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CNN Live Event/Special

Holy Conclave Mass; Nuclear-Armed India And Pakistan On Brink Of War. Aired 5-5:30a ET

Aired May 07, 2025 - 05:00   ET

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

ERIN BURNETT, CNN ANCHOR: Are actually stand on crucial issues.

[05:00:03]

CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. I mean, I reported this dossier on the cardinal candidates, the cardinal candidates, which was clearly written to try and influence the conclave in a more conservative direction. There has been these attempts to sway the cardinals.

I don't think that's going to have a huge impact on them. Yes, it is a political process. And of course, politics is a is a dirty word now, but actually, it is necessary to have this kind of political style gathering in the run up, because they've got to get to know each other. They've got to hash out, thrash out the issues.

Of course, the politics of the conclave are quite subtle. You know, anyone who -- who's campaigning is disqualified. Anyone who looks too ambitious immediately is sort of ruled out. So, it is very subtle in that -- in that way.

BURNETT: In that sense, of course, although ambition is -- is required, although not in all cases, as Pope Francis perhaps proved, Father Beck.

FATHER EDWARD BECK, CNN VATICAN ANALYST: Yes. And of course, there's Kim was saying, the synod experience over the past number of years has really been a different one for these cardinals, because it has been one that has had increased lay participation for the first time. Before that, it was just cardinals who met and bishops who met in synods. And yet this time, there were women, there were LGBTQ plus Catholics, there were divorced individuals, all were invited to conversations about clergy, celibacy, same sex blessings, all of this stuff was discussed.

So, this was something new. I mean, the word synod comes from a Greek word. It means way together. It's a meeting, but it's a way that were supposed to come together as a universal church. And there was wide consultation in parishes. People got to write in, you know, local parishes got little sheets of paper that we sent in so that those were all sent to Rome. So, it really was a consultation of a worldwide church.

Now, many say that not enough change came out of that process. Real, concrete change. But I think it really was a different experience for those who participated, as Kim was saying. And I think it may make a difference in what this conclave ultimately produces.

BURNETT: Let's listen here to the Consecration.

(LITURGY OF THE EUCHARIST: THE CONSECRATION)

[05:14:47]

BURNETT: And you see now communion, the sacred rite in St. Peter's Basilica. For those cardinals who will be entering the conclave just after this mass concludes, we are watching them receive the body and blood of Christ in the sacred rite of communion.

[05:15:05]

We are going to take a very brief break here, as our special coverage continues. We will have so much more from the Vatican this hour and throughout this historic conclave. And we also will get you caught up this morning on the India-Pakistan conflict escalating at this hour.

We'll take a very brief break and we'll be back with all of that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you. We begin with breaking news. Welcome to our viewers from the United States and all around the world. I'm Sara Sidner in New York, in for Rahel Solomon.

We are following this breaking news out of India, the Indian-Pakistani conflict. The two nuclear armed rivals are moving closer to war after India launched military strikes against Pakistan.

Here is what we know at this hour. A Pakistani military spokesperson says at least 26 civilians have been killed in Pakistan and Pakistani administered Kashmir, and 46 people have been injured.

[05:20:07]

Meantime, according to a senior Indian defense source, Pakistani shelling on Indian administered Kashmir has now killed eight people. Pakistan also says it shot down five Indian air force jets and a drone. CNN, however, cannot independently confirm those claims.

The strikes and shelling have disrupted flights and air travel in both countries.

India claims to have targeted terrorist infrastructure in several locations. India insists its missile strikes were, quote, focused and precise and designed to be non-escalatory in nature. But Pakistan rejects that claim and has vowed to retaliate.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

AHMED SHARIF, PAKISTAN LIEUTENANT GENERAL: It was an unprovoked and blatant act of war. Once the Indian government, on their instructions, the Indian air force, while they remained within the Indian airspace, violated Pakistan's sovereignty.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

SIDNER: The U.N., China and regional powers are calling for restraint from both sides. The U.S. is closely monitoring the situation and calling for de-escalation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They've been fighting for a long time. You know, they've been fighting for many, many decades and centuries, actually, if you really think about it. No, I just hope it ends very quickly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: These back and forth attacks come about two weeks after a gunman massacred 26 tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir. India quickly accused Pakistan of supporting terrorists in the region. Pakistan denied any responsibility.

The two sides have also been exchanging shelling and gunfire across their disputed border. A Pakistani security source telling CNN, Indian shelling hit an intake structure on the Noseri dam in Pakistani administered Kashmir, part of the sprawling Indus River system that is a vital water source for hundreds of millions of people in the region.

CNN's Kristie Lu Stout is tracking all of this from Hong Kong.

It's so good to see you, Kristie.

As a person who has lived in the region and lived in India in particular, we have seen some of this before, but these are two nuclear powered countries. And you are hearing the escalation here between the two of them.

What can you tell us?

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sara, this is a massive escalation. India has carried out military strikes against Pakistan. This comes just two weeks after that tourist massacre in Indian- controlled Kashmir, a massacre that India blamed on Pakistan and Pakistan denies. The Indian military launched this military strike against Pakistan in the early hours of Wednesday. It says that it targeted and struck, quote, terrorist infrastructure both inside Pakistan proper and in Pakistan controlled Kashmir.

Earlier, we heard from India's foreign minister who said India has the right to respond this way. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VIKRAM MISRI, INDIAN FOREIGN SECRETARY: Earlier this morning, as you would be aware, India exercised its right to respond and preempt as well as deter more such cross-border attacks. These actions were measured non escalatory, proportionate and responsible. They focused on dismantling the terrorist infrastructure and disabling terrorists likely to be sent across to India.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STOUT: The Indian military says nine sites in total were targeted. And I want to show you the social media video that's been going viral, showing the moment of impact of one of these strikes that fell onto eastern Pakistan.

This is significant. This is the first time India has struck deep inside Pakistan with an airstrike like this since 2019, multiple sites have been targeted. Multiple sites hit, including -- let's bring up the next video, a religious school in eastern Pakistan near Lahore. And in this video, you can see the school up in flames.

Pakistan's military says at least 26 civilians, including women and children, have been killed. It calls this a, quote, blatant act of war. India says because of Pakistan's actions, including cross-border shelling, six civilians have been killed.

And, Sara, all this is just adding to deep concerns that this will continue to escalate into an all out conflict. As you well know, as a foreign correspondent formerly based in South Asia, both India and Pakistan lay claim to Kashmir. They have fought three wars over the territory and both are nuclear armed rivals.

Sara, back to you.

SIDNER: Yeah, this has been a disputed territory for a very long time. Really, since partition in 1947. There is a lot to watch here because things could escalate very quickly.

Thank you so much, Kristie Lu Stout. It is so good to see you, my friend.

STOUT: Thank you.

SIDNER: All right. Now, let's go back to Vatican City and the holy conclave mass.

BURNETT: And, Sara, we are here -- here at Vatican City. The mass is really in these final moments for these cardinals, 133 of them going to be casting votes in the conclave. Their first vote will be today, just hours from now.

But I'm here with Christopher Lamb, Kim Daniels, Father Beck is also here.

Christopher, as this mass concludes, then the conclave commences.

LAMB: Yes, that's right. This mass is the sort of spiritual preparation for the moment when the cardinals will enter the Sistine Chapel. Of course, there will be a service when they enter that. They will be praying, and there will be a kind of procession into the Sistine Chapel, a very formal and solemn moment.

But as this mass ends, the cardinals will return to the Santa Marta, have a break, prepare. Of course, they've had to hand in all their electronic devices. All the iPads, iPhones have had to be --

BURNETT: They've already done that.

LAMB: They've already done that. So, I don't know if some of if some are already having a few withdrawal symptoms, but they're going to have to get used to it because the conclave is sealed off.

And the idea behind that, of course, is to stop any kind of outside lobbying or influencing. Of course, conclaves in the past had been influenced particularly by European monarchs, who up until the early 1900s had a veto of candidates elected in conclave. So, there is this strong sense that the cardinals should be shut off from the world, so they are free to decide who should be the next pope.

BURNETT: And, Kim, it is, of course, just to emphasize the devices have already been handed in, and it may seem light, but it is an incredibly serious point, as I'm sure anyone watching can relate to, to imagine that when all that is stripped away from you, you feel. You feel it.

They feel it acutely. They feel the passing of time and that pressure simply from not having their devices.

KIM DANIELS, VATICAN ANALYST: Absolutely. It puts you in the context fully in the particular human physical context that you're in right now.

So, for them, silence is a form of communication. It's a way of saying that this is an incredibly powerful, solemn, spiritual decision that we take in prayer and reflection. And it's a removal from the kind of influence that Chris was talking about, right? We want the free. They want them to have the freedom to make these decisions within this prayerful context.

BURNETT: As the procession to end the mass begins, Father Beck.

BECK: Yes. And I'm so intrigued of what's going to happen as were speaking now with the conclave beginning, I think some of the historical context is interesting about the conclave. We need to remember the first thousand years of the church. This isn't how it was done.

Local clergy, with input from laity, would elect the local bishop of Rome. And he really did not have the same kind of power over the worldwide church at the time. And it was only gradually that just priests and then just bishops and cardinals could do the election. And it was done very differently.

I mean, you may have heard some of the stories, like in the 1200s, it was taking three years for it to get done. And they were in a town called Viterbo, and the people of the town just got mad and angry. So, they took the roof off where the cardinals were, so that they would get rained on and they would have to get it done.

And then that didn't do it. So, they started starving them. They gave them one meal a day, and then finally it was just bread and water, you know, and only then was Gregory the X finally elected.

And he decided that from then on, this was not going to happen. It was going to be a conclave. They were going to be sequestered. They were only going to get one meal a day, and maybe a little bit of wine. And if they didn't elect someone in five days, then they would just get bread and water.

So, it's very interesting to see where the process has come from historically to what we're going to be witnessing. Now. I'm sure the cardinals will be better fed and have better accommodations, and yet, there's still an urgency for them not to take too long with this process.

BURNETT: Yes. I mean, I think the history that Father Beck shares getting rained on. I want meals restricted. Finally, wine, which was probably the most problematic at the time.

But now, just to think it's a little rectangular in most cases black thing, that would mean nothing to somebody from that era that would cause the urgency of time for this group.

DANIELS: It really does give them an idea of separation from the world, frankly, a challenge from not just influence, but removed from everyday life. And that was the experience Father Beck was talking about. And I think that's the experience that they'll have right now.

BURNETT: So, Christopher, they leave this mass, they go to Santa Marta where they're staying, and they have a lunch. Now, let me ask you about this lunch.