. I want to take you back to Rome. You're looking at live pictures of St. Peters Square in Vatican City, where the funeral mass
for Pope Francis will be held on Saturday. The Vatican says the Pope's body will be taken to St. Peter's Basilica on Wednesday, where it will lie in
state. After arranging the funeral plans, the cardinals will determine the start of the Conclave to choose the next Pope.
We're live in Rome with CNN's Ben Wedeman. Ben, you were up all day and through the night last night, upon word of the passing of Pope Francis. You
were speaking with those who were there, who even heard his words on Easter Sunday, only to react to news yesterday of his passing. What are you
hearing from those that are there behind you today?
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, what we're hearing, Bianna, people are in a state of shock. I mean, keep in mind, of
course, that two weeks ago and one day, he came out of hospital after spending 38 days where he suffered from double pneumonia. So, we knew,
everyone knew his health was frail. But, I think when he came out of the hospital, the idea, the thought, the presumption of many people was that he
was slowly on the road to recovery. We spoke to one group of French pilgrims who told us that they were in a bus on their way to Rome hoping to
hear or see Pope Francis when they heard the news that he had died, and many of them, we were told, broke into tears.
Now, of course, tomorrow, at 09:00 a.m. local time, the Pope's body will be taken from the Chapel of the Casa Santa Marta, which is the guest house of
the Vatican where Pope Francis lived and died.
[11:35:00]
It will be on display, for -- lying in state for the public to see until the funeral takes place on the 10th, or rather, on Saturday at 10:00 a.m.
Now, as you mentioned, this -- tomorrow evening at 05:00 p.m. local time, the cardinals, who are gathering from around the world, are preparing for
the Conclave where the successor to Pope Francis will be elected.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WEDEMAN (voice-over): One of the top candidates to succeed Francis is the man who served as his second in command, the current Vatican Secretary of
State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, from visiting war-torn Ukraine to brokering a deal that saw the Holy See mend ties with China. The 70-year-old Italian
is seen as a skilled diplomat and a conciliatory figure who could appeal to both conservatives and progressives. His election, however, could lead to
clashes with the Trump administration, as he has rebuked the U.S. President's Gaza plan.
Another top contender is Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu of the Democratic Republic of Congo. A strong defender of democracy and human
rights, Ambongo has been cardinal since 2019.
CARDINAL FRIDOLIN AMBONGO BESUNGU, ARCHBISHOP OF KINSHASA (Interpreted): I am happy. I am aware of the responsibility this appointment brings.
WEDEMAN (voice-over): That responsibility has seen him stand up to warlords and corrupt leaders, becoming a respected moral voice. The 65-year-old is
also the leader of a massive local church of more than seven million people, and represents the growing church in Africa.
A surprise candidate may be Cardinal Robert Prevost from the United States. America's global influence has made electors shy away from choosing a U.S.
Pope in the past, but the 69-year-old from Chicago spent many years working in Peru before leading the powerful Vatican office for bishop appointments,
and he shouldn't be ruled out. The top contender, though, may hail from one of the corners of the globe where the church has been growing, and few
cardinals are as charismatic as Luis Antonio Tagle from the Philippines, often dubbed the Asian Francis.
CARDINAL LUIS ANTONIO TAGLE: We believe that Jesus is alive, and he was born in the ministry. He died and rose from the dead in Asia.
WEDEMAN (voice-over): The 67-year-old led the church's charitable arm, as well as the Vatican Department of Evangelization, and he may be well
positioned as the church pivots towards parts of the world where it's expanding. Still, it's impossible to say which, if any of these candidates,
will be chosen. If there is anything we can glean from past conclaves, it's that usually the favorites don't get picked.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WEDEMAN: And the best and most recent example of that unpredictability is back in 2013 after Pope Benedict XVI resigned all of a sudden. At the
Conclave, there were many names being banded about who might be the successor, and the compromise candidate that nobody really expected was
Jorge Bergoglio, which, of course, is the birth name of Pope Francis who -- and therefore when this Conclave ends, we may be in, Bianna, for another
surprise.
GOLODRYGA: I love the story you tell, Ben. When you heard Jorge Bergoglio's name, you said -- you turned to your producer and said, who is that? And
obviously, over all these years, we've gotten to know very well who that special man was.
Ben Wedeman, thank you so much.
And we'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:40:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GOLODRYGA: Climate protests are scheduled across the globe today on Earth Day. They come as President Trump is set to issue several more executive
orders cutting back on climate and environmental protections. Trump has signed actions to pull the U.S. out of the Paris Agreement, the treaty
adopted by nearly 200 countries agreeing to limit their part in global warming.
ASHER: Meantime, Elon Musk and DOGE have eviscerated weather and climate research programs. The Trump administration's cuts to staffing has forced
the National Weather Service to cut its weather balloon launches, which can seriously impact forecasts, especially during tornados, hurricanes and ice
storms.
Joining us live now is the Chief Scientist of The Nature Conservancy, and Distinguished Professor at Texas Tech University, Katharine Hayhoe.
Katharine, thank you so much for being with us on Earth Day.
One of the things that I think is important to talk about is that, obviously we know the statistics, right? They're dire. We talk about rising
sea levels. We talk about record temperatures, record temperatures on land and ocean as well. And I am guilty of being one of those people who tends
to think, this is down to the oil and gas companies. We need to stop burning fossil fuels. That is what's going to roll this thing back.
Obviously, though, the truth is, we can each, in our sphere of influences, do something to benefit the planet. We're not all powerless. And again, I
am very guilty of sort of seeing myself as powerless because I'm just one person in a planet of, what, nine billion people. But, what is the best
thing that each of us, each and every single one of us, can do to benefit this planet at a time like this?
KATHARINE HAYHOE, CHIEF SCIENTIST, THE NATURE CONSERVANCY: There absolutely is something that every one of us could do that most of us are not doing,
and it is so simple. It is have a conversation that helps to connect what we already know that we're worried about to why we care in our hearts, to
what we can do about it with our hands. If we look at social change in the past, if we look at how women got the vote, how civil rights were enacted,
how apartheid was ended, systemic change happened because individuals with the courage of their convictions used their voices to call for change.
[11:45:00]
That's what many people are doing today, and that's what every single one of us can do every day.
GOLODRYGA: Katharine, among the countless tributes that came in to mourn the passing of Pope Francis, among them were very notable climate activists
and experts, from Al Gore to John Kerry, and their focus was not only on the man that he was and his humility, but also on the role he played in
really highlighting climate change and being the first of popes to do so. In fact, in 2015, he pinned the first ever papal encyclical that focused
solely on climate change. I just want to read a little bit from it. He said, "A number of scientific studies indicate that most global warming in
recent decades is due to the great concentration of greenhouse gasses released mainly as a result of human activity. Never have we so hurt and
mistreated our common home as we have in the last 200 years."
In fact, that was such a powerful article that he wrote. It was actually mentioned by a number of the signatories to the Paris climate accord that
same year. Talk about the Pope's contribution to this issue.
HAYHOE: Well, he continued in that vein. He issued an exhortation just two years ago to all of the leaders who were coming together at the latest
global climate conference, calling them to stand up for people and for the planet.
Now, in climate science, we talk a lot about physical tipping points in the climate system. If we push the earth too far, we could see massive changes
that would hugely impact all of us, our society and all living things. But, scientists have also identified social tipping points that can help
catalyze change at the scale we need, and one of those social tipping points is making the moral case for climate action, not just the economic
case, not just the practical case, but the case for doing what is right, to protect what we love, and that is what the Pope did so powerfully.
ASHER: That's what the Pope did so powerfully. But, how do you make the moral case in such a way that gets through to the U.S. President? I want to
pull up on our screen some of the climate policies and some of the cuts that Donald Trump has enacted, obviously, one of them being the Paris
Climate Agreement withdrawal, expanding U.S. oil and gas production, rolling back EV emissions policies. I mean, the list goes on. And so, when
it comes to fighting against this, the momentum we're seeing in the opposite direction, are protests enough?
HAYHOE: We have to realize that while federal action is an essential piece of the puzzle, we are still seeing action at the level of states, cities,
other countries, organizations, businesses, tribal nations, universities, even churches. We are seeing action at every level. The giant boulder of
climate action is already rolling down the hill in the right direction with millions of hands on it. The recent federal actions in the United States
have changed the slope of that hill, made it harder to roll that boulder down that hill, make no mistake, but the trajectory, the arc, as they say,
of the universe, is bending towards a clean energy, climate and nature- friendly future for all of us, because that is the only way we can get a better future. It doesn't matter where we live. It doesn't matter how we
vote.
Investing in nature and investing in climate solutions is an investment in all of our lives and a better future for all of our children.
ASHER: Katharine Hayhoe live for us. Thank you so much. We appreciate it. Happy Earth Day, by the way.
GOLODRYGA: Yes, you too.
Well, Donald Trump's embattled Defense Secretary is doubling down and remaining defiant amid a deepening controversy that critics warn could be a
threat to U.S. national security.
ASHER: Yeah. Pete Hegseth spoke to his former employer, Fox News, a short time ago, amid growing calls for his resignation. He was asked about
reports that he led a second Signal group chat on military operations, which included his wife and his brother. Hegseth would only say classified
information was not shared on Signal.
GOLODRYGA: And then he pointed the finger at former senior staffers who were fired last week, accusing them of leaks. This as allegations of chaos
and dysfunction under Hegseth's leadership surfaced at the Pentagon.
ASHER: Yeah. The Defense Secretary's boss, meantime, is at least publicly showing his support.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICASHER: As the Houthis how much dysfunction they have. There's none. Pete's doing a great job.
Everybody's happy with him. We have the highest recruitment numbers I think they've had in 28 years. No, he's doing a great job. It's just fake news.
They just bring up stories. I guess it sounds like disgruntled employees. You know, he was put there to get rid of a lot of bad people, and that's
what he's doing.
[11:50:00]
So, you don't always have friends when you do that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: We're actually going to have a lot more on this developing story the next hour or so. That's when CNN Military Analyst and retired Air Force
Colonel, Cedric Leighton, is going to be joining us to talk more about the Signal scandal and the allegations of turmoil at the Pentagon.
GOLODRYGA: Meantime, the basketball fight is on, as the NBA playoffs have started. The game so far have been pretty exciting. Our Coy Wire is
covering it all and joins us with the shots and players that led to last night's wins.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHER: All right. The first round of NBA playoffs has begun, and judging by two of the games last night, it will be action packed.
GOLODRYGA: Yeah. The Detroit Pistons snapped the NBA's longest post-season losing streak by beating the New York Knicks last night, but the Knicks
made it difficult with a rally late in the game. That's what we like to see. That makes for a good game. And the LA Clippers, they took on Denver.
They were able to even the series with a three-point win over the Nuggets in the final minutes of the game.
CNN Coy Wire joins us now for more. Things got pretty heated, though, in that Pistons match, a little -- I don't know.
COY WIRE, CNN WORLD SPORT: Are we watching wrestling?
GOLODRYGA: Too touchy between -- yes.
WIRE: Is this basketball? Because what they were doing --
GOLODRYGA: I don't know if that was going to lead to a fight, or what was going on there? Yes.
WIRE: Yes. Yeah. We'll get to some of the chicken. It's coming up. But, as far as Detroit, right, the Pistons, we're talking about the bad boys, one
of the iconic NBA franchises. Who would have thought it would have been in them, who had one of the status streaks in the game? The Pistons had lost
15 straight playoff games, long as such streak in NBA history. But, after blowing out a huge fourth quarter lead, getting knocked by the Nixon game
one, the Pistons bounced back like a blow up big bop punch in bag, getting their first playoff win since 2008, Cade Cunningham, scoring a team high
33. He grabbed 12 rebounds.
Now, Detroit wasn't good from three-point land. They only hit six of them. Knicks star Jalen Brunson, he scored a game high 37 and it got it to Josh
Hard, who tied the game at 94 with a minute 15 to go, but on the next possession, Detroit's Dennis Schroder, who scored 20 off the bench, put the
Pistols ahead, and they didn't look back. They did win game two, 194. Here is the star of the show, and my hair idol, Cade Cunningham after the game.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CADE CUNNINGHAM, 33 POINTS, 12 REBOUNDS FOR DETROIT: It's a great feeling, man. It feels good to represent the city like we did tonight, something
that the season has been waiting on for a long time.
[11:55:00]
So, now we feel good about it, and we're ready to get back to the crib and perform in front of them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WIRE: All right. Now to the chippiness Bianna is talking about. In Denver, home team Nuggets with a 1-0 series lead, and Jamal Murray must have
thought, hey, we can intimidate their way to another win over the Clippers in game two. He picks up Norman Powell, and that's not normal Powell.
Norman didn't like that. Several technical fouls assessed. Murray would score 23, Nikola Jokic would notch to 26 point, triple double. But, LA star
Kawhi Leonard was all that, and a bag of chicks for the Cliffs, 39 points. He was everywhere in this back and forth affair, including right in the
face of Jokic in the final seconds, forcing the missed shot. Clippers tie the series at one after a 105-102 win.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAWHI LEONARD, MADE 15 OUT OF 19 SHOTS IN GAME 2 WIN: Great basketball team, especially at home, MVP caliber player with Jokic and the great guys
around him, Murray and they are playing great. So, tough, tough fight. That's what the playoff is about.
NIKOLA JOKIC, 26 POINTS, 12 REBOUNDS, 10 ASSISTS IN GAME 2: I think we could be down to anything we can be up to. So, I think it is a great two
game. We had a great two game. I think if you're a basketball fan, it's -- I think this is probably the best basketball you can watch. It's both ends,
like even mistakes, even big plays, like Kawhi had an amazing game even. Everybody had amazing game by a player. I think those -- we had a really
good two games. And if you're basketball fan, I think it's a pleasure to watch.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WIRE: Yeah. I think Jokic is right, the Joker. He is saying this is going to be a good one. And when the Clippers have Kawhi Leonard, aka the "Claw",
playing like he played, look out, Nuggets fans. This is going to go down to maybe game seven. We'll see.
ASHER: Did you say he picked up Norman Powell, and that's not normal Powell? Because that is a great -- that's like a rap line. That was Jay Z
style, Kendrick Lamar style. That was really good.
GOLODRYGA: Coy Wire style.
WIRE: Yeah. I dropped 16 bars any time on your show, but only for you all. OK?
ASHER: And by the way, don't let anyone tell you that you don't have great hair, great hair, great hair, Coy. Great.
WIRE: Yeah. My eyebrows look great.
ASHER: Great.
GOLODRYGA: Coy Wire, I've never seen a foul like that in my life. I was going to carry him home or something. I don't know what he was thinking at
the time. Yep. All right. C, always good to see you.
WIRE: Me too.
GOLODRYGA: Talk soon.
Stay with us. We'll have more One World after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
