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CNN Sunday Morning

Ratzinger Inaugurated as Pope Benedict XVI; Gen. Sanchez, Three Others Cleared in Abu Ghraib Investigation

Aired April 24, 2005 - 07:00   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.


BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: With the fisherman's ring in hand, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger formally becomes Pope Benedict XVI.
From the CNN Center here in Atlanta, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING. It is April 24th. April is almost over.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, yes.

NGUYEN: Can you believe it? Good morning, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen.

HARRIS: And I'm Tony Harris. 7:00 a.m. here in the East and 1:00 p.m. at the Vatican. Thanks for being with us. Let's get you started this morning with some headlines now in the news.

It is official. Pope Benedict XVI is the Roman Catholic church's 265th pope. His inaugural mass took place this morning in St. Peter's Square in front of tens of thousands of pilgrims and dignitaries alike. The pope was presented his fisherman's ring and a woolen shawl. Both are symbols of his papal authority.

Two suicide car bombs explode in the Iraqi city of Tikrit, just minutes apart this morning. Six people were killed and more than two dozen injured. The bombs went off at or near the Iraqi police academy. Four of those killed were police officers.

Old man winter is rearing its ugly ahead again in Michigan. It could potentially wreak havoc on highways and newly planted gardens. The National Weather Service issued a blizzard warning for Heron County. Folks there may see up to 12 inches of new snow. Up to eight inches could fall in lower parts of the state.

NGUYEN: All right, here's why you should stick around this morning. Another alleged incident of abusive management leveled at John Bolton. A report is just ahead on the growing problems over his nomination to the United Nations.

Also ahead, think you're the only person who can't balance a checkbook? Well, the .com desk says you have a lot of company. We will take a closer look at what it means to be financially normal.

And later...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, GOVERNOR, CALIFORNIA: It is good for the taxpayers. It's good for businesses. And it is great for the environment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: If the soaring energy costs have you down, well all you have to do is just look up. Solar panels could be just what you need to bring costs back down to earth.

HARRIS: We begin this morning with Pope Benedict XVI's formal inauguration as head of the Roman Catholic Church. Take a look at these live pictures from the Vatican of Pope Benedict XVI meeting with dignitaries. The official ceremony, a huge outdoor mass, was carried live right here on CNN.

And it ended just a short time ago. This is the moment when he received his papal ring. Well, we'll show you that in just a moment. CNN Rome bureau chief Alessio Vinci is covering this historic event for us live from St. Peter's Square.

And Alessio, it has been quite a morning in Rome.

ALESSIO VINCI, CNN ROME BUREAU CHIEF: You know, Tony, it has been quite several weeks here. I've been here in St. Peter's Square throughout this period, from the beginning of April when John Paul II past away, throughout the mourning period, throughout the time of the election of Pope Benedict XVI. And today, the final act of this papal transition from John Paul II to Benedict XVI. And it was indeed an extraordinary event here in St. Peter's Square.

Hundreds of thousands in the square and surrounding the Vatican, able to either watch this directly or on giant television screens. A formal installation of Pope Benedict. A long mass -- a long ceremony. Lasted about three hours. And throughout this time, people paying a lot of attention, very curious to find out more about this man, Cardinal Ratzinger, a German, who became Pope Benedict XVI.

During his homily, the pope urged humanity to rediscover God. And he wanted to transform what he describes as the world's desert of poverty, pain, and privation into gardens of peace and progress.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

POPE BENEDICT XVI: (through translator) The church is living. This is the wonderful experience of these days. During those sad days of the pope's illness and death, it became wonderfully evident to our eyes that the church is alive.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VINCI: During his homily Pope Benedict XVI recalled several times his predecessor, John Paul II, a pope who had an incredible appeal with the crowd and with the masses, not just here in Rome but also around the world. Many people telling us today that while John Paul II has brought the people, the masses, back to the squares, now it is up to Pope Benedict to be able to bring the people back to the churches.

And that is why in recalling the words of John Paul II, saying don't be afraid. Don't be afraid to love God. That is the main message today, that the people here in St. Peter's Square have heard from the new pope.

And of course, we spoke to many of them. Some of them telling us that were here, just because they wanted to show their support. We spoke to some Germans, who of course by the -- some hundreds of thousands of -- hundred thousand are here in St. Peter's Square in this area today, telling us yesterday, no, that he is a conservative man. But at the same time, they also know that would rise to his new position as pope and not just as one of the many cardinals in the college of cardinals.

But as pope, as pope to all the people around the world, especially, of course, the Catholics. Tony, back to you.

HARRIS: And Alessio, I think you're right. Thinking back on it, what a month this whole entire month of April has just been extraordinary for the Roman Catholic church. Alessio Vinci in Rome for us this morning. We got to see the new pope, too.

NGUYEN: Different.

HARRIS: Yes, exactly. Absolutely.

Coming up in just a few minutes, we'll go back live to the Vatican and speak about today's inauguration with American cardinal William Keeler, the archbishop of Baltimore.

NGUYEN: Turning now to other news. The U.S. Army's investigation of the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal isn't public just yet, but reports of its conclusions have already sparked outrage in certain quarters.

Pentagon officials say the internal probe found no evidence of wrongdoing by Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez and three others. Sanchez was in charge of U.S. forces in Iraq at the time. Some critics refuse to accept the Army's results.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIG. GEN. JANICE KARPINSKI, FACES ADMINISTRATIVE REPRIMAND: This just proves that the Army cannot investigate itself. If the United States is going to wipe away the stain of Abu Ghraib, there has to be an independent investigation that looks as the responsibility of all those people who ordered or who tolerated torture, no matter where they are in the chain of command.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: Brigadier General Janice Karpinski seen here, who was commander of the military police at Abu Ghraib, is the only senior officer who will be disciplined. Karpinski's attorneys tell CNN that the Pentagon made her a scapegoat. HARRIS: So how do you rate President Bush's job performance? A new poll as Americans about evenly split. The latest Gallup Poll finds 48 percent of those surveyed approved, versus 49 percent who disapprove of how he is handling his job.

The same poll indicates growing pessimism about the economy. 61 percent say they think economic conditions in the country are getting worse. 31 percent think it's actually getting better.

Another source of concern for the Bush administration is John Bolton's nomination as U.N. ambassador. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee won't consider it again until May 12th. That gives detractors plenty of time to continue sniping away at the embattled nominee.

CNN White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux reports from Crawford, Texas.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Despite repeated endorsements from the highest level of the administration...

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: John's distinguished career in service to our nation demonstrates that he is the right man.

DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm an enthusiastic backer of John.

MALVEAUX: ...John Bolton's nomination to become U.N. ambassador heated up over the weekend, when yet another former employee came forth, alleging mistreatment.

Lynn D. Finney says that in the early '80s, Bolton tried to get her fired when they worked together at the U.S. agency for International Development or USAID.

Friday, Finney submitted a letter to Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer. In that letter given to CNN by Boxer's office, Finney says Bolton threatened to get rid of her after a dispute they had over her refusal to promote a controversial U.S. policy.

Finney says it was a question of conscience, which resulted in her desk being moved to a shabby windowless office in the basement, in order to force me to leave.

But she says the head of USAID at the time, Peter McPherson, apologized for Bolton's behavior and asked her to stay. But when CNN spoke with McPherson by phone, he said he had no recollection of the incident. And a State Department spokesman told CNN we'd looked into the allegations. We can't find anyone who as at USAID at the time to corroborate.

(on camera): Finney has declined numerous requests to come forward to speak publicly about her case. In the meantime, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is considering interviewing her under oath.

And still, the larger question remains. What will it take for Bolton's nomination to sink or survive?

Suzanne Malveaux, CNN, Crawford, Texas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: Thirty years ago, hundreds of Vietnamese crammed into a Pan Am plane and evacuated the country before the fall of Saigon. This weekend, those on that last flight out reunited with the man who made it all possible.

Former Pan Am chief Al Toppings marked the 30th anniversary of the exodus. Now this reunion in Virginia brought him face to face with former flight attendants and pilots instrumental in the evacuation.

In order to get the Vietnamese families and orphans out of Saigon, he had to adopt as many as 100 of them.

And I was at that event yesterday. So I wasn't here. And it was just really remarkable to see all of those people in the same room, who are part of this history making event.

HARRIS: Wow. Tell us about the -- and then you were in traditional dress as well.

NGUYEN: Yes. I was wearing the Vietnamese Alyad (ph) to represent the culture of Vietnam, because there is -- there's a lot to do with Vietnam and its culture and the people.

It was not only a reflection, but a remembrance and a celebration.

HARRIS: Well, well, we missed you, but we understand why.

NGUYEN: Well, I'm glad you missed me.

HARRIS: Yes.

NGUYEN: I don't hear that very often from you, Tony.

HARRIS: Oh, please.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: Pope Benedict XVI is now officially in charge of the Roman Catholic Church. Live pictures from the Vatican as Pope Benedict XVI meets archbishops, cardinals, with dignitaries from around the world.

Florida Governor Jeb Bush is leading the delegation from the United States. And Michael Steele, the lieutenant governor of Maryland, is there. There's quite a large congressional delegation from the states there as well. The 265th pope, the new leader of the Roman Catholic Church, meeting dignitaries at the Vatican. Pope Benedict XVI. So how will U.S. Catholics see the new pontiff? We'll talk with an American archbishop live from Rome. That's next.

NGUYEN: Also, skydivers take a leap of faith every time the jump. But one man's dive ended in disaster.

HARRIS: And we'll meet a new breed of conservationists, whose motivation to go green is mostly about the green in your wallets.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARRY MAY, SARAH LUNDE'S UNCLE: ...safe in the hands of God now. And that's comforting.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Sarah Lunde's funeral top stories across America this morning. More than 100 people gathered in the 13-year old girl's church in Ruskin, Florida. Police say Lunde was choked to death by a registered sex offender two weeks ago. Outside the church, a white stone fountain was erected in her memory.

A horrific skydiving accident in Deland, Florida. Police say a skydiver hit the wing of a plane as he was descending?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DENNIS MCGUIRE, DELAND, FLORIDA POLICE: The plane was landing and banking. And the skydiver hit the left -- the actual wing itself, not the propeller. That appeared that on both of his legs were severed from the knees down.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Police say the skydiver was able to maneuver his parachute and land near the airport. He died later at the hospital.

Animal control officers in Pawtucket, Rhode Island came to the rescue of about 40 cats living at a mobile home. Some were already dead. And others had to be put to sleep because they were so sick. Officials say the homeowners has been accused of keeping too many cats before this incident.

NGUYEN: Our hero story this morning just completed the Boston Marathon with the hand cycle division. Now the race comes exactly one year after he lost his leg in Iraq.

CNN's Casey Wian has the story of Army Staff Sergeant Hilbert Caesar.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Once he gets moving on his hand cycle, retired Army Staff Sergeant Hilbert Caesar says it's hard it slow him down. That fierce determination carried him through 7 years in the military doing tours in Germany, Korea, Kosovo and Iraq until April 18, 2004, when Caesar's armored Howitzer drove by a roadside bomb while on a reconnaissance mission.

STAFF SGT. HILBERT CAESAR, (RET) U.S. ARMY: We were just rolling and all of a sudden, it was just boom. This loud explosion, and everything had just paused.

WIAN: Three soldiers were injured, including Caesar. The explosion severed his right leg, just above the knee.

CAESAR: I saw a buddy of mine. You know, I saw him, like, collapsing down inside. Because he was -- I was inside of the vehicle. As I was reaching over there to try to -- like ease his fall, I just like collapsed and dropped, that's because my leg was gone.

WIAN: As the section chief with the 27th Field Artillery 1st Armor Division, Caesar commanded seven soldiers.

CAESAR: You know, they learned everything from me. And you, after that -- that was my guy, that was like -- they was my family there at the time. So it was difficult leaving them. It really was.

Because like ever day, that's what I was thinking about, you know, got to make sure they were all right. Hopefully I trained them well and that they would step up to you late plate and do their jobs, you know.

WIAN: An athlete all of his life in team sports, Caesar thought long distance runners and cyclist a bit crazy. Since losing his leg, he has change his mind. In fact, he competed in his first hand cycle race just four months after his injury. And has completed three marathons. Most recently the Boston Marathon on April 18, a year to the day after losing his leg.

CAESAR: It took me a little while to get there, but I made it. It's over and done! Feels pretty good. Awesome!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yea!

CAESAR: Yes! WIAN: If not from the injury, Caesar says he would return to active duty. Instead, he works for the Department Veteran Affairs and acts as an inspiration to his fellow soldiers.

CAESAR: Hopefully they see. And they kind of -- they guys lifts their spirits are low and stuff, they can, you know, raise up and say, you know, I can do that too.

WIAN: Casey Wian, CNN, reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: He doesn't have to act as an inspiration. He is an inspiration. And we bring you heroes stories every week right here on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.

HARRIS: And still ahead, way head of her time, this girl leaves a surprising gift for the orphans of the tsunami tragedy.

NGUYEN: And does the way you spend your money put you in the normal category? Find out ahead on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: OK, if your personal finances are a train wreck, don't feel too bad. Most people struggle with money. Yes, most of us do. Today, the CNN.com desk offers an accounting of what normal means when it comes to dollars and cents.

Here's CNN's Christina Park.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTINA PARK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: At CNN Money, we thing it's OK to compare yourself to others, especially when it comes to money. Find out if your keeping up with the Joneses at cnnmoney.com/normal. We'll help you answer those afraid to ask questions, like am I the only one who can't seem to stick to a budget? And how much money do people my age earn?

Well, data from 2003 found the median income for 25 to 34-year olds to be $45,000. Most of them don't own a home and carry an average of $3700 in credit card debt.

If you're close to retiring, see how your 401(K) stacks up against others your age. It's not all about bragging rights, though. Knowing where you stand can actually help you get a clearer picture of your financial weaknesses and strengths. We can also help you calculate how much house you can afford, and help you wade your way out of debt.

CNNmoney.com/normal can help you figure out if you're normal, financially that is. Reporting from the .com desk, I'm Christina Park.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: The gift of thousands of victims of the tsunami disaster from one life cut short. It's a story that is sure to touch your heart, we promise. That's ahead on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: An $800 bill? Ah, you know, is like, is murder.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Really? This guy managed to cut his bills down to $100 a month?

NGUYEN: What?

HARRIS: Can you do it?

NGUYEN: No, I don't think so.

HARRIS: Yes, really. Find out how he did it next on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Energy prices, I don't know -- oh, OK, energy prices may be going through the roof. And that's exactly where this guy went to find the solution. Now even his neighbors are reaping the rewards. And welcome back everyone to CNN SUNDAY MORNING.

NGUYEN: Now that's a good neighbor.

HARRIS: Yes, yes.

NGUYEN: Reap the rewards.

HARRIS: Bet State Farm's a good neighbor. This guy, tap in and get some energy.

NGUYEN: Exactly. I'm Betty Nguyen, that story in just a moment. We're going to hold off for just a moment. First we want to give you a look at the headlines right now.

Pope John Paul Benedict XVI is now officially in charge of the Roman Catholic Church. His inaugural mass concluded at the Vatican about a half hour ago. Hundreds of thousands of people flocked to Rome to take part in the installation.

A human rights group says a report that clears top military brass in the Abu Ghraib prison scandal proves that the U.S. Army cannot investigate itself. Human Rights Watch is calling for an independent criminal investigation into allegations of abuse at the Iraqi prison by U.S. military troops.

And spring may be more than a month old, but there is a fresh blanket of snow over much of eastern Michigan and northern Ohio. In fact it may get more than a foot deep before the storm is over. Detroit is in for up to eight inches of snow, hard to believe that last week, it was in the 80s there, Tony.

HARRIS: My goodness, yeah.

A young human rights activist is being remembered this weekend for her work in Iraq. Marla Ruzicka was killed in a car bombing earlier this month in Iraq. More than 600 people, including actor Sean Penn gathered for her funeral yesterday. She made it her personal mission to count the civilian casualties of the Iraqi war. Ruzicka was 28 years old.

It is that time the morning to check out some of the other stories making news around the world. NGUYEN: And for that we go to Anand Naidoo at the international desk. We understand two suicide bombings in Iraq you got to talk about this morning.

ANAND NAIDOO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Betty that's right. A very good morning to you.

Insurgents attack Iraqi security forces again, this in the latest series of attacks which seem to have been on the rise since those elections in January. In these latest attacks, six people are killed, 26 wounded in back-to-back suicide car bombings at a police academy in the town of Tikrit. The blasts went off just 15 minutes apart. Four of those killed were police officers.

Meanwhile, the U.S. military says it's arrested six people suspected of shooting down a commercial helicopter earlier this week. Eleven people, including six Americans were killed in that incident.

Now on to Angola and medical teams continue to battle the Ebola- like Marburg virus. At least 244 people have been killed by the disease so far. The U.N. health agency says workers are beginning to get the outbreak under control. The latest we have is that new cases have dropped from a high of 35 per week to 15 per week.

A somber commemoration in Armenia. Thousands of people marked the 90th anniversary of the mass killing of Armenians during World War I. Armenia accuses Turkey of genocide in the killing of up to 1.5 million Armenians during the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. Turkey rejects those claims. Turkey says that the people died during civil unrest and says that the number that Armenians are mentioning is actually inflated. I'll have more later, but now back to Tony and Betty.

NGUYEN: All right. Thank you.

Time now to fast forward through some of the stories we will be covering this week. First up, President Bush is pushing Congress to pass an energy bill by August to help ease high gas prices. In the meantime he'll ask Saudi crown Prince Abdullah to boost oil production. The two are meeting at the president's ranch in Crawford ranch in Texas. That will be tomorrow.

Wednesday the congressional committee that held hearings recently on illegal steroid use in pro baseball is turning its attention to the NFL. The committee will hear testimony from lead executives and Commissioner Paul Tagliabue.

And finally on Friday, Thailand will test a tsunami warning system. The system of tower sirens was donated by two other countries. Some 228,000 people were killed in the region by the tsunami that hit on December 26th.

HARRIS: Have you taken a close look at your, that -- oooh! It's easy, it's Sunday morning we've got a new pope. Your utility bill lately.

NGUYEN: It's a high one, isn't it?

HARRIS: It sure is. With energy costs soaring, some folks are taking a second look at alternative energy sources. CNN's Peter Viles goes solar for this report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PETER VILES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Meet Dan Mirisola, old school energy hog. There's an RV in his back yard and not one, not two, but three big trucks out front, and yes, that's a Harley by the three-car garage.

DAN MIRISOLA, SOLAR HOMEOWNER: I pay like $600 a month for gas for my trucks. So she -- you know, I hate that.

VILES: And then there's the house, a 6,000 square foot mansion with central air that eats about $9,000 worth of electricity in a year. Were you looking at your power bills and going, this is out of control!

MIRISOLA: I was dying. $800 bill, ahhh! You know, it was like murder.

VILES: So Dan and his wife did the smart thing. They installed solar panels on the roof. Suddenly those $800 bills dropped to less than $100 a month.

MIRISOLA: For the first two months, Edison kept coming out here with criminal people thinking we were stealing.

VILES: They're not stealing power. They're making it, even on a cloudy day, look closely. The electrical meter is spinning backwards. That means the Mirisolas are producing more power than they're using. So what's happening to that electricity? You're giving it back to them?

MIRISOLA: My neighbors are using it right now kind of thing.

VILES: Solar made sense on this house because of a combination of factors, temporary rebates and tax credits and soaring energy costs.

MIRISOLA: People never used to talk about their utility rates. They used to be $10, $15, $20, $30 a month. Now it's not uncommon to see peoples' electric rates being $200 $300, $400 a month.

VILES: California's governor is pushing to put solar panels on a million California rooftops.

GOV. ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER (CALIF): It's good for the taxpayers. It's good for businesses and it is great for the environment.

VILES: After rebates Dan Mirisola paid roughly $38,000 for his solar system, and figures it will pay for itself in four more years.

MIRISOLA: Because I'm looking forward to, in four more years, having free electricity. That's cool.

VILES: Now if only Detroit could make an electric-powered pickup truck. Peter Viles for CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: They're working on that, aren't he?

NGUYEN: Yeah. I think so. $38,000 it's going to pay for itself in four years. That's a lot of electricity.

HARRIS: That's an initial investment of a lot of money.

NGUYEN: Exactly and like I said, I want one on my car. Can we just put that on the hood of my car? That will work. It will save me gas prices.

HARRIS: Order is in.

NGUYEN: All right. All right. Tony's taking orders this morning. If you want it, call him up. Wam@cnn.com by the way if you want to send that in, too. And speaking of emails, we do have a question for you this morning. How much does religious faith influence your life? We'd love to hear from you and Tony is taking orders by the way. E-mail us at wam@cnn.com. We'll be reading your replies throughout the morning.

HARRIS: And good morning Detroit. Let's look at this picture. Oh, goodness.

NGUYEN: What picture? Where is that?

HARRIS: There's rain, snow, sleet. It's a real mess there in Detroit. We've got a big weather system moving through the Midwest right now. Rob Marciano is coming back in just a couple of minutes with your forecast for Detroit and the forecast for the rest of the nation, when CNN SUNDAY MORNING returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Checking our top stories right now, Pope Benedict XVI celebrating his inaugural mass in front of tens of thousands of pilgrims at the Vatican. In his message, he asked for prayers to undertake what he called the enormous task in front of him.

Now to Tikrit, Iraq. Two suicide car bombs exploded just minutes apart, killing at least six people. The bombs went off at the Iraqi police academy within a 15-minute span. At least 26 other people were wounded.

And a late spring storm is covering much of Michigan and Ohio in snow. Up to a foot of the white stuff is expected before Monday morning in parts of the Midwest. Last week, folks in the same areas were basking in, believe it or not, 80-degree temperatures.

HARRIS: Monica Ann Averhoff's parents always knew she was special but they didn't realize just how special until she died. Then they found her secret journal which revealed a depth of heart they had never seen before. CNN's Sara Dorsey explains how the girl's spirit continues to touch countless lives.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA DORSEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At 12 years old, Monica Averhoff was full of life, living in Indonesia with her family, performing at her school. But while she was on a family vacation, back in America, tragedy would strike. Monica was in a deadly accident.

CLAUDIA AVERHOFF, MONICA'S MOTHER: We decided to let the girls do one of those easy horseback rides on the beach, down there, a beginner horseback ride. When we came back, you know, there was a mob there and Monica had been hurt.

DORSEY: It was what Monica's family found after her death that shocked them.

AVERHOFF: This is her, the notebook that she was keeping all of these poems in.

DORSEY: Poems Monica had secretly been writing for more than two years.

AVERHOFF: Before I knew it, I was gliding up above the clouds on the back of the sparrow. All around me was blue. A cool breeze rippled through my air. I was free. I had a new freedom.

DORSEY: Why do you like that one so much?

AVERHOFF: To me, it's very spiritual, that she wanted to be free. She had a new freedom. So many of them seemed to talk about life after death. It's almost as if she had some, you know, sixth sense or some notion that her life was going to be short, and that's when it really hit me.

DORSEY: The Averhoff's decided to publish their daughter's story and her poems. Monica's mom, Claudia, reads her daughter's poetry throughout the book. The waves of the tsunami devastated many countries, including Indonesia. Monica's family thought the poetry could be used to raise money for the storm's youngest victims. Monica loved children and had hoped to become a tutor.

AVERHOFF: We were going to do this with the money anyhow, so let's shift it and really focus on putting it into a relief fund but still for homeless children.

DORSEY: A tribute to a life cut short. Words from one of Monica's poems stand as a reminder of how she chose to live her life, words her mother hopes everyone could learn from.

AVERHOFF: I would want people to take that message that we need to be better people and use her story as an example of how you could do that. What a neat gift to have. For her to leave us something like this was pretty amazing.

DORSEY: Sara Dorsey, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: What a neat gift indeed. Here's a bit of a glimpse of some of the treasures inside Monica's book taken from a poem she wrote in May, 2002, titled "Rules of Life." She writes: love life. You only get to live it once. Live life to the fullest. Live life for others. It is better to be happy and have fun for five minutes than to always be sad and bored.

NGUYEN: Well we do have a lot more coming up as well. I want to give you a live picture right now of the Vatican where Pope Benedict XVI is meeting with dignitaries there. We have Cardinal Keeler, the archbishop of Baltimore. He will be on the show momentarily and we will be speaking with him about Pope Benedict XVI and what he has planned for the Catholic Church.

But first -- a CNN extra, throw out that old food pyramid. The government has come up with 12 new triangular eating guides geared toward your specific lifestyle and nutritional needs. Now, the rainbow colored bands run vertically and they use common household measurements instead of serving sizes. In a nutshell, the guidelines recommend a balance of fruit, vegetables, whole grains and milk, along with 30 minutes of exercise a day, 30 minutes a day. You can find out more online at mypyramid.gov.

HARRIS: And here's a humorous look at the new food pyramid. Cartoonist Rob Rogers from "The Pittsburgh Post Gazette" is captured trying to spot the new pyramid in the paper. The problem is he can't see it because of all that girth.

NGUYEN: His belly!

HARRIS: Massive mound of man there, yeah, because of his belly. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: We've got e-mails for you. I'm trying to read through some of these responses and make sense of it, trying to sort it out. Here's our e-mail question this morning. It's all about faith. How much does religious faith influence your life? Here's the address at wam@cnn.com and our first e-mail is from Tony, great name. In my opinion, religious faith shouldn't influence one's actions in life. Religion and spirituality are two different concepts. Religion would be comparable to a history book for example whereas spirituality is how one acts towards others and oneself. Thank you Tony.

NGUYEN: Kyle from San Francisco writes: luckily, religion has no - little to no effect on my life. I don't need a religion to guide me through daily life he says. Now isn't that a novelty in this day and age?

HARRIS: Of course, religious faith - oh I'm sorry. This is from Sylvester from St. Kitts in the West Indies. Of course religious faith is indeed very important. Faith is believing in what we cannot see and when we believe in a religious source to the life that we have, then what we do and say a greater meaning to us and to those we impact, usually a more positive meaning. Did I give that the right interpretation there? I think so. Thank you Sylvester.

NGUYEN: I think you did.

HARRIS: Thank you all for your e-mails. Send them along to us. Here is the question -- how much does religious faith influence your life? There's the address, wam@cnn.com. And we will be reading more of your e-mail responses next hour.

NGUYEN: But this morning, we want to talk about the Vatican, and Pope Benedict XVI.

HARRIS: Who is receiving dignitaries from around the world, the inaugural mass, as you see. It was quite an event this morning in Rome and just a little bit later, we are going to hear from one of the archbishops who is on hand, Cardinal William Keeler, the archbishop of Baltimore. That when CNN SUNDAY MORNING returns.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hi. I'm Rob Marciano in the CNN weather center. Time for a look at the fairway forecast. We fly you down to Houston, Texas. That's where the Shell Houston open is being played this weekend and gorgeous weather on tap. Less wind today, a lot of sunshine, temperatures in the mid-70s. This is the time of the years that the Gulf coast of Mexico, 75 degrees for a high temperature, northeast winds at 5 to 10. The tournament gets wrapped up today. Tomorrow, then you have two days chance of thunder and lightning. That's a look at what the pros are doing. If you are teeing it up, play well. CNN SUNDAY MORNING will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Another live look at the Vatican, and Pope Benedict XVI as he greets dignitaries there. Tens of thousands of people packed St. Peter's Square for today's inaugural mass of Pope Benedict XVI. VIPs joined pilgrims and the church elite for the special ceremony. We want to go live now to Rome and joining us with reflections of the day is Cardinal William Keeler, the archbishop of Baltimore, the oldest diocese in the U.S. Thanks for being with us and making your way through the crowds to spend a little time with us today.

CARDINAL WILLIAM KEELER, ARCHBISHOP OF BALTIMORE: You're welcome and it's good to be with you.

NGUYEN: Wonderful. Well, tell me about this inaugural mass. Pope Benedict XVI taking part in that today. What kind of pope do you think he will be?

KEELER: Well, I've said he reminds me of my mother.

NGUYEN: Really?

KEELER: Sweet and clear, yes. Very sweet and also clear, but what he did today, I think, was put a lot of people at ease, because he spoke as a, from the perspective of assuming the responsibilities of pope and looking out at the whole church, looking at the whole world and saying he wanted to be what his title indicates, a pontiff. He wanted to build bridges, bridges of hope, bridges to individuals and bridges between our human family and the lord.

NGUYEN: He said today in this inaugural mass that he wanted to help be servants of those -- he wanted servants around the world to unite, servants within the Catholic Church. How do you think he's going to be able to do that? Because there are many within the Catholic Church who do want change, change when it comes to issues of birth control, when it comes to issues of allowing females to become priests, and also dealing with the sex abuse scandal. So how is he going to unite Catholics around the world, especially in (INAUDIBLE)?

KEELER: Yeah. I think what's going to happen is he will be holding up for us Catholics to consider the things that Jesus said and taught. That's what he said this morning. He wanted to be very attentive with the whole church to what the Lord Jesus asks of us today and I think that has a unifying thrust in it right away. What's happened, quite frankly, is a lot of our people don't go to church, have been educated by the media and are very confused about issues of faith and if they take the time to listen to what Jesus has said that the message that doesn't change from century to century, from year to year, I think that's what he's going to try and be bringing, bring to the fore.

NGUYEN: You made a very good point. A lot of folks within the Catholic Church especially in Europe are not filling the pews. What is he going to do to try to get them back in church?

KEELER: I don't know just what, whether he has any specific program -- in fact, today he made a point of saying he's not going to announce a program at this time, because he wants to listen to the Lord, listen to what God calls the church to do at this period.

NGUYEN: So as a cardinal, let me ask you this. What do you want to see as the pope's priorities?

KEELER: What I want to see is a pope who preaches the gospel of Jesus with personal conviction, with great devotion, with great devotion, with great clarity and that calls people as Jesus called them to, a life of conversion, a life of joy, a life of peace, and that's what I'm looking for to happen with this pope.

NGUYEN: I think a lot of people would agree with you. Cardinal Keeler, archbishop of Baltimore, we thank you for your time today.

KEELER: And thank you, Betty.

NGUYEN: Take care.

HARRIS: He is a wonderful man.

NGUYEN: Isn't he? HARRIS: Yeah, he really is. Let's get another quick check of weather now with Rob Marciano in the CNN weather center. Good morning Rob.

MARCIANO: Good morning. My mother still doesn't forgive me for taking this shift because Sunday morning is church day.

NGUYEN: You can still go, there is no excuse, Rob. Don't look at me like that.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: That is nasty, Rob.

MARCIANO: It's been a long winter. And we're in the middle of April or end of April.

HARRIS: End of April.

NGUYEN: It's the kind of morning that you want to just stay in bed.

HARRIS: Curl up.

NGUYEN: Inside.

HARRIS: Turn the set on and watch CNN SUNDAY MORNING.

MARCIANO: We'll see you guys in church, right?

NGUYEN: Yes. I'll be there.

The next hour of CNN SUNDAY MORNING begins right now.

HARRIS: Good morning, everyone, from the CNN Center in Atlanta. You're watching CNN SUNDAY MORNING on this April 24th.

Good morning, everyone. I'm Tony Harris.

NGUYEN: And I'm Betty Nguyen. It is 8 a.m. Eastern, 5 a.m. Pacific. Let's get started with a look at what's happening right now in the news.

Up to 350,000 people packed St. Peter's Square today to witness the formal inauguration of Pope Benedict XVI. The two and a half hour ceremony included an open air mass in the square.

Other news, two suicide car bombs exploded just minutes apart in the Iraqi city of Tikrit this morning. Six people were killed and more than two dozen injured. The bombs off at or near the Iraqi police academy. Four of those killed were police officers.

A human rights groups says a report that clears top military brass in the Abu Ghraib prison scandal proves the U.S. Army cannot investigate itself. Human Rights Watch is calling for an independent criminal investigation into allegations of abuse by U.S. troops at the Iraqi prison.

HARRIS: here's why we think you should stick around this hour. The pope asked for millions of pilgrims to pray for him to get through each day. We'll tell you what else Pope Benedict had to say on his first official day on the job, and we'll look at just how much power that job holds.

Now forget that an apple a day keeps the doctor away. How about needles in all the right places? Dr. Sanjay Gupta looks at alternative therapies in his weekly house call.

Well, you can't just bail. You can't just bail.

NGUYEN: What is she doing? Don't leave. Oh, goodness. From bad to worse.

HARRIS: Well, this performer had a couple of nightmare moments there all in one.

NGUYEN: And now it's on CNN. I'm sure she's loving that.

HARRIS: Now it's on CNN.

Forgetting the words is what we're really talking about. It really can be a performer's worst nightmare, but that's not where this story ends. I think we saw where it ends. This one is guaranteed to make you cringe a little bit.

NGUYEN: Benedict XVI is now officially pope after being formally inaugurated this morning. The Vatican says some 350,000 people from pilgrims to global dignitaries attended the special mass.

CNN's Jennifer Eccleston covered the ceremony and she joins us now from Rome. What a day this has been, Jennifer.

JENNIFER ECCLESTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Betty, what a day. Well, the solemn installation inauguration of Pope Benedict XVI ended just over an hour ago, and it drew from centuries of tradition. But also proclaimed a modern message. One that the Catholic church was a living vessel for the young, that the church is alive and that the church is vibrant.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENEDICT XVI (through translator): The church is living. This is the wonderful experience of these days. During the sad days of the pope's illness and death it became wonderfully evident through our eyes that the church is alive.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ECCLESTON: Now Pope Benedict XVI also said that the church was an instrument for dialogue not only among members of other Christian faiths, but also as the Pope said to believers and nonbelievers. And Pope Benedict also made several references to his predecessor, Pope John Paul II. At every stage he was interrupted by huge applause. He said that Pope John Paul II was now among the saints.

But as you can imagine, Betty, the real thrill for the 350,000 people that were here was when the new Pope Benedict got into his pope mobile and took a tour around St. Peter's Square. The first time the shepherd was able to meet his flock.

Betty.

NGUYEN: What a day it has been. And that pope mobile a little bit different from John Paul's. We took note of that this morning. Jennifer, thank you so much.

Well, how influential is the pope on the lives of American Catholics. We take you back live to Rome to talk about that in our Faces of Faith segment. That is coming up in about 17 minutes. So definitely stick around for that.

Also our week in morning e-mail question ties in to today's inaugural mass. How much does religious faith influence your life? E-mail us at wam@cnn.com and we'll read some of your responses on the air.

HARRIS: It has been a particularly violent and deadly weekend in Iraq. At least one U.S. soldier has been killed along with six Iraqis. CNN Ryan Chilcote joins us now live from Baghdad with more -- Ryan.

RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tony, the violence rages on he. We've got a lot of attacks to talk about. We'll start here in Baghdad. Just two hours ago a car bomb going off as a U.S. convoy passed. Reportedly two Iraqis, at least two Iraqis killed in that. No word on U.S. causalities.

And this morning in the city of Tikrit two car bombs going off there. This time detonated by suicide bombers. They went off within minutes of one another outside of an Iraqi military academy. At least six Iraqis killed in that attack. At least 26 wounded.

Now, just north of Tikrit word of an assassination attempt on a prominent member of the National Assembly. Mishon al Jabouri (ph) survived that assassination attempt, but six of his guards reportedly, at least six of his guards wounded in that attack.

And just night here in Baghdad seven Iraqis wounded by mortar fire. And in the city of Fallujah one U.S. sailor killed by a makeshift bomb there while out on patrol -- Tony.

Ryan Chilcote for us from Baghdad. Ryan, thank you.'

A young human rights activist is being remembered this weekend for her work in Iraq. More than 600 people, including actor Sean Penn and California Senator Barbara Boxer gathered for her funeral yesterday. Marla Ruzicka was killed in a car bombing earlier this month in Iraq. She made it her personal mission to count the civilian causalities of the Iraqi war. She also secured millions of dollars in aide money for civilians in Iraq. Ruzicka was 28 years old.

NGUYEN: Do you think it's too late in the year for a little snow? Well, you want to think again, because try telling that to folks in southern Michigan and northern Ohio. Look at this live picture. You can't even see anything because of all the snow on the camera. The ice on this live shot from Detroit, we'll have more on that coming up with Rob Marciano.

(WEATHER REPORT)

NGUYEN: Some other news across America right now. In Campbell, Wisconsin a 15 hour standoff with police ends with a grizzly discovery. It started Friday when 52 year old Phillip Schuth allegedly shot his neighbor. Once police arrived negotiations with the suspect began and at some, police say, Schuth told them his mother's body was I his freezer. The suspect surrendered peacefully and police did indeed find a body that they say is likely to be his mother's.

In Ft. Myers, Florida school bus driver Leslie Mae Jones was driving about 30 students home when her daughter called on a cell phone to say she had been in a fight at school. Jones drove to the school reportedly to join in the fight and left the students unattended on her bus, the engine still running. Police were already there and arrested her. Jones quite her job after she got out of jail.

HARRIS: Yes, yes the 49ers are hoping Alex Smith, young guy here, can fill the cleats of Hall of Fame quarterbacks Joe Montana and Steve Young. Good luck. Smith said it's an honor to follow in those footsteps. What else is he going to say.

In the NBA playoffs the Seattle Supersonics hung on to beat the Sacramento Kings 87 to 82. In the western conference quarter finals the Boston Celtics ran away with their first post season game beating the Indiana pacers 102 to 87.

In other first round games the Houston Rockets beat Betty's beloved Dallas Mavericks.

NGUYEN: Not the Mavs. They didn't beat my Mavs.

HARRIS: You claim all of Texas though don't you?

You claim everything in Texas.

NGUYEN: Well, I don't know. I'm a little partial to Dallas though.

HARRIS: Are you? OK. And the Pistons from Detroit are up one game to nil on Philadelphia. NGUYEN: All right. We take you beyond the pope's pageantry this morning to ask the question, how much influence does the position really have? It's back to Rome for the answer in this morning's Faces of Faith.

Plus, you see this young lady take a spill. Here it comes, right there, oops, at a hockey game last night. Yes, this is one to remember. But that's not the full story. In fact, it's only half of it. You have to, have to stick around for this one folks.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Sit ups and other exercises well, they will -- sit ups and other exercises will keep you fit. There we go. But there are days when you just don't want to do anything but be a couch potato and eat bon bons. But a new study, believe it or not, says that's OK. A few extra pounds might keep you healthy. There's a formula to figure it all out. Tony and I will put it to the text in the next hour live on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.

HARRIS: I feel much better about my Dunkin Donuts this morning.

Hey, it's time for the lawn and garden forecast to talk about what's happening as far as the last freeze in April usually across Missouri and Oklahoma. It happens to be in May in places like Ohio and Michigan where today they're experiencing some snow. So certainly you don't want to be doing much planting there.

This time of year though the plans here are to apply pre- emergency your law so that crab grass doesn't quite get a hold. And I'll tell you why, cold air tonight as far south as Atlanta, Georgia. So you may want to wait a couple of weeks there.

That's the latest from here. Complete weather forecasts coming up in just a few minutes. CNN SUNDAY MORNING will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: OK, singing the national anthem at a professional hockey match is certainly something Caroline Marcil of Montreal wishes she could forget and here's why. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAROLINE MARCIL (singing): Oh say can you see by the dawn's early light what so proudly -- I'm sorry...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: Where is she going?

HARRIS: Hard to figure out what happened there. She just -- did she really forget? Did she just...

NGUYEN: Oh, oh, watch this, watch this, ouch. HARRIS: She forgets the words and now she becomes the butt of jokes. OK. She slips on the ice there. That's certainly going to leave a mark. Looks like she made it out OK. In the end the U.S. beat Canada in that exhibition game on Friday.

NGUYEN: I just feel so bad for her.

HARRIS: It happens, but...

NGUYEN: You mess up on the words. You leave, OK, problem number one.

HARRIS: Right.

NGUYEN: OK, that's problem number two. You come back out and then you fall, and then we're airing it. Poor thing. She hates us.

HARRIS: We can't all be as smooth as Rob Marciano though in our weather center.

NGUYEN: That's true. Very true. It takes skills.

(WEATHER REPORT)

NGUYEN: Well, the Vatican is celebrating a new pope. Here he is. Pope Benedict XVI was formally installed this morning as the Roman Catholic's 265th pope. Some 300,000 people from pilgrims to world leaders turned out at St. Peter's square to witness it all.

In Iraq two suicide car bombs exploded outside a police academy in the northern Iraqi city of Tikrit. Six Iraqis were killed and more than two dozen others injured. Many of he victims were Iraqi police officers.

Some 600 people attended a California memorial service for American activist, Marla Ruzicka yesterday. She was remembered for her dedication to humanitarian rights. Ruzicka was killed in a car bomb attack in Baghdad a week ago Saturday.

HARRIS: He is the face of Catholicism, a faith followed by millions world wide, but just how much influence does the pope really have?

NGUYEN: Well, we put that question to the test and the author of "The Coming Catholic Church," David Gibson. He is next in Faces of Faith.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: At a mass the day before he was elected pope, then cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, warned against what he called the dictatorship of relativisms. Simply put, it means that for many there is no one size fits all way to make moral decisions. That's because many Catholics, particularly in the U.S. look at the pope as more of a figure head instead of teacher of absolute truths. Take a look at this. A new CNN "USA Today" Gallup poll finds nearly three quarters, three quarters of U.S. Catholics say they are more likely to figure out moral dilemmas on their own. Only 20 percent say they'd follow the teachings of the pope. What gives here?

Joining us now from Rome with some insight, David Gibson, author of "The Coming Catholic Church."

David, good to talk to you.

DAVID GIBSON, AUTHOR, "THE COMING CATHOLIC CHURCH": Good morning. How are you doing?

HARRIS: Good. Well, David, give me a sense of what you saw. Before we get into some other questions set that scene in Rome. What was it like to be there on the ground this morning? What did you see? What did you hear? And did you get any indications as to where Benedict might lead the church from this morning?

GIBSON: I thought it was a remarkable mass and a remarkable homily by Benedict in his first real main public event. Almost kind of a mission statement of his papacy. And he emphasized a couple of things. One is continuity with John Paul II, who was such a poplar pastor of the church for 26 years. He really got a lot of applause on those lines.

And he also emphasize -- it was a very spiritual homily. He was really emphasizing his own weakness and asking for the prayers of the people. And he was emphasizing also his spiritual side. I think what we were seeing here is a theologian, which is what he has been for the last 24 years, the top kind of watch dog for the Catholic church, a theologian becoming a pastor, a shepherd, someone who has to convince as well as command.

HARRIS: Hey David, let me pick up on that because I think you made a good point. It was a wonderful sort of rhetorical moment when he said, "Pray for me so that I may learn to love the Lord more and more. Pray for me so that I may love you," the flock, "more and more." That was a wonderful sort of tone to the homily this morning. Wasn't it?

GIBSON: It really was. I mean here's a man who has been caricatured or called God's Rottweiler for the past few days, the Panzer cardinal. All of these tough labels that have been given him over the past 24 years, as I said, and here he's saying, look, I'm a weak, you know sinner with a -- just like you...

HARRIS: I'm human.

GIBSON: ...are with this huge job, and I really need, you know, I need your help as well sot hat we can all move towards this spiritual truth that we're seeking. Again it was very interesting. He said I'm not going to present. He clearly said I'm not going to present any programs today. I'm not going to give you a kind of state of the union address for the Catholic church. But he did say, that will come later. We'll -- I'll have plenty of time to talk about those things. So the devil is always in the details, isn't it?

HARRIS: Yes. David, nearly three quarters of U.S. Catholics say they are more likely to figure out moral dilemmas on their own. Only 20 percent say they're likely to follow the teachings of the pope. Explain this disconnect would you please?

GIBSON: Well, there has always been a disconnect to a degree. I mean the Catholic church itself puts a premium on the freedom of conscious. The idea that each one must make their own moral decisions. But what the Catholic church, of course, and Pope Benedict would like to see is Catholics being informed much more closely by the Catholic church teachings, by what he says. But it remains to be seen how well that happens given that his predecessor John Paul II was so enormously popular and yet, he really didn't have that much effect on the behavior of American Catholics either.

HARRIS: David, Gibson, thanks for taking the time to talk to us. We appreciate it.

GIBSON: Thank you, Tony.

NGUYEN: And that leads us to our morning e-mail question. How much does religious faith influence your life? We're getting a lot of responses.

Gerry from Montreal, Canada says, "Tremendously! I sincerely believe that faith and prayer have a significant influence in our every day lives. Having such a perspective enables you to see what you would otherwise not see such as those things that could make this world a better place.

HARRIS: And this Steve. "Religion has too much influence on my life to the point hat as an American I want freedom from religion.

NGUYEN: Laerley says, "If the viewing audience were to answer honestly the vast majority would admit hat religion has little effect upon their lives. Most Americans are willing to give lip service to religion, but not much more."

We invite you to keep sending in those responses to our e-mail question today. How much does religious faith influence your life, wam@nn.com. We'll read them on the air.

Well, it is revealing video that followed some National Guard members and their families from home and to Iraq and then back again.

Some of the subject of this acclaimed documentary joins us like next hour on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.

HARRIS: But first, the popularity of ancient medical cures. Do they really work? Dr. Sanjay Gupta makes his Sunday morning "HOUSE CALL." And your top stories are next.

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 24, 2005 - 07:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: With the fisherman's ring in hand, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger formally becomes Pope Benedict XVI.
From the CNN Center here in Atlanta, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING. It is April 24th. April is almost over.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, yes.

NGUYEN: Can you believe it? Good morning, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen.

HARRIS: And I'm Tony Harris. 7:00 a.m. here in the East and 1:00 p.m. at the Vatican. Thanks for being with us. Let's get you started this morning with some headlines now in the news.

It is official. Pope Benedict XVI is the Roman Catholic church's 265th pope. His inaugural mass took place this morning in St. Peter's Square in front of tens of thousands of pilgrims and dignitaries alike. The pope was presented his fisherman's ring and a woolen shawl. Both are symbols of his papal authority.

Two suicide car bombs explode in the Iraqi city of Tikrit, just minutes apart this morning. Six people were killed and more than two dozen injured. The bombs went off at or near the Iraqi police academy. Four of those killed were police officers.

Old man winter is rearing its ugly ahead again in Michigan. It could potentially wreak havoc on highways and newly planted gardens. The National Weather Service issued a blizzard warning for Heron County. Folks there may see up to 12 inches of new snow. Up to eight inches could fall in lower parts of the state.

NGUYEN: All right, here's why you should stick around this morning. Another alleged incident of abusive management leveled at John Bolton. A report is just ahead on the growing problems over his nomination to the United Nations.

Also ahead, think you're the only person who can't balance a checkbook? Well, the .com desk says you have a lot of company. We will take a closer look at what it means to be financially normal.

And later...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, GOVERNOR, CALIFORNIA: It is good for the taxpayers. It's good for businesses. And it is great for the environment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: If the soaring energy costs have you down, well all you have to do is just look up. Solar panels could be just what you need to bring costs back down to earth.

HARRIS: We begin this morning with Pope Benedict XVI's formal inauguration as head of the Roman Catholic Church. Take a look at these live pictures from the Vatican of Pope Benedict XVI meeting with dignitaries. The official ceremony, a huge outdoor mass, was carried live right here on CNN.

And it ended just a short time ago. This is the moment when he received his papal ring. Well, we'll show you that in just a moment. CNN Rome bureau chief Alessio Vinci is covering this historic event for us live from St. Peter's Square.

And Alessio, it has been quite a morning in Rome.

ALESSIO VINCI, CNN ROME BUREAU CHIEF: You know, Tony, it has been quite several weeks here. I've been here in St. Peter's Square throughout this period, from the beginning of April when John Paul II past away, throughout the mourning period, throughout the time of the election of Pope Benedict XVI. And today, the final act of this papal transition from John Paul II to Benedict XVI. And it was indeed an extraordinary event here in St. Peter's Square.

Hundreds of thousands in the square and surrounding the Vatican, able to either watch this directly or on giant television screens. A formal installation of Pope Benedict. A long mass -- a long ceremony. Lasted about three hours. And throughout this time, people paying a lot of attention, very curious to find out more about this man, Cardinal Ratzinger, a German, who became Pope Benedict XVI.

During his homily, the pope urged humanity to rediscover God. And he wanted to transform what he describes as the world's desert of poverty, pain, and privation into gardens of peace and progress.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

POPE BENEDICT XVI: (through translator) The church is living. This is the wonderful experience of these days. During those sad days of the pope's illness and death, it became wonderfully evident to our eyes that the church is alive.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VINCI: During his homily Pope Benedict XVI recalled several times his predecessor, John Paul II, a pope who had an incredible appeal with the crowd and with the masses, not just here in Rome but also around the world. Many people telling us today that while John Paul II has brought the people, the masses, back to the squares, now it is up to Pope Benedict to be able to bring the people back to the churches.

And that is why in recalling the words of John Paul II, saying don't be afraid. Don't be afraid to love God. That is the main message today, that the people here in St. Peter's Square have heard from the new pope.

And of course, we spoke to many of them. Some of them telling us that were here, just because they wanted to show their support. We spoke to some Germans, who of course by the -- some hundreds of thousands of -- hundred thousand are here in St. Peter's Square in this area today, telling us yesterday, no, that he is a conservative man. But at the same time, they also know that would rise to his new position as pope and not just as one of the many cardinals in the college of cardinals.

But as pope, as pope to all the people around the world, especially, of course, the Catholics. Tony, back to you.

HARRIS: And Alessio, I think you're right. Thinking back on it, what a month this whole entire month of April has just been extraordinary for the Roman Catholic church. Alessio Vinci in Rome for us this morning. We got to see the new pope, too.

NGUYEN: Different.

HARRIS: Yes, exactly. Absolutely.

Coming up in just a few minutes, we'll go back live to the Vatican and speak about today's inauguration with American cardinal William Keeler, the archbishop of Baltimore.

NGUYEN: Turning now to other news. The U.S. Army's investigation of the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal isn't public just yet, but reports of its conclusions have already sparked outrage in certain quarters.

Pentagon officials say the internal probe found no evidence of wrongdoing by Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez and three others. Sanchez was in charge of U.S. forces in Iraq at the time. Some critics refuse to accept the Army's results.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIG. GEN. JANICE KARPINSKI, FACES ADMINISTRATIVE REPRIMAND: This just proves that the Army cannot investigate itself. If the United States is going to wipe away the stain of Abu Ghraib, there has to be an independent investigation that looks as the responsibility of all those people who ordered or who tolerated torture, no matter where they are in the chain of command.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: Brigadier General Janice Karpinski seen here, who was commander of the military police at Abu Ghraib, is the only senior officer who will be disciplined. Karpinski's attorneys tell CNN that the Pentagon made her a scapegoat. HARRIS: So how do you rate President Bush's job performance? A new poll as Americans about evenly split. The latest Gallup Poll finds 48 percent of those surveyed approved, versus 49 percent who disapprove of how he is handling his job.

The same poll indicates growing pessimism about the economy. 61 percent say they think economic conditions in the country are getting worse. 31 percent think it's actually getting better.

Another source of concern for the Bush administration is John Bolton's nomination as U.N. ambassador. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee won't consider it again until May 12th. That gives detractors plenty of time to continue sniping away at the embattled nominee.

CNN White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux reports from Crawford, Texas.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Despite repeated endorsements from the highest level of the administration...

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: John's distinguished career in service to our nation demonstrates that he is the right man.

DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm an enthusiastic backer of John.

MALVEAUX: ...John Bolton's nomination to become U.N. ambassador heated up over the weekend, when yet another former employee came forth, alleging mistreatment.

Lynn D. Finney says that in the early '80s, Bolton tried to get her fired when they worked together at the U.S. agency for International Development or USAID.

Friday, Finney submitted a letter to Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer. In that letter given to CNN by Boxer's office, Finney says Bolton threatened to get rid of her after a dispute they had over her refusal to promote a controversial U.S. policy.

Finney says it was a question of conscience, which resulted in her desk being moved to a shabby windowless office in the basement, in order to force me to leave.

But she says the head of USAID at the time, Peter McPherson, apologized for Bolton's behavior and asked her to stay. But when CNN spoke with McPherson by phone, he said he had no recollection of the incident. And a State Department spokesman told CNN we'd looked into the allegations. We can't find anyone who as at USAID at the time to corroborate.

(on camera): Finney has declined numerous requests to come forward to speak publicly about her case. In the meantime, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is considering interviewing her under oath.

And still, the larger question remains. What will it take for Bolton's nomination to sink or survive?

Suzanne Malveaux, CNN, Crawford, Texas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: Thirty years ago, hundreds of Vietnamese crammed into a Pan Am plane and evacuated the country before the fall of Saigon. This weekend, those on that last flight out reunited with the man who made it all possible.

Former Pan Am chief Al Toppings marked the 30th anniversary of the exodus. Now this reunion in Virginia brought him face to face with former flight attendants and pilots instrumental in the evacuation.

In order to get the Vietnamese families and orphans out of Saigon, he had to adopt as many as 100 of them.

And I was at that event yesterday. So I wasn't here. And it was just really remarkable to see all of those people in the same room, who are part of this history making event.

HARRIS: Wow. Tell us about the -- and then you were in traditional dress as well.

NGUYEN: Yes. I was wearing the Vietnamese Alyad (ph) to represent the culture of Vietnam, because there is -- there's a lot to do with Vietnam and its culture and the people.

It was not only a reflection, but a remembrance and a celebration.

HARRIS: Well, well, we missed you, but we understand why.

NGUYEN: Well, I'm glad you missed me.

HARRIS: Yes.

NGUYEN: I don't hear that very often from you, Tony.

HARRIS: Oh, please.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: Pope Benedict XVI is now officially in charge of the Roman Catholic Church. Live pictures from the Vatican as Pope Benedict XVI meets archbishops, cardinals, with dignitaries from around the world.

Florida Governor Jeb Bush is leading the delegation from the United States. And Michael Steele, the lieutenant governor of Maryland, is there. There's quite a large congressional delegation from the states there as well. The 265th pope, the new leader of the Roman Catholic Church, meeting dignitaries at the Vatican. Pope Benedict XVI. So how will U.S. Catholics see the new pontiff? We'll talk with an American archbishop live from Rome. That's next.

NGUYEN: Also, skydivers take a leap of faith every time the jump. But one man's dive ended in disaster.

HARRIS: And we'll meet a new breed of conservationists, whose motivation to go green is mostly about the green in your wallets.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARRY MAY, SARAH LUNDE'S UNCLE: ...safe in the hands of God now. And that's comforting.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Sarah Lunde's funeral top stories across America this morning. More than 100 people gathered in the 13-year old girl's church in Ruskin, Florida. Police say Lunde was choked to death by a registered sex offender two weeks ago. Outside the church, a white stone fountain was erected in her memory.

A horrific skydiving accident in Deland, Florida. Police say a skydiver hit the wing of a plane as he was descending?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DENNIS MCGUIRE, DELAND, FLORIDA POLICE: The plane was landing and banking. And the skydiver hit the left -- the actual wing itself, not the propeller. That appeared that on both of his legs were severed from the knees down.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Police say the skydiver was able to maneuver his parachute and land near the airport. He died later at the hospital.

Animal control officers in Pawtucket, Rhode Island came to the rescue of about 40 cats living at a mobile home. Some were already dead. And others had to be put to sleep because they were so sick. Officials say the homeowners has been accused of keeping too many cats before this incident.

NGUYEN: Our hero story this morning just completed the Boston Marathon with the hand cycle division. Now the race comes exactly one year after he lost his leg in Iraq.

CNN's Casey Wian has the story of Army Staff Sergeant Hilbert Caesar.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Once he gets moving on his hand cycle, retired Army Staff Sergeant Hilbert Caesar says it's hard it slow him down. That fierce determination carried him through 7 years in the military doing tours in Germany, Korea, Kosovo and Iraq until April 18, 2004, when Caesar's armored Howitzer drove by a roadside bomb while on a reconnaissance mission.

STAFF SGT. HILBERT CAESAR, (RET) U.S. ARMY: We were just rolling and all of a sudden, it was just boom. This loud explosion, and everything had just paused.

WIAN: Three soldiers were injured, including Caesar. The explosion severed his right leg, just above the knee.

CAESAR: I saw a buddy of mine. You know, I saw him, like, collapsing down inside. Because he was -- I was inside of the vehicle. As I was reaching over there to try to -- like ease his fall, I just like collapsed and dropped, that's because my leg was gone.

WIAN: As the section chief with the 27th Field Artillery 1st Armor Division, Caesar commanded seven soldiers.

CAESAR: You know, they learned everything from me. And you, after that -- that was my guy, that was like -- they was my family there at the time. So it was difficult leaving them. It really was.

Because like ever day, that's what I was thinking about, you know, got to make sure they were all right. Hopefully I trained them well and that they would step up to you late plate and do their jobs, you know.

WIAN: An athlete all of his life in team sports, Caesar thought long distance runners and cyclist a bit crazy. Since losing his leg, he has change his mind. In fact, he competed in his first hand cycle race just four months after his injury. And has completed three marathons. Most recently the Boston Marathon on April 18, a year to the day after losing his leg.

CAESAR: It took me a little while to get there, but I made it. It's over and done! Feels pretty good. Awesome!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yea!

CAESAR: Yes! WIAN: If not from the injury, Caesar says he would return to active duty. Instead, he works for the Department Veteran Affairs and acts as an inspiration to his fellow soldiers.

CAESAR: Hopefully they see. And they kind of -- they guys lifts their spirits are low and stuff, they can, you know, raise up and say, you know, I can do that too.

WIAN: Casey Wian, CNN, reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: He doesn't have to act as an inspiration. He is an inspiration. And we bring you heroes stories every week right here on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.

HARRIS: And still ahead, way head of her time, this girl leaves a surprising gift for the orphans of the tsunami tragedy.

NGUYEN: And does the way you spend your money put you in the normal category? Find out ahead on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: OK, if your personal finances are a train wreck, don't feel too bad. Most people struggle with money. Yes, most of us do. Today, the CNN.com desk offers an accounting of what normal means when it comes to dollars and cents.

Here's CNN's Christina Park.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTINA PARK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: At CNN Money, we thing it's OK to compare yourself to others, especially when it comes to money. Find out if your keeping up with the Joneses at cnnmoney.com/normal. We'll help you answer those afraid to ask questions, like am I the only one who can't seem to stick to a budget? And how much money do people my age earn?

Well, data from 2003 found the median income for 25 to 34-year olds to be $45,000. Most of them don't own a home and carry an average of $3700 in credit card debt.

If you're close to retiring, see how your 401(K) stacks up against others your age. It's not all about bragging rights, though. Knowing where you stand can actually help you get a clearer picture of your financial weaknesses and strengths. We can also help you calculate how much house you can afford, and help you wade your way out of debt.

CNNmoney.com/normal can help you figure out if you're normal, financially that is. Reporting from the .com desk, I'm Christina Park.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: The gift of thousands of victims of the tsunami disaster from one life cut short. It's a story that is sure to touch your heart, we promise. That's ahead on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: An $800 bill? Ah, you know, is like, is murder.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Really? This guy managed to cut his bills down to $100 a month?

NGUYEN: What?

HARRIS: Can you do it?

NGUYEN: No, I don't think so.

HARRIS: Yes, really. Find out how he did it next on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Energy prices, I don't know -- oh, OK, energy prices may be going through the roof. And that's exactly where this guy went to find the solution. Now even his neighbors are reaping the rewards. And welcome back everyone to CNN SUNDAY MORNING.

NGUYEN: Now that's a good neighbor.

HARRIS: Yes, yes.

NGUYEN: Reap the rewards.

HARRIS: Bet State Farm's a good neighbor. This guy, tap in and get some energy.

NGUYEN: Exactly. I'm Betty Nguyen, that story in just a moment. We're going to hold off for just a moment. First we want to give you a look at the headlines right now.

Pope John Paul Benedict XVI is now officially in charge of the Roman Catholic Church. His inaugural mass concluded at the Vatican about a half hour ago. Hundreds of thousands of people flocked to Rome to take part in the installation.

A human rights group says a report that clears top military brass in the Abu Ghraib prison scandal proves that the U.S. Army cannot investigate itself. Human Rights Watch is calling for an independent criminal investigation into allegations of abuse at the Iraqi prison by U.S. military troops.

And spring may be more than a month old, but there is a fresh blanket of snow over much of eastern Michigan and northern Ohio. In fact it may get more than a foot deep before the storm is over. Detroit is in for up to eight inches of snow, hard to believe that last week, it was in the 80s there, Tony.

HARRIS: My goodness, yeah.

A young human rights activist is being remembered this weekend for her work in Iraq. Marla Ruzicka was killed in a car bombing earlier this month in Iraq. More than 600 people, including actor Sean Penn gathered for her funeral yesterday. She made it her personal mission to count the civilian casualties of the Iraqi war. Ruzicka was 28 years old.

It is that time the morning to check out some of the other stories making news around the world. NGUYEN: And for that we go to Anand Naidoo at the international desk. We understand two suicide bombings in Iraq you got to talk about this morning.

ANAND NAIDOO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Betty that's right. A very good morning to you.

Insurgents attack Iraqi security forces again, this in the latest series of attacks which seem to have been on the rise since those elections in January. In these latest attacks, six people are killed, 26 wounded in back-to-back suicide car bombings at a police academy in the town of Tikrit. The blasts went off just 15 minutes apart. Four of those killed were police officers.

Meanwhile, the U.S. military says it's arrested six people suspected of shooting down a commercial helicopter earlier this week. Eleven people, including six Americans were killed in that incident.

Now on to Angola and medical teams continue to battle the Ebola- like Marburg virus. At least 244 people have been killed by the disease so far. The U.N. health agency says workers are beginning to get the outbreak under control. The latest we have is that new cases have dropped from a high of 35 per week to 15 per week.

A somber commemoration in Armenia. Thousands of people marked the 90th anniversary of the mass killing of Armenians during World War I. Armenia accuses Turkey of genocide in the killing of up to 1.5 million Armenians during the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. Turkey rejects those claims. Turkey says that the people died during civil unrest and says that the number that Armenians are mentioning is actually inflated. I'll have more later, but now back to Tony and Betty.

NGUYEN: All right. Thank you.

Time now to fast forward through some of the stories we will be covering this week. First up, President Bush is pushing Congress to pass an energy bill by August to help ease high gas prices. In the meantime he'll ask Saudi crown Prince Abdullah to boost oil production. The two are meeting at the president's ranch in Crawford ranch in Texas. That will be tomorrow.

Wednesday the congressional committee that held hearings recently on illegal steroid use in pro baseball is turning its attention to the NFL. The committee will hear testimony from lead executives and Commissioner Paul Tagliabue.

And finally on Friday, Thailand will test a tsunami warning system. The system of tower sirens was donated by two other countries. Some 228,000 people were killed in the region by the tsunami that hit on December 26th.

HARRIS: Have you taken a close look at your, that -- oooh! It's easy, it's Sunday morning we've got a new pope. Your utility bill lately.

NGUYEN: It's a high one, isn't it?

HARRIS: It sure is. With energy costs soaring, some folks are taking a second look at alternative energy sources. CNN's Peter Viles goes solar for this report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PETER VILES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Meet Dan Mirisola, old school energy hog. There's an RV in his back yard and not one, not two, but three big trucks out front, and yes, that's a Harley by the three-car garage.

DAN MIRISOLA, SOLAR HOMEOWNER: I pay like $600 a month for gas for my trucks. So she -- you know, I hate that.

VILES: And then there's the house, a 6,000 square foot mansion with central air that eats about $9,000 worth of electricity in a year. Were you looking at your power bills and going, this is out of control!

MIRISOLA: I was dying. $800 bill, ahhh! You know, it was like murder.

VILES: So Dan and his wife did the smart thing. They installed solar panels on the roof. Suddenly those $800 bills dropped to less than $100 a month.

MIRISOLA: For the first two months, Edison kept coming out here with criminal people thinking we were stealing.

VILES: They're not stealing power. They're making it, even on a cloudy day, look closely. The electrical meter is spinning backwards. That means the Mirisolas are producing more power than they're using. So what's happening to that electricity? You're giving it back to them?

MIRISOLA: My neighbors are using it right now kind of thing.

VILES: Solar made sense on this house because of a combination of factors, temporary rebates and tax credits and soaring energy costs.

MIRISOLA: People never used to talk about their utility rates. They used to be $10, $15, $20, $30 a month. Now it's not uncommon to see peoples' electric rates being $200 $300, $400 a month.

VILES: California's governor is pushing to put solar panels on a million California rooftops.

GOV. ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER (CALIF): It's good for the taxpayers. It's good for businesses and it is great for the environment.

VILES: After rebates Dan Mirisola paid roughly $38,000 for his solar system, and figures it will pay for itself in four more years.

MIRISOLA: Because I'm looking forward to, in four more years, having free electricity. That's cool.

VILES: Now if only Detroit could make an electric-powered pickup truck. Peter Viles for CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: They're working on that, aren't he?

NGUYEN: Yeah. I think so. $38,000 it's going to pay for itself in four years. That's a lot of electricity.

HARRIS: That's an initial investment of a lot of money.

NGUYEN: Exactly and like I said, I want one on my car. Can we just put that on the hood of my car? That will work. It will save me gas prices.

HARRIS: Order is in.

NGUYEN: All right. All right. Tony's taking orders this morning. If you want it, call him up. Wam@cnn.com by the way if you want to send that in, too. And speaking of emails, we do have a question for you this morning. How much does religious faith influence your life? We'd love to hear from you and Tony is taking orders by the way. E-mail us at wam@cnn.com. We'll be reading your replies throughout the morning.

HARRIS: And good morning Detroit. Let's look at this picture. Oh, goodness.

NGUYEN: What picture? Where is that?

HARRIS: There's rain, snow, sleet. It's a real mess there in Detroit. We've got a big weather system moving through the Midwest right now. Rob Marciano is coming back in just a couple of minutes with your forecast for Detroit and the forecast for the rest of the nation, when CNN SUNDAY MORNING returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Checking our top stories right now, Pope Benedict XVI celebrating his inaugural mass in front of tens of thousands of pilgrims at the Vatican. In his message, he asked for prayers to undertake what he called the enormous task in front of him.

Now to Tikrit, Iraq. Two suicide car bombs exploded just minutes apart, killing at least six people. The bombs went off at the Iraqi police academy within a 15-minute span. At least 26 other people were wounded.

And a late spring storm is covering much of Michigan and Ohio in snow. Up to a foot of the white stuff is expected before Monday morning in parts of the Midwest. Last week, folks in the same areas were basking in, believe it or not, 80-degree temperatures.

HARRIS: Monica Ann Averhoff's parents always knew she was special but they didn't realize just how special until she died. Then they found her secret journal which revealed a depth of heart they had never seen before. CNN's Sara Dorsey explains how the girl's spirit continues to touch countless lives.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA DORSEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At 12 years old, Monica Averhoff was full of life, living in Indonesia with her family, performing at her school. But while she was on a family vacation, back in America, tragedy would strike. Monica was in a deadly accident.

CLAUDIA AVERHOFF, MONICA'S MOTHER: We decided to let the girls do one of those easy horseback rides on the beach, down there, a beginner horseback ride. When we came back, you know, there was a mob there and Monica had been hurt.

DORSEY: It was what Monica's family found after her death that shocked them.

AVERHOFF: This is her, the notebook that she was keeping all of these poems in.

DORSEY: Poems Monica had secretly been writing for more than two years.

AVERHOFF: Before I knew it, I was gliding up above the clouds on the back of the sparrow. All around me was blue. A cool breeze rippled through my air. I was free. I had a new freedom.

DORSEY: Why do you like that one so much?

AVERHOFF: To me, it's very spiritual, that she wanted to be free. She had a new freedom. So many of them seemed to talk about life after death. It's almost as if she had some, you know, sixth sense or some notion that her life was going to be short, and that's when it really hit me.

DORSEY: The Averhoff's decided to publish their daughter's story and her poems. Monica's mom, Claudia, reads her daughter's poetry throughout the book. The waves of the tsunami devastated many countries, including Indonesia. Monica's family thought the poetry could be used to raise money for the storm's youngest victims. Monica loved children and had hoped to become a tutor.

AVERHOFF: We were going to do this with the money anyhow, so let's shift it and really focus on putting it into a relief fund but still for homeless children.

DORSEY: A tribute to a life cut short. Words from one of Monica's poems stand as a reminder of how she chose to live her life, words her mother hopes everyone could learn from.

AVERHOFF: I would want people to take that message that we need to be better people and use her story as an example of how you could do that. What a neat gift to have. For her to leave us something like this was pretty amazing.

DORSEY: Sara Dorsey, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: What a neat gift indeed. Here's a bit of a glimpse of some of the treasures inside Monica's book taken from a poem she wrote in May, 2002, titled "Rules of Life." She writes: love life. You only get to live it once. Live life to the fullest. Live life for others. It is better to be happy and have fun for five minutes than to always be sad and bored.

NGUYEN: Well we do have a lot more coming up as well. I want to give you a live picture right now of the Vatican where Pope Benedict XVI is meeting with dignitaries there. We have Cardinal Keeler, the archbishop of Baltimore. He will be on the show momentarily and we will be speaking with him about Pope Benedict XVI and what he has planned for the Catholic Church.

But first -- a CNN extra, throw out that old food pyramid. The government has come up with 12 new triangular eating guides geared toward your specific lifestyle and nutritional needs. Now, the rainbow colored bands run vertically and they use common household measurements instead of serving sizes. In a nutshell, the guidelines recommend a balance of fruit, vegetables, whole grains and milk, along with 30 minutes of exercise a day, 30 minutes a day. You can find out more online at mypyramid.gov.

HARRIS: And here's a humorous look at the new food pyramid. Cartoonist Rob Rogers from "The Pittsburgh Post Gazette" is captured trying to spot the new pyramid in the paper. The problem is he can't see it because of all that girth.

NGUYEN: His belly!

HARRIS: Massive mound of man there, yeah, because of his belly. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: We've got e-mails for you. I'm trying to read through some of these responses and make sense of it, trying to sort it out. Here's our e-mail question this morning. It's all about faith. How much does religious faith influence your life? Here's the address at wam@cnn.com and our first e-mail is from Tony, great name. In my opinion, religious faith shouldn't influence one's actions in life. Religion and spirituality are two different concepts. Religion would be comparable to a history book for example whereas spirituality is how one acts towards others and oneself. Thank you Tony.

NGUYEN: Kyle from San Francisco writes: luckily, religion has no - little to no effect on my life. I don't need a religion to guide me through daily life he says. Now isn't that a novelty in this day and age?

HARRIS: Of course, religious faith - oh I'm sorry. This is from Sylvester from St. Kitts in the West Indies. Of course religious faith is indeed very important. Faith is believing in what we cannot see and when we believe in a religious source to the life that we have, then what we do and say a greater meaning to us and to those we impact, usually a more positive meaning. Did I give that the right interpretation there? I think so. Thank you Sylvester.

NGUYEN: I think you did.

HARRIS: Thank you all for your e-mails. Send them along to us. Here is the question -- how much does religious faith influence your life? There's the address, wam@cnn.com. And we will be reading more of your e-mail responses next hour.

NGUYEN: But this morning, we want to talk about the Vatican, and Pope Benedict XVI.

HARRIS: Who is receiving dignitaries from around the world, the inaugural mass, as you see. It was quite an event this morning in Rome and just a little bit later, we are going to hear from one of the archbishops who is on hand, Cardinal William Keeler, the archbishop of Baltimore. That when CNN SUNDAY MORNING returns.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hi. I'm Rob Marciano in the CNN weather center. Time for a look at the fairway forecast. We fly you down to Houston, Texas. That's where the Shell Houston open is being played this weekend and gorgeous weather on tap. Less wind today, a lot of sunshine, temperatures in the mid-70s. This is the time of the years that the Gulf coast of Mexico, 75 degrees for a high temperature, northeast winds at 5 to 10. The tournament gets wrapped up today. Tomorrow, then you have two days chance of thunder and lightning. That's a look at what the pros are doing. If you are teeing it up, play well. CNN SUNDAY MORNING will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Another live look at the Vatican, and Pope Benedict XVI as he greets dignitaries there. Tens of thousands of people packed St. Peter's Square for today's inaugural mass of Pope Benedict XVI. VIPs joined pilgrims and the church elite for the special ceremony. We want to go live now to Rome and joining us with reflections of the day is Cardinal William Keeler, the archbishop of Baltimore, the oldest diocese in the U.S. Thanks for being with us and making your way through the crowds to spend a little time with us today.

CARDINAL WILLIAM KEELER, ARCHBISHOP OF BALTIMORE: You're welcome and it's good to be with you.

NGUYEN: Wonderful. Well, tell me about this inaugural mass. Pope Benedict XVI taking part in that today. What kind of pope do you think he will be?

KEELER: Well, I've said he reminds me of my mother.

NGUYEN: Really?

KEELER: Sweet and clear, yes. Very sweet and also clear, but what he did today, I think, was put a lot of people at ease, because he spoke as a, from the perspective of assuming the responsibilities of pope and looking out at the whole church, looking at the whole world and saying he wanted to be what his title indicates, a pontiff. He wanted to build bridges, bridges of hope, bridges to individuals and bridges between our human family and the lord.

NGUYEN: He said today in this inaugural mass that he wanted to help be servants of those -- he wanted servants around the world to unite, servants within the Catholic Church. How do you think he's going to be able to do that? Because there are many within the Catholic Church who do want change, change when it comes to issues of birth control, when it comes to issues of allowing females to become priests, and also dealing with the sex abuse scandal. So how is he going to unite Catholics around the world, especially in (INAUDIBLE)?

KEELER: Yeah. I think what's going to happen is he will be holding up for us Catholics to consider the things that Jesus said and taught. That's what he said this morning. He wanted to be very attentive with the whole church to what the Lord Jesus asks of us today and I think that has a unifying thrust in it right away. What's happened, quite frankly, is a lot of our people don't go to church, have been educated by the media and are very confused about issues of faith and if they take the time to listen to what Jesus has said that the message that doesn't change from century to century, from year to year, I think that's what he's going to try and be bringing, bring to the fore.

NGUYEN: You made a very good point. A lot of folks within the Catholic Church especially in Europe are not filling the pews. What is he going to do to try to get them back in church?

KEELER: I don't know just what, whether he has any specific program -- in fact, today he made a point of saying he's not going to announce a program at this time, because he wants to listen to the Lord, listen to what God calls the church to do at this period.

NGUYEN: So as a cardinal, let me ask you this. What do you want to see as the pope's priorities?

KEELER: What I want to see is a pope who preaches the gospel of Jesus with personal conviction, with great devotion, with great devotion, with great clarity and that calls people as Jesus called them to, a life of conversion, a life of joy, a life of peace, and that's what I'm looking for to happen with this pope.

NGUYEN: I think a lot of people would agree with you. Cardinal Keeler, archbishop of Baltimore, we thank you for your time today.

KEELER: And thank you, Betty.

NGUYEN: Take care.

HARRIS: He is a wonderful man.

NGUYEN: Isn't he? HARRIS: Yeah, he really is. Let's get another quick check of weather now with Rob Marciano in the CNN weather center. Good morning Rob.

MARCIANO: Good morning. My mother still doesn't forgive me for taking this shift because Sunday morning is church day.

NGUYEN: You can still go, there is no excuse, Rob. Don't look at me like that.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: That is nasty, Rob.

MARCIANO: It's been a long winter. And we're in the middle of April or end of April.

HARRIS: End of April.

NGUYEN: It's the kind of morning that you want to just stay in bed.

HARRIS: Curl up.

NGUYEN: Inside.

HARRIS: Turn the set on and watch CNN SUNDAY MORNING.

MARCIANO: We'll see you guys in church, right?

NGUYEN: Yes. I'll be there.

The next hour of CNN SUNDAY MORNING begins right now.

HARRIS: Good morning, everyone, from the CNN Center in Atlanta. You're watching CNN SUNDAY MORNING on this April 24th.

Good morning, everyone. I'm Tony Harris.

NGUYEN: And I'm Betty Nguyen. It is 8 a.m. Eastern, 5 a.m. Pacific. Let's get started with a look at what's happening right now in the news.

Up to 350,000 people packed St. Peter's Square today to witness the formal inauguration of Pope Benedict XVI. The two and a half hour ceremony included an open air mass in the square.

Other news, two suicide car bombs exploded just minutes apart in the Iraqi city of Tikrit this morning. Six people were killed and more than two dozen injured. The bombs off at or near the Iraqi police academy. Four of those killed were police officers.

A human rights groups says a report that clears top military brass in the Abu Ghraib prison scandal proves the U.S. Army cannot investigate itself. Human Rights Watch is calling for an independent criminal investigation into allegations of abuse by U.S. troops at the Iraqi prison.

HARRIS: here's why we think you should stick around this hour. The pope asked for millions of pilgrims to pray for him to get through each day. We'll tell you what else Pope Benedict had to say on his first official day on the job, and we'll look at just how much power that job holds.

Now forget that an apple a day keeps the doctor away. How about needles in all the right places? Dr. Sanjay Gupta looks at alternative therapies in his weekly house call.

Well, you can't just bail. You can't just bail.

NGUYEN: What is she doing? Don't leave. Oh, goodness. From bad to worse.

HARRIS: Well, this performer had a couple of nightmare moments there all in one.

NGUYEN: And now it's on CNN. I'm sure she's loving that.

HARRIS: Now it's on CNN.

Forgetting the words is what we're really talking about. It really can be a performer's worst nightmare, but that's not where this story ends. I think we saw where it ends. This one is guaranteed to make you cringe a little bit.

NGUYEN: Benedict XVI is now officially pope after being formally inaugurated this morning. The Vatican says some 350,000 people from pilgrims to global dignitaries attended the special mass.

CNN's Jennifer Eccleston covered the ceremony and she joins us now from Rome. What a day this has been, Jennifer.

JENNIFER ECCLESTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Betty, what a day. Well, the solemn installation inauguration of Pope Benedict XVI ended just over an hour ago, and it drew from centuries of tradition. But also proclaimed a modern message. One that the Catholic church was a living vessel for the young, that the church is alive and that the church is vibrant.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENEDICT XVI (through translator): The church is living. This is the wonderful experience of these days. During the sad days of the pope's illness and death it became wonderfully evident through our eyes that the church is alive.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ECCLESTON: Now Pope Benedict XVI also said that the church was an instrument for dialogue not only among members of other Christian faiths, but also as the Pope said to believers and nonbelievers. And Pope Benedict also made several references to his predecessor, Pope John Paul II. At every stage he was interrupted by huge applause. He said that Pope John Paul II was now among the saints.

But as you can imagine, Betty, the real thrill for the 350,000 people that were here was when the new Pope Benedict got into his pope mobile and took a tour around St. Peter's Square. The first time the shepherd was able to meet his flock.

Betty.

NGUYEN: What a day it has been. And that pope mobile a little bit different from John Paul's. We took note of that this morning. Jennifer, thank you so much.

Well, how influential is the pope on the lives of American Catholics. We take you back live to Rome to talk about that in our Faces of Faith segment. That is coming up in about 17 minutes. So definitely stick around for that.

Also our week in morning e-mail question ties in to today's inaugural mass. How much does religious faith influence your life? E-mail us at wam@cnn.com and we'll read some of your responses on the air.

HARRIS: It has been a particularly violent and deadly weekend in Iraq. At least one U.S. soldier has been killed along with six Iraqis. CNN Ryan Chilcote joins us now live from Baghdad with more -- Ryan.

RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tony, the violence rages on he. We've got a lot of attacks to talk about. We'll start here in Baghdad. Just two hours ago a car bomb going off as a U.S. convoy passed. Reportedly two Iraqis, at least two Iraqis killed in that. No word on U.S. causalities.

And this morning in the city of Tikrit two car bombs going off there. This time detonated by suicide bombers. They went off within minutes of one another outside of an Iraqi military academy. At least six Iraqis killed in that attack. At least 26 wounded.

Now, just north of Tikrit word of an assassination attempt on a prominent member of the National Assembly. Mishon al Jabouri (ph) survived that assassination attempt, but six of his guards reportedly, at least six of his guards wounded in that attack.

And just night here in Baghdad seven Iraqis wounded by mortar fire. And in the city of Fallujah one U.S. sailor killed by a makeshift bomb there while out on patrol -- Tony.

Ryan Chilcote for us from Baghdad. Ryan, thank you.'

A young human rights activist is being remembered this weekend for her work in Iraq. More than 600 people, including actor Sean Penn and California Senator Barbara Boxer gathered for her funeral yesterday. Marla Ruzicka was killed in a car bombing earlier this month in Iraq. She made it her personal mission to count the civilian causalities of the Iraqi war. She also secured millions of dollars in aide money for civilians in Iraq. Ruzicka was 28 years old.

NGUYEN: Do you think it's too late in the year for a little snow? Well, you want to think again, because try telling that to folks in southern Michigan and northern Ohio. Look at this live picture. You can't even see anything because of all the snow on the camera. The ice on this live shot from Detroit, we'll have more on that coming up with Rob Marciano.

(WEATHER REPORT)

NGUYEN: Some other news across America right now. In Campbell, Wisconsin a 15 hour standoff with police ends with a grizzly discovery. It started Friday when 52 year old Phillip Schuth allegedly shot his neighbor. Once police arrived negotiations with the suspect began and at some, police say, Schuth told them his mother's body was I his freezer. The suspect surrendered peacefully and police did indeed find a body that they say is likely to be his mother's.

In Ft. Myers, Florida school bus driver Leslie Mae Jones was driving about 30 students home when her daughter called on a cell phone to say she had been in a fight at school. Jones drove to the school reportedly to join in the fight and left the students unattended on her bus, the engine still running. Police were already there and arrested her. Jones quite her job after she got out of jail.

HARRIS: Yes, yes the 49ers are hoping Alex Smith, young guy here, can fill the cleats of Hall of Fame quarterbacks Joe Montana and Steve Young. Good luck. Smith said it's an honor to follow in those footsteps. What else is he going to say.

In the NBA playoffs the Seattle Supersonics hung on to beat the Sacramento Kings 87 to 82. In the western conference quarter finals the Boston Celtics ran away with their first post season game beating the Indiana pacers 102 to 87.

In other first round games the Houston Rockets beat Betty's beloved Dallas Mavericks.

NGUYEN: Not the Mavs. They didn't beat my Mavs.

HARRIS: You claim all of Texas though don't you?

You claim everything in Texas.

NGUYEN: Well, I don't know. I'm a little partial to Dallas though.

HARRIS: Are you? OK. And the Pistons from Detroit are up one game to nil on Philadelphia. NGUYEN: All right. We take you beyond the pope's pageantry this morning to ask the question, how much influence does the position really have? It's back to Rome for the answer in this morning's Faces of Faith.

Plus, you see this young lady take a spill. Here it comes, right there, oops, at a hockey game last night. Yes, this is one to remember. But that's not the full story. In fact, it's only half of it. You have to, have to stick around for this one folks.

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NGUYEN: Sit ups and other exercises well, they will -- sit ups and other exercises will keep you fit. There we go. But there are days when you just don't want to do anything but be a couch potato and eat bon bons. But a new study, believe it or not, says that's OK. A few extra pounds might keep you healthy. There's a formula to figure it all out. Tony and I will put it to the text in the next hour live on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.

HARRIS: I feel much better about my Dunkin Donuts this morning.

Hey, it's time for the lawn and garden forecast to talk about what's happening as far as the last freeze in April usually across Missouri and Oklahoma. It happens to be in May in places like Ohio and Michigan where today they're experiencing some snow. So certainly you don't want to be doing much planting there.

This time of year though the plans here are to apply pre- emergency your law so that crab grass doesn't quite get a hold. And I'll tell you why, cold air tonight as far south as Atlanta, Georgia. So you may want to wait a couple of weeks there.

That's the latest from here. Complete weather forecasts coming up in just a few minutes. CNN SUNDAY MORNING will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: OK, singing the national anthem at a professional hockey match is certainly something Caroline Marcil of Montreal wishes she could forget and here's why. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAROLINE MARCIL (singing): Oh say can you see by the dawn's early light what so proudly -- I'm sorry...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: Where is she going?

HARRIS: Hard to figure out what happened there. She just -- did she really forget? Did she just...

NGUYEN: Oh, oh, watch this, watch this, ouch. HARRIS: She forgets the words and now she becomes the butt of jokes. OK. She slips on the ice there. That's certainly going to leave a mark. Looks like she made it out OK. In the end the U.S. beat Canada in that exhibition game on Friday.

NGUYEN: I just feel so bad for her.

HARRIS: It happens, but...

NGUYEN: You mess up on the words. You leave, OK, problem number one.

HARRIS: Right.

NGUYEN: OK, that's problem number two. You come back out and then you fall, and then we're airing it. Poor thing. She hates us.

HARRIS: We can't all be as smooth as Rob Marciano though in our weather center.

NGUYEN: That's true. Very true. It takes skills.

(WEATHER REPORT)

NGUYEN: Well, the Vatican is celebrating a new pope. Here he is. Pope Benedict XVI was formally installed this morning as the Roman Catholic's 265th pope. Some 300,000 people from pilgrims to world leaders turned out at St. Peter's square to witness it all.

In Iraq two suicide car bombs exploded outside a police academy in the northern Iraqi city of Tikrit. Six Iraqis were killed and more than two dozen others injured. Many of he victims were Iraqi police officers.

Some 600 people attended a California memorial service for American activist, Marla Ruzicka yesterday. She was remembered for her dedication to humanitarian rights. Ruzicka was killed in a car bomb attack in Baghdad a week ago Saturday.

HARRIS: He is the face of Catholicism, a faith followed by millions world wide, but just how much influence does the pope really have?

NGUYEN: Well, we put that question to the test and the author of "The Coming Catholic Church," David Gibson. He is next in Faces of Faith.

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HARRIS: At a mass the day before he was elected pope, then cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, warned against what he called the dictatorship of relativisms. Simply put, it means that for many there is no one size fits all way to make moral decisions. That's because many Catholics, particularly in the U.S. look at the pope as more of a figure head instead of teacher of absolute truths. Take a look at this. A new CNN "USA Today" Gallup poll finds nearly three quarters, three quarters of U.S. Catholics say they are more likely to figure out moral dilemmas on their own. Only 20 percent say they'd follow the teachings of the pope. What gives here?

Joining us now from Rome with some insight, David Gibson, author of "The Coming Catholic Church."

David, good to talk to you.

DAVID GIBSON, AUTHOR, "THE COMING CATHOLIC CHURCH": Good morning. How are you doing?

HARRIS: Good. Well, David, give me a sense of what you saw. Before we get into some other questions set that scene in Rome. What was it like to be there on the ground this morning? What did you see? What did you hear? And did you get any indications as to where Benedict might lead the church from this morning?

GIBSON: I thought it was a remarkable mass and a remarkable homily by Benedict in his first real main public event. Almost kind of a mission statement of his papacy. And he emphasized a couple of things. One is continuity with John Paul II, who was such a poplar pastor of the church for 26 years. He really got a lot of applause on those lines.

And he also emphasize -- it was a very spiritual homily. He was really emphasizing his own weakness and asking for the prayers of the people. And he was emphasizing also his spiritual side. I think what we were seeing here is a theologian, which is what he has been for the last 24 years, the top kind of watch dog for the Catholic church, a theologian becoming a pastor, a shepherd, someone who has to convince as well as command.

HARRIS: Hey David, let me pick up on that because I think you made a good point. It was a wonderful sort of rhetorical moment when he said, "Pray for me so that I may learn to love the Lord more and more. Pray for me so that I may love you," the flock, "more and more." That was a wonderful sort of tone to the homily this morning. Wasn't it?

GIBSON: It really was. I mean here's a man who has been caricatured or called God's Rottweiler for the past few days, the Panzer cardinal. All of these tough labels that have been given him over the past 24 years, as I said, and here he's saying, look, I'm a weak, you know sinner with a -- just like you...

HARRIS: I'm human.

GIBSON: ...are with this huge job, and I really need, you know, I need your help as well sot hat we can all move towards this spiritual truth that we're seeking. Again it was very interesting. He said I'm not going to present. He clearly said I'm not going to present any programs today. I'm not going to give you a kind of state of the union address for the Catholic church. But he did say, that will come later. We'll -- I'll have plenty of time to talk about those things. So the devil is always in the details, isn't it?

HARRIS: Yes. David, nearly three quarters of U.S. Catholics say they are more likely to figure out moral dilemmas on their own. Only 20 percent say they're likely to follow the teachings of the pope. Explain this disconnect would you please?

GIBSON: Well, there has always been a disconnect to a degree. I mean the Catholic church itself puts a premium on the freedom of conscious. The idea that each one must make their own moral decisions. But what the Catholic church, of course, and Pope Benedict would like to see is Catholics being informed much more closely by the Catholic church teachings, by what he says. But it remains to be seen how well that happens given that his predecessor John Paul II was so enormously popular and yet, he really didn't have that much effect on the behavior of American Catholics either.

HARRIS: David, Gibson, thanks for taking the time to talk to us. We appreciate it.

GIBSON: Thank you, Tony.

NGUYEN: And that leads us to our morning e-mail question. How much does religious faith influence your life? We're getting a lot of responses.

Gerry from Montreal, Canada says, "Tremendously! I sincerely believe that faith and prayer have a significant influence in our every day lives. Having such a perspective enables you to see what you would otherwise not see such as those things that could make this world a better place.

HARRIS: And this Steve. "Religion has too much influence on my life to the point hat as an American I want freedom from religion.

NGUYEN: Laerley says, "If the viewing audience were to answer honestly the vast majority would admit hat religion has little effect upon their lives. Most Americans are willing to give lip service to religion, but not much more."

We invite you to keep sending in those responses to our e-mail question today. How much does religious faith influence your life, wam@nn.com. We'll read them on the air.

Well, it is revealing video that followed some National Guard members and their families from home and to Iraq and then back again.

Some of the subject of this acclaimed documentary joins us like next hour on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.

HARRIS: But first, the popularity of ancient medical cures. Do they really work? Dr. Sanjay Gupta makes his Sunday morning "HOUSE CALL." And your top stories are next.

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