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CNN Saturday Morning News

Pope Benedict XVI in New York City; Clinton and Obama Preparing for Pennsylvania Primary; Judge Rules in the Case of 416 Children from Texas Polygamist Compound

Aired April 19, 2008 - 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: Making history at every stop, Pope Benedict XVI visiting America for the first time, personally meeting with church sex abuse victims, visiting a Jewish synagogue before the start of Passover and addressing the United Nations General Assembly, and this morning, celebrating mass at one of the nation's most famous cathedrals.
Good morning, everybody. From St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City, this is a special edition of CNN SATURDAY MORNING. I'm Betty Nguyen.

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Yes. Good morning to you, Betty. And, good morning, everybody. I'm T.J. Holmes at CNN's New York bureau.

Betty and I are both here in New York. We're here to bring you live coverage of the pope and all the day's top stories. Thank you so much for being with us. Happy to have you here.

Politics and religion are colliding this morning. Democrats Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama court the Catholic vote in Pennsylvania. They're fighting for every vote in that state because, of course, every vote counts. At this point, there are just three days until the primary election. And CNN's best political team on television is live in Philadelphia for us.

Also, a stunning development in a story CNN has been covering for a week now, the judge rules on the immediate fate of 416 children removed from a polygamist compound. DNA tests are ordered for all of those kids. We are live in Texas.

But for now, we will start with Betty at St. Patrick's Cathedral. Good morning, again, to you, Betty.

NGUYEN: Good morning, T.J.

We do want to begin with the pope right here in New York City. Now, less than two hours from now, at 9:00 Eastern, His Holiness celebrates mass here at St. Patrick's Cathedral. Then, at 4:30 Eastern, the pope delivers a blessing to young people with disabilities at St. Joseph's Seminary in Yonkers. That will be followed by a rally with seminarians and young Catholics from around the world.

The pope is also reaching across religious lines during his time here in New York. Last night, he visited a Manhattan synagogue led by a rabbi who survived the holocaust. It marked the first time a pope has set foot inside a Jewish house of worship in the United States. The pope's visit came just before the start of the Jewish Sabbath and on the eve of Passover.

Well, the pope is taking part in a prayer service with Protestant and Orthodox leaders as well as Catholics and the service held in St. Joseph's Parish. During his address, the pope offered words of encouragement for American Christians.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

POPE BENEDICT XVI, ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH: The contribution of Christians in the United States to the ecumenical movement is felt throughout the world. I encourage all of you to persevere, always relying on the grace of the risen Christ whom we strive to serve by bringing about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: The pontiff also warned that the exploding use of electronic communications can lead to feelings of isolation. Now, we could hear more from the pope today on an issue that has caused anguish for many American Catholics and that being the clergy sex abuse crisis.

Now, in Washington this week, he met privately with sex abuse victims and he talked with CNN about that meeting.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FAITH JOHNSTON, SEX ABUSE VICTIM: I had so much I wanted to say, and then I got up to him and I just started -- I just burst into tears. But I think my tears spoke louder than words. And when I think in that moment, I almost felt like that 14-year-old, 15-year-old face, that the victim's face, and then, he, the just started talking to me just so kindly, so lovingly, congratulating me about my upcoming wedding. And I finally felt this hope and confidence -- I felt even stronger than I did before.

OLAN HORNE, SEX ABUSE VICTIM: I spoke to him and talked to him about my hate toward the church. I talked of my hate toward the administrations and the bishops and all that needed to be done. I asked him to forgive me for having such hate.

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: And how did he respond?

HORNE: He was amazed. He just couldn't believe it. You know, I mean, but he bore a very difficult responsibility. When he first presented himself to us, he stood in front of us, almost like in front of the jury. It had a moment to it. It was extremely -- it was more difficult for him.

BERNIE MCDAID, SEX ABUSE VICTIMS: We struggled for six or seven years now in trying to be heard. It's always been about the church, the lawyers, the money, or whatever, the lawsuit. Now, it's about the victim survivor community and the damages. It's finally coming full circle to the real problem here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: The pope has addressed the abuse scandal and most of his public appearances here in the U.S., and today, he speaks to the faithful. But at the United Nations yesterday, the pope addressed the world.

And our senior U.N. correspondent, Richard Roth joins us live. Richard, what was the pope's message yesterday at the U.N.?

RICHARD ROTH, CNN SR. UNITED NATIONS CORRESPONDENT: Well, he was trying to improve global cooperation. One man, nearly 200 nations inside the general assembly hall, and the pope says there's a crisis in international cooperation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROTH (voice-over): Pope Benedict XVI entered center stage down the aisle of the United Nations General Assembly, the fourth U.N. appearance by a pope, and, for this pope, a unique greeting.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, Your Holiness, happy birthday.

(APPLAUSE)

ROTH: But Benedict XVI told those cheering delegates they could do a better job respecting human rights of their citizens. The 81- year-old pope quoted an old adage embraced by a score of religions, ancient and modern.

POPE BENEDICT XVI: Do not do to others what you would not want done to you.

ROTH: The pope did not name names or nations, but he did appear to have the U.S. invasion of Iraq in mind when he praised international rule for the common good.

POPE BENEDICT XVI (through translator): This is even more necessary in the current context, where we are witnessing the clear paradox of the multilateral consensus, which continues to be in crisis because it is still subordinated to the decisions of a small number.

ROTH: A cornerstone of the U.N. is The World Declaration on Human Rights, a document that the pope came to honor at the U.N. and which he suggested some member states are ignoring.

Hundreds of thousands are dead in Darfur, Sudan, accusations in Tibet of human rights violations, and wars raging from Somalia to Afghanistan. Perhaps alluding to Sudan and Darfur, the pope said, every U.N. state should protect its own people. But he strongly supported a U.N. principle, usually disregarded, of a wider responsibility by the world to act.

POPE BENEDICT XVI (through translator): If states are unable to guarantee such a protection, it is then up to the international community to intervene with the legal means that are provided for under the charter of the United Nations.

ROTH: The pope got an even warmer welcome later in the same hall from the U.N. staff. He thanked them for being willing to risk their lives in the field.

And the pope stopped to touch the tattered U.N. blue flag which flew over the U.N. compound in Baghdad when more than 20 U.N. staffers died when it was struck by a suicide bomber in 2003.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROTH: The pope and the entire Vatican enjoy and like what U.N.'s goals are, Betty, and he got a very warm reception. But there's a lot to be said though whether there will be follow-up by these nations on what the pope's message was.

NGUYEN: Exactly. Because he was asking many of these member states, you know, to take part in helping just abolish some of these human rights issues and all these other things that many countries are facing. How is that received?

ROTH: Well, it's easy for them to applaud. But they ignore what U.N.'s goals are, even what these member countries approved themselves. They don't want to fund operations in Darfur, Sudan, though they say they've got to stop the genocide. They just don't live up to their promises. It takes a lot more commitment and the countries are not willing to do it at this level.

NGUYEN: Maybe he has them, at least, thinking about coming together on that.

All right. Thank you, Richard. We do appreciate it. T.J., back to you in the studio.

HOLMES: All right. Thank you, Betty. We'll see you again here in just a moment.

Well, of course, the Catholic vote could be key in Tuesday's Pennsylvania primary. Nearly 4 million Catholics in that state, just about 1/3 of the population.

CNN Deputy Political Director Paul Steinhauser joins us from Philadelphia. Good morning to you, Paul.

And, is it really possible for these candidates to court, specifically, the Catholic vote since the Catholic voters are not necessarily a monolithic bloc?

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: It is not a monolithic bloc, and they don't vote that way and they don't vote on one issue, but they are, T.J., as you mentioned, very important to this state. About 1/3 of the Democratic voters in the primaries, as you said, are Catholics.

Hillary Clinton has done quite well so far this primary season with Catholic voters. Take a look at Ohio, just of the west of here in Pennsylvania, very similar demographics. She won 63 percent of the Catholic vote there.

But Barack Obama is definitely putting on a full-court press for Catholic voters here and he's got the backing of one of the top Catholics in the state, Senator Casey, who is also when it comes to abortion -- against abortion. So, Obama is making a full-court press. And we'll just have to see but they can be instrumental in how this primary ends up.

HOLMES: Well, Paul, is there any indication that she won't do as well as she has been doing with the Catholic voters, even though, like you said, Obama has the support of a pretty popular Catholic there in town?

STEINHAUSER: No indications right yet. If you take a look at the overall state and if you take a look at polls in the state, CNN does an average of the surveys in the state, we call it CNN Poll of Polls. Right now, she's up by five points, it's close though, 48 percent to 43 percent. Nine percent still undecided, T.J., with just three days to go.

But this state is so important for Hillary Clinton. She really needs a big win here to kind of dig into Obama's lead in the delegates and his lead in the popular vote. And you know what, T.J.? She needs to grab the momentum back and kind of show the superdelegates that this race is not over yet.

HOLMES: Has she grabbed any of that momentum after that debate because, the talk after the debate was about Obama's performance? And they also talked about the debate, he tried to use it to an advantage even though he might not performed it so well, it was because he was getting beat up so much.

And they also talk about the debate and tried to use it to an advantage is because he was getting beat up so much. Why was he being picked on? So, there's been a debate about the debate. Has that helped her at all?

STEINHAUSER: Exactly, a debate about the debate. We haven't seen any change in the polling since that debate. Remember, that was only just in the middle of the week on Wednesday night. But as you said, he was trying to say that the questions were not about the issues and was all of that the Washington insider stuff that Americans hate and he said Hillary Clinton was kind of in her natural element there and he was taking a jab at her.

Yesterday she fired back, saying, "You know what, if he can't answer those questions, how is he going to do in the White House? Because things are pretty tough in the White House."

So, both candidates are trying to talk about character here because character is an issue. And, I think, the Clinton campaign is trying to say that Obama is not enough to be president. And the Obama campaign is trying to say that Clinton is just another Washington insider. So, character is an issue people vote on.

HOLMES: As she said, if you can't stand the heat, get out of kitchen and she claims she is quite comfortable in the kitchen. Paul Steinhauser, we appreciate you this morning. We're going to be talking to you throughout the morning.

We're going to be talking about Senator McCain a little later and his tax returns that were released. It's kind of surprising him being one of the richest members of Congress to have a tax return that didn't make him sound like the richest. We'll explain.

But, Paul, we appreciate you. We'll see you again soon.

Folks, you be sure to tune in to CNN's "ELECTION CENTER" Tuesday night for the Pennsylvania primary election results. The best political team on television brings you results like nobody else can. It begins at 7:00 o'clock Eastern, followed by special edition of "LARRY KING LIVE" at midnight.

And join "Rick on the Road" tonight, CNN's Rick Sanchez on the road in Pennsylvania this weekend, taking the pulse of the voters there. You don't want to miss his live two-hour special from Philadelphia. Again, that takes off at 10:00 Eastern Time.

Well, hundreds of children taken from the polygamist ranch in West Texas. Should they be allowing to go home with their parents? The judge in the case has made a decision. We'll be talking about that in just a bit.

Also, we got a lot of politics, a lot of pope to talk about, but also a lot of weather. Our Reynolds Wolf. Good morning to you, sir.

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning to you, T.J.

We've got a big chance of snow in parts of the Northern Rockies and big sky country. I'm talking about anywhere from one to two feet of snowfall and we're only a few weeks away from May. It's hard to believe and I'll give you the full story coming up in a few minutes. Plus, we'll give you the weather in New York, what they can expect for the big visit.

All right. That's coming up on CNN SATURDAY, don't go anywhere.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Hello, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen at St. Patrick's Cathedral here in New York City.

The pope will be holding mass here a little bit later today with the clergy. There's going to be some 3,000 people attending that mass. But that doesn't even begin to tell you about all the people who have come out to see the pope today. Hundreds have begun lining up around 5:30 Eastern this morning so they could go through security checks and they can get in and just get a glimpse of the pope as he comes by to deliver mass today here at St. Patrick's Cathedral.

So, it is a historic day, T.J., a day that a lot of people have been waiting a long time to see. HOLMES: Yes. And it will be a beautiful day as well. Weather is expected to be outstanding today. And just a beautiful sight, that shot of the cathedral behind you, Betty. We'll look forward to taking it with you throughout the morning. We'll see you again here shortly.

We do have a few other stories to talk about this morning as well, folks.

A time to pause, a time to remember this morning: 13 years ago, a terror attack on U.S. soil. Murray Federal Building bombed in Oklahoma City, and 168 people were killed in that attack, hundreds more were wounded.

Oklahoma City residents marking the anniversary at 9:02 Central Time, with a moment of silence, that's the moment the bomb went off there in Oklahoma City. Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry and other officials will remember the attack at a ceremony at the Oklahoma City National Memorial.

We turn to Texas now, where hundreds of children taken from a polygamist compound in Eldorado will remain in state custody, at least for now. And the person who tipped police to the case, might not have been on the ranch at all.

CNN's Susan Roesgen is live for us in San Angelo. So, Susan, it sounds like none of these children are going to be going back home, back to that ranch for now.

SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Not one, T.J. The judge has ruled that all 416 children who were taken off that ranch about two weeks ago should stay in temporary state custody, protective custody. Now, some of the mothers, the ranch mothers were in the courthouse, some of them actually even testified, pleading for the return of their children and so, they left the courthouse last night very dejected.

But at the same time that this judge was giving her ruling that children will stay in temporary protective custody, Texas Rangers announced that they were investigating a woman in Colorado Springs, Colorado. And this woman is Rosita Swinton. She is 33-years-old. And Texas authorities say they found some things in her apartment, leading them to believe that she has some sort of connection to this ranch, the Eldorado Yearning for Zion Ranch here in Texas.

And yet they also believe that she may have been the person who called authorities a few weeks ago, claiming to have been a 16-year- old girl with a baby. Nevertheless, Child Protection Services agency, authorities here in Texas, say that the child abuse allegations are real.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARLEIGH MEISNER, TEXAS CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES: I do believe that "Sarah" exists and if you listen to the testimony, you will know there were many Sarahs. We received information regarding Sarahs who were young, Sarahs who were pregnant, Sarahs who were mothers. Those names change. Just because perhaps someone else phoned that in, it really doesn't change our investigation because we believe what we found was a systemic abuse of children.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROESGEN: And the judge in fact has ordered maternity and paternity tests, all of the parents on the ranch, all of the adults, men and women will have to take DNA tests, T.J., on Monday, to determine the true biological parents of those children.

Some of the lawyers, if you can believe it, even testified that they didn't know when they represented certain children, who were the parents of those children. Many of the last names are similar. Many of the first names are similar. These are people who have extended families, and the lawyers themselves didn't even know who the parents were.

So, the judge says she wants to get that straightened out right away. T.J.?

HOLMES: Well, Susan, can that lead to criminal charges? Do authorities really plan on backtracking and finding out who the parents are, and finding out if some of these children were conceived by women who were in their teens, who were young women, and then, that could possibly lead to some kind of abuse charges?

ROESGEN: Absolutely. Because they say, regardless of the true identity of this "Sarah," whether she really did exist or not or whether she was this woman in Colorado, they say that the Texas Rangers and the local sheriffs departments and the Child Protective Services investigators who went on to the ranch, all went on in good faith.

They believed there was some sort of child abuse allegation. They went on the ranch in good faith and then they found so many other cases that they believed were child abuse cases. So that they could go forward now and pursue those charges, regardless of whether there really was one person who made the first call who was actually living on the ranch. They say they've got plenty -- enough evidence now to go forward with criminal charges for lots of child abuse cases.

HOLMES: All right. Susan Roesgen for us in San Angelo. Susan, we appreciate you this morning.

Well, many times after an earthquake, we see some surveillance video of the shaking afterwards. It's not that often where we see an earthquake happening live on camera.

Look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're hearing some shaking here. It sounds like we have an earthquake here. So, I have to check that out here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Yes, let's check that out. That appears to be an earthquake. They're quake, rattling, and rolling, and they just kept on rolling. We'll have that story and show you more of that video here in just a second.

Also, the pope in politics, the issues driving the critical Catholic vote. That's ahead, on this CNN SATURDAY MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, we're in for another warm day in the tri-state, but it sounds like rain is on the way, Byron.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. We're hearing some shaking here. It sounds like we have an earthquake here. So, I have to check that out here. You know, well, I'm just guessing, or maybe we have some brief gusty winds -- is that an earthquake?

OK. So, we see a little shake here. It's not uncommon. We live along the New Madrid Fault ...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Yes. That's the weather guy there who's caught a bit by surprise. He kept his cool, as you could see there. He was right. They were having an earthquake. It was a 5.2 in magnitude. It shook the Midwest early yesterday morning. Wrecks fell from buildings, walls cracked, no reports of injuries.

However, officials say the epicenter was in southern Illinois near the small town of West Salem. The trembling could be felt for hundreds of miles actually and people as far south as Florida reported feeling the ground move.

Reynolds, as far south as Florida? That seems improbable.

WOLF: We felt it at home. We really did. Seriously, man.

HOLMES: Are you serious?

WOLF: I'm not kidding you. Right around, it was 4:30, 5:30 in the morning. Yes, it shook the house a little bit. I woke up and it sounded as though a plane was flying just a few feet over the roof of the house. I'm not joking. It's a little bit loud. No baby noises either. I don't know what it was, man, but I'm still thinking it was the earthquake.

Right now, we're not dealing with earthquakes out toward the west, we're dealing with some heavy snowfall. I mean, think of it, we're just a few weeks away from May and already, we've got some snow in the forecast for places in this Northern Rockies, the Central Rockies, and even into Seattle, just in the mountains, just to the east of Seattle, you could see anywhere five to 10 inches of snow. That's a big deal.

But take a look back into parts of Montana and into Idaho, anywhere from one to two feet. That's an even bigger deal. And that's what we're going to be seeing through much of the weekend.

Meanwhile, back we go. We're going to show you again all of the elements that are coming together to make this to happen. We've got this big trough that's developing here in the Pacific Northwest. It's going to allow a lot of cold air to surge into parts of the Rockies and back into the Cascades, too. And it's going to be cold air at the surface with the overrunning moisture that's going to bring the snowfall.

Now, it's not snow but rain we're seeing in parts of the southeast. In fact, in the I-10 corridor back into Atlanta, we're seeing the rain drops from Chicago northward to Milwaukee, as far as south as Indianapolis, and even to St. Louis south by the Gateway Arch. We're going to be seeing the rain drops.

But back into parts of say, New York, conditions are going to look pretty good today. Look at the skies, it's 73 degrees, mostly sunny skies, a nice, east breeze. A few more clouds in the fray (ph) by Sunday. Monday, you could see some rain drops and then, we dry out again for Tuesday and Wednesday. But for the papal visit, conditions should be pretty good.

Take a look at the shot we have right now in New York. Looking right at the Hudson River from south to north, a little bit of haze in the sky, but still, for the most part, a beautiful banner day. Temperature is mainly in the 40s and 50s.

Let's send it back to you in New York.

HOLMES: All right. Reynolds, we do appreciate the update. And he says he felt the earthquake. We'll take your word for it.

All right. It's time for me to hand it back over to my colleague, Betty Nguyen who is at St. Patrick's Cathedral, where the pope will be holding mass in just a couple of hours.

Hello, again, to you, Betty.

NGUYEN: Hello.

And just as Reynolds says, it is going to be a beautiful day here, a little chilly right now, but it's going to be nice and warm, very sunny. A lot of people are saying, maybe a little divine intervention for this weather. Who knows? But the pope is preparing for St. Patrick's today.

So, what should we expect to hear? Well, we're going to talk with Father Kevin Peek who is taking part in this morning's celebrated mass.

Plus, our Josh Levs on the pope and politics. Hey, Josh.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning up there, Betty. I hope you're having fun in New York. So, on major social issues like abortion, stem cell research and same-sex marriage, you might be surprised where American Catholics actually stand. We'll explain, coming up right here at CNN SATURDAY MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Good morning. And welcome back to a special edition of CNN SATURDAY MORNING. I'm T.J. Holmes live at CNN's New York studios.

NGUYEN: Hello, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen live at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City.

You know, next to me, I want to invite you -- to Father Kevin Pete. He joins us and he's celebrating mass, in fact, with the hope today at this same cathedral behind us, and Father Peek, this has got to be really one of the most exciting things that you probably have ever done.

REV. KEVIN PEEK, TRINITY HIGH SCHOOL: It is an amazing opportunity and experience. Also, the head of the 1 billion Catholics around the world is coming to our country and then, being able to join him in prayer. Yes, it is amazing.

NGUYEN: So, what exactly will you be doing during this mass?

PEEK: We'll be concelebrating with the pope. And concelebrating simply refers to the fact that we join him in the prayers. We will stand and unite in that offering of the prayers before God.

NGUYEN: And as you prepare to come here today, what were your thoughts on this? It's really a historic occasion.

PEEK: It is. It's a unique and awesome opportunity, as I said, to join with him in our own country, and to hear his words and his challenge to America and to the world, to continue seeking truth, to continue seeking the freedom of truth. Many people think it's binding or enslaving, but I think, his words to us are reminding us that it's only in the truth that we find the freedom to operate.

NGUYEN: And he is challenging the church. He's challenging the people of the church. And one of those challenges is being getting more people into the priesthood. We've seen a shortage as of late but not within your family. You're one of 11 children. And your sister is a nun. Your brothers are priests. And, in fact, you're going to be becoming an Army chaplain this summer?

PEEK: Army chaplain, yes, ma'am.

NGUYEN: How did your whole family get involved? I mean, is it a testament to what?

PEEK: I think it's a testament to our parents, most definitely. My mom is a woman of prayer and my dad a man of faith. He always would challenge us to learn and to know and quite in conjunction with what Pope Benedict is saying, and to quote the scriptures, "To have a reason for the faith that is within you." And to understand and know why you believe what you believe and not let it just be something, superstition or empty traditions or whatnot. And so we have that example growing up from our parents and the challenge to -- to then share that with others.

NGUYEN: Do you think the pope's visit is going to inspire more young people to really go into a life that's really dedicated to God?

PEEK: I would believe so. John Paul II was very magnetic in that way in his own right. There's a whole generation of priests that they call the John Paul II priests and I'm kind of one of those. I started really getting excited about the priesthood in Denver in '93 when he came and visited for World Youth Day. Pope Benedict is a little different.

NGUYEN: A different style.

PEEK: Right. He's not the "rock star" that John Paul II was, but in essence, it's a great follow-up to John Paul II because, while John Paul II was getting us all excited and invigorated about our faith and the potential and the power of our faith in the world today, Pope Benedict is now backing it with the foundations of logic and philosophy and now -- and understanding and just showing that it is reasonable, it's a rational belief and it's necessary to root it in that in order for our world to move ahead.

NGUYEN: And as we speak of the challenges within the church, the pope has mentioned on several occasions during this trip here in the States about the sex abuse scandal, and reaching out to people. He even met with victims in Washington. For you, father, what did that mean to you?

NGUYEN: It was a powerful moment. You know, I didn't know he was going to be doing that. And, in fact, I was just moving through the airport the other day, tying my shoe, looking up to the cameras of CNN, the TVs, and they showed him, you know, meeting -- coming out from the meeting, I guess, and then the interview with one of the abuse victims.

I think the most powerful thing about that was it wasn't about Pope Benedict. It was about those individuals who had been hurt by the priests and in essence by the church. And that made it just so much more beautiful, because that really is what we need to be about.

It's about helping these individuals heal, doing what we can to be at their aid and service. And that, indeed, and the entire world (ph), and addressing it as Pope Benedict has been urging, the truth, addressing it in the truth, and saying, "It is what it is, and let's deal with it."

NGUYEN: Well, we do appreciate your time today. You've got a lot to do and an exciting day for you. Thanks for spending a little bit of it with us.

PEEK: Well, thank you.

NGUYEN: And that, being Father Kevin Peek. And if you'd like to know more about Pope Benedict's life, or see pictures or videos from his trip here on America, here's what you do. You can check out CNN.com. And also send and share your i-Reports of the pope while he's here. All of that at CNN.com/pope.

And, T.J., as you can see from Father Peek, and I don't know if you can get a shot of some of the people standing in front of St. Patrick's Cathedral, but people have come out in droves to see the pope today. It is an exciting time and they are really excited to see what his message is going to be today, T.J.

HOLMES: Yes, thousands are expected there. And also, it's going to be a treat for folks a little later. He's actually going to have a bit of a procession, a little papal parade, if you will. A little later, people are going to get a chance to see him in that pope mobile along Fifth Avenue, coming our way a little bit this afternoon. So, what a treat, what a day here for folks in New York City.

Also, a big question -- one of the big questions about the pope's visit to this country, is: What, if any, impact he might have on the presidential election?

Our Josh Levs has been looking into the Catholic vote. All three major presidential candidates here would love to have the Catholic vote. But, how do you do it really? You've got these Catholic voters. Some of them, as you know, called "Cafeteria Catholics" who don't exactly follow strict doctrine, they pick and choose sometimes which ones they want to go with. So, how is a candidate -- what's a candidate to do?

LEVS: Well, that's what's so tricky about this. You're right. I mean, some of people have a very broad perception of where American Catholics as a group might stand. But the truth is, when it comes to certain issues, especially, key social issues, American Catholics really don't stand where you might think.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LEVS (voice-over): It's a historic visit against a political backdrop. The nation's 70 million Catholics are heavily desired voters. They've sided with the winner in eight of the last nine presidential races, actually all nine, if you go by the popular vote. In 2000, a slim majority went with Al Gore. In 2004, Catholics chose President Bush over John Kerry, with some citing their opposition to gay marriage.

All three major candidates are reaching out to Catholic voters. Exit polls show that among Democrats, Clinton has had an edge, but Obama is trying to catch up.

SEN. BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The first school I went to in Indonesia was a Catholic school.

LEVS: He's touting the support of Senator Bob Casey, who is popular among Catholics opposed to abortion rights. But on that and other social issues, Catholics are split.

A Pew Forum survey found 51 percent of American Catholics believe abortion should be legal in all or most cases, 52 percent of Americans in general share that view. Fifty-five percent of Catholics said they support stem cell research compared to 51 percent of all those polled. Forty-two percent of Catholics said, they support same-sex marriage compared to 36 percent of all those polled.

The survey found those who go to church more lean more conservative. But Catholics, like most Americans, say social issues are not top concerns in this election. Only 31 percent said social issues are important. Seventy-six percent said, the Iraq war is, and 82 percent said, domestic issues are.

So, in the election, winning over Catholics may not be much different from winning over anyone else.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEVS: And there was a change going on in the Catholic community that has some real political ramifications and that's the growing number of Latino Catholics. These Latino Catholics, they vote overwhelmingly Democratic and that gives the Democratic nominee some real hope for November.

But on some issues, Latino Catholics generally lean a bit more conservative, T.J., which in the end could ultimately help the Republican candidate makes some inroads in that community.

HOLMES: But, even if the Catholic voters aren't this monolith as we speak of, is it, at least, important to them that next president is religious?

LEVS: Actually, yes. That's important to Americans in general and it is important to Catholics. We were just looking at a Pew Forum survey, it also asked this question: In general for Americans and Catholics, is it important to have a president who has very strong religious beliefs? And the numbers were the same. Nationwide: 70 percent of Americans said, yes, it's important. Same among Catholics: 70 percent of Catholics in the United States say it is, indeed, important to have a president who has these strong religious beliefs.

So, in general, Catholics do share that. It's just on these issues where they're split.

HOLMES: All right. Our Josh Levs, Mr. Reality for us this morning, looking at the Catholic vote. Josh, we appreciate you.

And: As we near Tuesday's Pennsylvania primary, hear directly from the candidates themselves, raw and unfiltered, at 2:00 Eastern today on CNN's "BALLOT BOWL." Yes, it's back.

Also back, our Betty Nguyen at St. Patrick's this morning.

NGUYEN: Hey there, T.J.

You know, I was fortunate enough to get a really remarkable glimpse inside the crypt of the old St. Patrick's Cathedral. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MSGR. DONALD SAKANO, ST. PATRICK'S OLD CATHEDRAL: Watch your step here. These are ...

NGUYEN: You can feel it getting colder down here.

SAKANO: Yes, definitely.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: All right. So, what's really down there? One priest showed me, and I'm going to show you, right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Pope Benedict XVI turned 81 this week. Yesterday, in New York, the crowd broke out in song and on Wednesday, which is the pope's actual birthday, more than 13,000 people in Washington serenaded the pope with happy birthday.

Well, Pope Benedict's historic visit has special significance in New York's little Italy. It's home to the city's original St. Patrick's Cathedral. And I got a chance to visit the church and talk with this monsignor about the pope's visit and what it means to him and to the faithful.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN (voice-over): History resonates throughout the walls of this sanctuary. Built in the early 1800s, it's New York City's first Catholic cathedral.

(on camera): What is it like to you to be stepping into the halls of history?

SAKANO: Well, it's awesome. You know, to put my shoes into the pastors and the bishops that were here before me.

NGUYEN (voice-over): Monsignor Donald Sakano is pastor of what's called "Old St. Patrick's Cathedral."

(on camera): So, why did it move from here, this being the original. The cornerstone set in what, 1809, to the one on Fifth Avenue. Did the population ...

SAKANO: Growth. I mean, the city just grew leaps and pounds, especially with the civil war, after the civil war. Immigrants poured into the country, with New York being its point of entry, as you know.

NGUYEN (voice-over): While on his U.S. tour, Pope Benedict XVI will perform mass at the city's newer and better known St. Patrick's Cathedral in the heart of Manhattan. And Monsignor Sakano will be there hoping to hear words of inspiration.

SAKANO: I think we really need strong voices in this culture of ours that is very confused, a lot of disappointment. You know, and we want someone to inspire them, you know, to give them a reason to make the sacrifices that they have to and to carry the burdens that they do.

NGUYEN: Part of the church's burden is the lingering legacy of the scandal involving priests sexually abusing children over a long span of time.

SAKANO: We don't like to tell the pope what he should be doing, but it seems to me it's on everybody's mind. It was a terrible period in the church's history. And they need -- they need clarification, they need leadership on this.

NGUYEN: And when you walk through the streets of little Italy, not all of the Catholic faithful is satisfied with the pope's apology.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think the Catholic Church should have apologized a long time ago. It hurt my husband and I deeply that if they address this sooner. I feel that they just shoved it under the rugs a little bit.

NGUYEN: But others are focused on the historic nature of this trip.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, he's the closest thing to God, so, that's what I believe in. So, I think it's wonderful that he's here.

SAKANO: Watch your step here. These are ...

NGUYEN (on camera): You can feel it getting colder down here.

SAKANO: Yes, definitely.

NGUYEN (voice-over): While this tour through old St. Patrick's crypt, isn't on the pope's agenda, those buried here helped plant the seeds of Catholicism in America.

(on camera): Do you get nervous at all coming down here?

SAKANO: Not a bit.

NGUYEN: Do you talk to them?

SAKANO: In prayer. Sure, I mean, we're standing right before the tomb of the first bishop that actually came here, which was John Connolly.

NGUYEN (voice-over): And even today, these founding fathers give inspiration to the next generation of Catholics.

Do you get encouragement when you walk down here?

SAKANO: I always do, yes. We all have our bad days or, you know, a feeling overwhelmed and isolated, and I like the idea that I celebrate mass, you know, the celebration of the Eucharist, and bring the community together over these graves. Because we're right on top of them, and knowing that these are our foundation of the work we have to do, is very encouraging to me.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: And, T.J., you know, it's remarkable being able to go down into that crypt because it felt sacred, not somber, but sacred, like the monsignor said, you really draw inspiration from going down there because those are the people who helped build Catholicism in New York City. Those are the ones who have come before him and those are the ones that give him the inspiration to continue that legacy.

HOLMES: And, Betty, also, like you told me, and not that anyone would be in a hurry to get there, but there is space available, if you will, in the crypt still.

NGUYEN: There is. You know, the monsignor even said, "Hey, if I wanted to, I could be buried down there." I'm not sure about that just yet. But there is definitely room. But I did asked him as anyone would, "Well, have you heard any voices, footsteps, shadows?" Nothing like that, it's definitely a very sacred place and a place that he welcomes and a place that he loves to go down and spend a little time.

HOLMES: Absolutely, and nice to be able to get a look at that. Betty, we appreciate you. We will see you again, of course, a lot more this morning, and, of course, to just a little bit at St. Patrick's Cathedral

And our coverage continues of the Pope Benedict's first visit to New York throughout the morning. We do have other news certainly going on that we will be talking to you about.

Also, we've got some weather going on. Always extreme it seems lately -- Reynolds.

WOLF: It sure does, T.J. Right now, we're looking at the possibility of several feet of snowfall into the Northern Rockies. We could see at the same time some scattered showers across the Midwest and plenty of sunshine in the Northeast. I'll tell you how long all of that is going to last coming up in a few moments right here on CNN SATURDAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: We do have a quick look now at some other stories that are making headlines today.

Delayed results from Zimbabwe's March 29th election has raised fears that President Robert Mugabe is trying to cling to power. This morning, election officials began recounting ballots in 23 of Zimbabwe's 210 voting districts. The country's highest court clears the way for a partial recount yesterday.

The Olympic torch made its way through Bangkok, Thailand, this morning, the last leg of the latest leg on its journey to the Beijing Summer Games. Thai officials provided heavy security during the six- mile relay through the capital. The run was peaceful, despite scattered protests along the route. President Bush is hosting the South Korean president today, the new president, Lee Myung-bak there at Camp David today. The South Korean leader arrived at the presidential retreat yesterday to begin two days of meetings. Their talks are expected to center on trade and on negotiations aimed at getting North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons program.

We got some snow in the Northern Rockies. Our meteorologist, Reynolds Wolf, sometimes we call it the "weather center," sometimes the "hurricane center," but today, it's appropriately named the "severe weather center" that he's standing in.

WOLF: Hey, it works for me, certainly fitting on a day like today. You know, think of people there in Sun Valley, Idaho, that don't want the ski season end. Today, this dream comes true for them because we're expecting some massive snowfall, anywhere one to two feet of snow possible in parts of the Northern Rockies.

However, back toward Seattle, looks like the downtown Seattle, across much of -- well, I would say from Sea-Tac Airport even as far south to Valencia (ph), you can see just some rainfall. But in high elevations, at the Cascades, that is where you're going to see the snow, about anywhere from five to 10 inches of snowfall expected in that area.

Meanwhile, the reason why all this is happening is because of a big drop of the jet stream, we're seeing a big trough developed, this area of low pressure is going to really pull its way farther to the south. In fact, very close to Portland, which will allow a lot of cool air to come into the parts of the Pacific Northwest, that where the overwhelming moisture is going to be, the big kicker. That's going to give you a chance of snowfall through the weekend.

Meanwhile, in the southeast, we're not talking about snow. Of course not, we're talking about some rainfall in parts of South and Central Georgia into portions of Florida, and not far from Tallahassee, we're seeing the rain drops. Nothing through at this point, and some rain also from Green Bay southward to Milwaukee, into Chicago, Peoria, and even into, I would say, Indianapolis this morning, you're going to see the rain kind of on and off. A little break for the time being, but into the early afternoon, another round is possible.

Now for New York, it's going to be a lovely day for you. High temperature is going to 73 degrees. Plenty of sunshine, then back into the 60s on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, and we've got a big event also for places like, say, Yankee Stadium tomorrow. We're going to see cloudy skies there. There was a chance of rain. Right now, we think it's mostly going to be cloudy.

We have a live image for you at this time of New York. And there it is. There she is. There's the Statue of Liberty. It looks beautiful out there in the harbor. What a great day for New York, and the timing is impeccable.

OK. T.J., let's send it back over to you. HOLMES: It is impeccable. Reynolds, we appreciate you. We'll hand it back out to Betty, who can certainly give us the weather report this morning. Expected to be up to the mid-70s and sunny.

NGUYEN: A little chilly.

HOLMES: A little chilly this morning but we have a few good days expected. Good day today as well.

NGUYEN: Absolutely. And it couldn't have been better timing because we have hundreds of people lining up, just to catch a glimpse of the pope. That is aside from all of the clergy that will be going into St. Patrick's Cathedral for the mass at 9:00 a.m. Eastern.

But in the meantime, we want to introduce to you to the pope's biggest fan. Coming up, meet a seven-year-old who cannot wait to see the Holy Father.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Kyle Hansen is just seven-years-old, but you will not find a bigger fan of Pope Benedict. When Kyle and his family attend mass tomorrow at Yankee Stadium, he maybe looking for some career pointers.

Toni Yates of WABC explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARLENE HANSEN, MOTHER: We are a very religious family, but their love of God is just incredible and I think they should follow that always and they will.

TONI YATES, WABC CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Seven-year-old Kyle wants to do more just than follow. He wants to one day lead the Catholic Church as the pope.

KYLE HANSEN, SEVEN YEAR OLD: Being the pope is (INAUDIBLE) is the most important (ph).

YATES: The closest he's come to playing the part is playing the part for Halloween. David was a cardinal. Children have been to Rome. They stood at mass before John Paul II. He's the first pope they were old enough to admire. Kyle was about three at that time.

A. HANSEN: When Kyle had seen him, it was like he saw Santa Claus. It was just so wonderful. And all the kids, they just lit up like Christmas trees.

K. HANSEN: This was a picture when I went there.

YATES: Kyle has been collecting pope memorabilia since forever in his young life. He has books, and medals, a pope doll, dozens of figurines of saints. A loved one sketched John Paul for him then, someone else saw this bear marking the day Benedict became pope. Kyle's admiration for John Paul II is now bestowed on Benedict XVI. His essay won him a ticket and then he got his miracle.

K. HANSEN: They called my mom and said (INAUDIBLE) but then, they know that I've got a brother and sister. So, then, they said, your whole family could go. So that's a wonderful thing.

YATES: They'll be at mass with the new pope, but old allegiances aren't loss.

DAVID HANSEN, KYLE'S BROTHER: We get to see the pope. I wish John Paul II was really here.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Well, you don't see many kids dressed up as the leader of the Catholic Church for Halloween. So, there is something and maybe I'll see Kyle out there tomorrow at Yankee Stadium for that mass. Kyle, of course, wants to be pope. In (ph) about 50 or 60 years, we'll check in on him again, see how he's doing on that.

NGUYEN: Take a look. It's a historic visit here in New York City. Pope Benedict XVI is preparing to celebrate mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral. And we're here working the story and bringing it to you in depth. Our coverage of the pope's first visit to America. Good morning everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen live outside St. Patrick's Cathedral.

HOLMES: And good morning to you Betty. Good morning everyone. I'm T.J. Holmes, live at CNN's New York bureau, not too far away from where Betty is at St. Patrick's for this special edition of CNN SATURDAY MORNING. So happy you all could be with us and we will start back out there with Betty where things have started to pick up. We can see and hear.

NGUYEN: And hear the bells behind me, yes, mass starts at 9:00 a.m. Eastern time and we're about an hour away from the start of that here at St. Patrick's Cathedral. The pope will celebrate mass with 3,000 priests, deacons and other Catholics from around the country. A little bit later today at 4:30 Eastern he delivers a blessing to young people with disabilities at St. Joseph's Seminary in Yonkers. And that will be followed by a rally with seminarians and young Catholics.

As you know, so many are excited about today and speaking of the pope, he is going to be talking to the faithful, but in his speech at the United Nations General Assembly yesterday, Pope Benedict XVI addressed the world about the importance of protecting human rights.

And our senior U.N. correspondent Richard Roth is here with me. Let's talk more about that message yesterday. A lot of people were really looking forward to what the pope wanted to say to the world as he came to the U.N.

ROTH: He said there's a global crisis in international cooperation. And let me tell you, there's still a lot of wars going on in the world and they continue, even after the last visit by the pope. He, in effect, blamed the major powers in the U.S. over Iraq, maybe China, the treatment of monks and everyone in Tibet.

He thinks the big powers are running rough shod over the small powers. He also called for greater religious freedom around the world and political freedoms, so a lot of countries could have felt the wrath of the pope, but in gentle, soft tones from this 81-year-old man.

NGUYEN: So is he also asking for the larger member countries to do something about the problems in the smaller, say third world countries?

ROTH: The Vatican is a big supporter of the U.N.'s goals and he is worried about globalization, big power domination and support of the small countries, especially in Africa regarding malnutrition, poverty and the other issues.

NGUYEN: How is he received because a lot of people saw those messages and some as you mentioned thought portions of it were directed at the U.S. How was he received there at the U.N.?

ROTH: They're very happy that he is backing the U.N.'s goals. They gave him a nice round of applause, U.N. staff gave him a standing ovation later, but the words are just words. They are probably not going to follow-up as much. They just are bitterly divided, big against small, Africa versus other parts of the world. They can't seem to come together. They're just split and look for looming crisis on Iran and other matters like that.

NGUYEN: So you didn't see any type of reconciliation or coming together even after the pope came to speak?

ROTH: No. I don't want to be a downer, Betty. It is Saturday morning, we heard bells here. I hear bells at this hour on Saturday morning, but I'm just waking up, but no, I don't think it's going to carry on.

NGUYEN: All right. Well, today though, his message will be resonating with Catholics that have come out, hundreds of them. We were here at what 5:30 this morning and people were already standing in line to go through the security. It's been quite a day so far and it is just the beginning. The mass hasn't even started yet, Richard.

OK. Well, another first we want to tell you about Pope Benedict here in New York. He became the first pope to visit an American synagogue and he stopped by the Park East synagogue in Manhattan last night just before the Jewish Sabbath and on the eve of the Passover.

Now ahead of the pope's visit, CNN's Mary Snow talked with the rabbi about what this visit meant to him.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RABBI ARTHUR SCHNEIER, PARK EAST SYNOGOGUE: It's the first. It's the first in the history of American soil.

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For Rabbi Arthur Schneier, inviting Pope Benedict to the Park East synagogue is more than making American history. It carries a big personal meaning rooted in the Holocaust.

Rabbi Schneier escaped the Nazis. The pope as a teen in Germany was forced to join the Hitler Youth. Both as young men devoted themselves to religious life. For Rabbi Schneier, that devotion stemmed from a promise he made to his grandfather, a rabbi who was captured by the Nazis, never to return.

SCHNEIER: He was always worried. Who was going to succeed him in his work, so I made him a promise, which I've kept to be ordained and devote my life to (INAUDIBLE) service.

SNOW: Rabbi Schneier fled the Nazis with his mother and came to the U.S. in 1947. He's been the senior rabbi at Park East synagogue for more than 40 years. He's devoted his life to fighting for religious freedom and was awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal in 2001 and he's met with leaders of all different religions, including Pope Benedict and the late John Paul II, calling it a message of good will.

SCHNEIER: The relationship between the Jews and Catholics historically has been not an ideal one.

SNOW: Pope Benedict has made strides reaching out to Jewish leaders and as theological adviser to John Paul, he's credited with playing a key role in Pope John Paul's apology to Jews for the role Catholics played in the Holocaust.

But Benedict has also angered Jews by reviving the controversial Latin prayer on Good Friday calling for the conversion of Jews. I asked Rabbi Schneier about how he felt about that.

SCHNEIER: Would I wish that this prayer would not exist? Of course.

SNOW: But the rabbi says he does not want to be paralyzed by the past and feels it is his calling to do what he can to heal.

SCHNEIER: The pope's visit here basically says to me, you know, you embarked on the right road and go forward. Don't stop. Continue.

SNOW: Mary Snow, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: In his public appearances, the pope has addressed the private pain suffered by many of those victims and we are going to be hearing more today. We are expected to hear the pope address it yet again here at St. Patrick's Cathedral. He's been outspoken about it and we understand that in his homily, perhaps he'll mention it again. So we're going to talk with our experts a little bit later and get the latest on that, T.J..

But we did want to let you know that he held a closed-door meeting with sex abuse victims in Washington. Some of them talked with CNN's John Roberts on "AMERICAN MORNING" about that meeting.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNSTON: I had so much I wanted to say, and then I got up to them and I just burst into tears. But I think my tears spoke louder than words. And in a way, I think in that moment, I almost felt like that 14, 15-year-old face that the victim faced and then the pope just started talking to me just so kindly, so lovingly, congratulated me about my upcoming wedding.

HORNE: I talked to him about my hate for the church. I talked to my hate toward the administrations and the bishops and all that needed to be done. I asked him to forgive me for having such hate.

ROBERTS: And how did he respond?

HORNE: He was amazed. He just couldn't believe it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: A study says more than 4,000 priests were accused of abuse between 1950 and 2002. T.J., as I mentioned, we are expected to hear more comments on that issue from the pope today. As soon as we get the latest on that we'll bring it to you.

HOLMES: He certainly has chosen to make that issue, that sex abuse issue a central theme of his trip. We look forward to hearing more from him Betty. We look forward to hearing more from you from out there at St. Patrick's. We'll see you here shortly.

Pope Benedict is not registered to vote in Pennsylvania. If he was, I'm sure that Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama would be going after his endorsement.

So instead, they are going after the critical Catholic vote there. They are being targeted really, those Catholic voters, by the Democratic candidates heading into Tuesday's big Pennsylvania primary.

CNN deputy political director Paul Steinhauser joins us now from Philadelphia. Paul, are there enough Catholics there is to really tip the balance of that ballot box on Tuesday?

STEINHAUSER: There sure are. About one-third of the Democratic voters in this state are Catholic voters. And both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama would love to have them in their camp. Catholic voters don't vote on one particular issue. They are just like most of us and they vote on all sorts of issues.

One thing though is certain, in the primaries so far this year, Hillary Clinton has done quite well with the Catholic vote, winning about 60 percent of the Catholic vote according to exit polls -- T.J.

HOLMES: We talked about this the last hour. Barack Obama's performance in the debate and so many, I guess the blogosphere really just blowing up about how that debate there in Pennsylvania was handled. This most receipt one where a lot of questions were directed at Obama and his dealings with some of the people in his life and he complained about that later. Hillary Clinton got on to him about complaining about it.

So how is it being taken? I know we don't have polling since that debate, but how are people there on the street, the newspapers, how is it being covered there, that debate in Pennsylvania?

STEINHAUSER: That story got a lot of play both here in Pennsylvania and across the country. A lot of criticism from Barack Obama and from the blogs, especially on the left about the questions. Even Barack Obama himself said, hey, it took 45 minutes in that debate to get to the critical issues and he was critical of Hillary Clinton saying she was kind of in that element just part of the Washington insiders that like to talk about decisive issues.

And she fired back yesterday, saying that maybe he doesn't have the character, maybe he's not tough enough to be president. So both campaigns trying to capitalize on this debate, this debate over the debate, as you would say T.J.

HOLMES: What do they do now? What they do between now and Tuesday?

STEINHAUSER: Campaign, meet as many voters as you can. Run as many commercials as you can. Both candidates are starting here today in the Philadelphia area in the east. Hillary Clinton's going to cross the state. She'll end up tonight in the west and Obama starts here this morning and he's going to end up in the Harrisburg area. They are going to try to reach as many voters as they can the next three days. That's all that's left.

This race is close, T.J.. Our poll of polls in Pennsylvania has Hillary Clinton up by five, which is not a lot and there are nine percent are still undecided. This is a big state. Hillary Clinton needs a big win here.

HOLMES: All right, Paul Steinhauser and again folks, we're going to be talking to Paul Steinhauser throughout the morning, hope to have him back and again, we are going to hit on that issue of Senator McCain and his tax returns. So Paul, we appreciate you and we will talk to you again, soon.

As you mentioned, while Clinton still leads in those polls, Senator Obama appears to be gaining some momentum. Be sure to tune into CNN election center Tuesday night. And after that, a special "Larry King Live" on the vote, the best political team on television will be bringing you the results as they happen.

Also, join "Rick on the Road" tonight, CNN's Rick Sanchez live in Philadelphia for a two-hour special on the Pennsylvania primary. We'll be talking with the state's top political movers and shakers and regular people in coffee shops about this make or break contest. That's "Rick on the Road" tonight from 10:00 until midnight. That is Eastern time.

So, who gets the kids? A Texas court rules on custody of all the children taken from a polygamist sect in Texas. We'll go there live.

Also ahead, not playing games. Artificial turf could possibly make you sick. Those details ahead on CNN SATURDAY MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Hello, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen live at St. Patrick's Cathedral here in New York City.

We are gearing up for this historic visit. The pope has been in town for at least a day here in New York City, but today he has a lot on his agenda. In fact, he will be holding mass here at St. Patrick's Cathedral. Take a look inside as we provide you -- actually this is on the streets of New York as you are seeing many of the faithful come out, the clergy as well.

But inside the cathedral there will be 3,000 invited members who will be attending this mass. It is a historic mass, the first time a pope has ever held mass inside St. Patrick's Cathedral. As you can see, not only have the cardinals come out, but you have Catholics from all around the world who have descended on New York City this weekend to catch a glimpse of the pope and he will be coming down that street that you see right there and walking into the front doors of St. Patrick's Cathedral where he will be holding mass in about an hour from now.

It is an exciting time, T.J. and you can feel it. You can even feel it at 5:30 this morning when we were lining up for the security checks. It is very tight here, obviously, but at the same time, people have come out to catch a glimpse of this historic day.

HOLMES: And people will be able to get a better glimpse, as you say, that mass today is for 3,000 clergy, but a little later this afternoon the pope is actually going to take a ride in his pope mobile down Fifth Avenue and people will be able to line the streets and catch a glimpse of him, of course, another mass tomorrow, a huge one at Yankee stadium but we'll keep an eye on these live pictures.

Our Betty Nguyen right outside from where this live picture is taking place at St. Patrick's Cathedral. So she will keep us updated throughout the morning.

We do have some other stories we are following this morning we do want to tell you about, including the Olympic torch. It made its way through Bangkok, Thailand this morning. It's the latest leg on its journey to the Beijing summer game. Thai officials provided heavy security during the six-mile relay through the capital. The run was peaceful despite scattered protests along that route.

In Damascus, former President Jimmy Carter met with Syria's President Bashar Assad yesterday and privately met again today with a top Hamas politician and exiled leader. Carter's talk with Hamas officials this week have drawn criticism from the Bush administration as well as Israeli officials. They all consider Hamas a terrorist organization. And is artificial turf hazardous? The Consumer Product Safety Commission is looking into possible health hazards of lead in artificial turf. Two fields in New Jersey were closed this week after health officials detected unexpectedly high levels of lead in that turf. Industry officials say however the product is safe.

Hundreds of children taken from a polygamist compound in Eldorado, Texas will remain in state custody for now. The person who tipped police to the case might not have been at the ranch at all.

CNN's Susan Roesgen live in San Angelo where this strange saga is playing out and you have got a lot of attorneys. You've got a lot of children and now, apparently, you are going to have a lot of foster parents that need to take care of these children.

ROESGEN: That's absolutely true, T.J.. Finding foster parents for all of these children, more than 400 children, 416 children in all removed from the ranch a few weeks ago, this yearning for Zion ranch. And yesterday at the custody hearing, bout a half a dozen of the ranch mothers testified pleading for their children to be allowed to go home and the judge ruled against them. She said, no, all the children must remain at least temporarily in state protective custody.

In the meantime, Texas rangers are investigating a woman in Colorado, 33-year old Rosita Swinton (ph) who may say was the person that believe might have called the police a few weeks ago tipping them off to the ranch claiming to be a 16-year-old mother. Nevertheless, authorities believe that the child abuse allegations are real.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MEISNER: We do believe that Sara exists and if you listen to the testimony, you will know that there were many Saras. We received information regarding Saras who were young, Saras who were pregnant, Saras who were mothers. Those names changed. Just because perhaps someone else from that end, it really doesn't change our investigation because we believe what we found was a systemic abuse of children.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: Now again T.J., that was just the results of the custody hearing. A real criminal trial could be next.

HOLMES: All right. We will wait to see what is next in this case that is taking several strange twists and turns. Susan Roesgen for us in San Angelo, we appreciate the update this morning.

And again ladies and gentlemen, we are here in New York with a special edition of CNN SATURDAY MORNING. My colleague, Betty Nguyen outside of that scene right there at St. Patrick's Cathedral. Hello. Tell us what you are seeing out there, Betty.

NGUYEN: Hello, T.J.

As we are looking inside St. Patrick's Cathedral and you are watching right now live pictures of the bishops who've been filing into the cathedral. They are all coming out because Pope Benedict will be holding mass less than an hour from now.

It is a historic occasion. Not only have the bishops come out, the cardinals, the priests, members of the clergy. This is an exciting time. Some 3,000 people will be inside St. Patrick's Cathedral for this mass and you will hear it live right here on CNN.

We are also going to be talking with CNN Vatican expert John Allen who is going to walk us through the importance of this historic day.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: You can hear the music already playing because in less than an hour, Pope Benedict the XVI will lead the mass here at this famed cathedral. About 3000 clergy members are expected to attend. Many of them have already filed in.

I want to bring in our senior Vatican correspondent John Allen. Because John, you have covered this pope since the very beginning. First of all, talk to me about this significance of holding this mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral.

JOHN ALLEN, CNN SR. VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Well Betty, one of the striking things is that although John Paul was in the New York area several times, he actually never celebrated mass inside St. Patrick's. This'll be the first time the pope has celebrated the mass inside the cathedral and part of the logic of that is this pope very much wants the focus to be on God rather than on him.

His thinking is that by celebrating inside the cathedral with the traditional liturgical space (ph), it takes some of the cult of personality off of him, puts the focus back where he thinks it belongs.

NGUYEN: And that's really his style, isn't it?

ALLEN: It is his style. This is someone who is not in any sense a stuffed shirt. He is, in many ways, a very shy man, a very humble man. Also he is a man who is very much devoted to the classical celebration of Catholic worship. By doing it inside the cathedral, it will sort of put the liturgy back in its proper context.

NGUYEN: And we're also not only watching this historic event unfold, but this is a special day for the pope itself.

ALLEN: It sure is. This is the third anniversary of his election to the papacy, that famous moment on April 19th three years ago when the white smoke, which is actually kind of ...

NGUYEN: It was a little confusing. It started out gray.

ALLEN: Yes. We had about a 20-minute period there where we weren't sure what happened. But in the end, he was elected to the papacy three years ago today.

NGUYEN: And when it comes to his message today, what do you expect him to say?

ALLEN: Betty, you have to remember this is a mass where priests and religious, that his brothers and sisters and deacons who are sort of the pope's infantry. These are the people who are going to have to take the message the pope gives them and then take it back to the field and put it into practice.

So I think his message is going to be one of encouragement in the first place of these folks, trying to offer them spiritual reflections, but also, I think, we will once again hear the pope very candidly acknowledge that it's been a tough time for the Catholic priesthood in the United States above all due to the recent sexual abuse scandals.

I think he's going to want to encourage these people, because let's bear in mind, those 4,000 people who have been accused between 1950 and 2002, well, that is very real. That is also just four percent of Catholic priests in the United States which means 96 percent of these priests are basically good guys trying to do God's work.

NGUYEN: So we will definitely hear that again today.

ALLEN: We will definitely hear that again. This will of course be the fifth time the pope has engaged the sexual abuse crisis since arriving in the United States. That's clearly an important cornerstone of his message.

NGUYEN: Without a doubt. John Allen, you are not going very far. We're going to have you throughout the morning.

But as you can hear, things are about to get underway. The pope will be celebrating mass in just a matter of minutes.

We're going to take you now to CNN's Josh Levs who has i-Reports about this historic visit -- Josh.

LEVS: Everyone there for the historic trip has a story to tell. We have your chance to weigh in, even record a video message for the pope coming right up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: What is Cardinal Egan's (ph) first name?

HOLMES: Hey, there, our Betty Nguyen, going through some things there. Hey there Betty. She's out there ...

NGUYEN: The papal visit is generating lots of i-Reports which you can see for yourself on ireport.com.

HOLMES: And our Josh Levs at the dot com desk, checking out some new I-reports for us this morning. Good morning to you, Mr. Reality.

LEVS: Good morning to you guys.

Let's have me take over the screen. Everything is perfect now. I got about a minute here and I want to show you that we are getting a lot of these i-Reports.

Let's go at this first one here that we got this from the event last night. This was a historic event when the pope went and met with a rabbi, Rabbi Schneier, Arthur Schneier in New York there. We received these photos from i-Reporter Paul Joseph who attended the event, pulled out his camera, really easy to send us pictures from events and beautiful photography there.

Now if you haven't got to see a great shot of the pope mobile, I want to take you to this shot right now that we got from Benton Brown who was in Washington. He said this was along Pennsylvania Avenue between 18th and 19th Streets. There you go, a nice shot of the pope mobile.

Now we are also getting videos, really quickly, let's listen to a piece of a video we got from a Melissa Fisher (ph).

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Viva a papa!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Happy birthday, Pope.

UNIDENTIFIED PEOPLE: Great to be here!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Great to be here with all these people, big celebration. Thank you for coming to the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEVS: We are getting so many of these. We're getting videos, we're getting photos. Throughout the day, we're going to be sharing more of these. You can also see a ton of them, CNN.com. You can't miss it. Just click on i-Report when you get there and you will see some of those.

Betty and T.J., it's a little taste of what we're getting this morning. Back to you guys.

HOLMES: A little taste, all right. All right, Josh, we do appreciate you this morning.

LEVS: You got it.

HOLMES: And Betty, we appreciate you as well at St. Patrick's. We're going to have a lot more next hour as the pope celebrates mass there at the cathedral where Betty is. We'll take you there live.

But first, we got "HOUSE CALL" with Dr. Sanjay Gupta. It starts right now.