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Connect the World
Connect the World Special Edition: Pope Benedict XVI Resigns
Aired February 11, 2013 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FIONNUALA SWEENEY, HOST: After the shock, a show of solidarity: Catholic pilgrims arrive in St. Peter's Square in Rome after Pope Benedict XVI becomes the first pontiff in nearly 600 years to resign.
Tonight, on Connect the World, we'll bring you all the details about the look at what happens next.
Also this hour, Romania hits back over the horse meat scandal that is shaking an entire continent.
And, what actor George Clooney has to say about Ben Affleck's big win at the BAFTAs.
After the shock begins to wear off, more than a billion Roman Catholics around the world are left wondering who might be their next spiritual leader. Pope Benedict XVI made a stunning announcement today saying he will resign at the end of the month. He cited his advanced age at a meeting of cardinals at the Vatican.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
POPE BENEDICT XVI (through translator): In order to govern the bark of St. Peter and proclaim the gospel, both strength of mind and body are necessary, strength which in the last few months has deteriorated in me to the extent that I have had to recognize my incapacity to adequately fulfill the ministry entrusted to me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SWEENEY: Benedict is the first pope to step down, as I said, in nearly 600 years. Family and close friends said he didn't take the decision lightly.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORG RATZINGER, BROTHER OF POPE BENEDICT XVI (through translator): I have known it for some time, so of course I was prepared.
No, he did not take any advice, he just told me he took this decision based on a careful evaluation of his abilities and his possibilities. And I would not have thought it right to interfere.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SWEENEY: Benedict XVI was the first German pope in nearly 500 years, the eighth German pontiff in the 2,000 year history of the church. Frederik Pleitgen takes a look at the formal Cardinal Ratzinger's early years.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: In August 2005, shortly after his inauguration, the pope touched down in Germany. And for the first time in nearly 500 years, the pope that arrived was German.
"For the first time after being elected to the Holy Sea, I stand with joy on the dear soil of my motherland," Benedict XVI said, clearly humbled by the moment.
Though Benedict had left his native Germany more than 20 years before to become a cardinal at the Vatican, experts say his home land, and especially his native Bavaria on the south of the country, always continued to define him, although some Germans had mixed feelings for the German pope, many critical of his conservative views on issues like contraception and gay rights.
He was born at Joseph Ratzinger in this house in the tiny town of Marktl. His father was a local policeman and very close to the Catholic church.
"The Bavarian mentality is often exaggerated," the head of the local pope museum says, "but it is a spirituality that is very down to earth and very healthy and sustainable."
Both Joseph and his brother Georg Ratzinger became priests, a move experts say was heavily influenced by their disdain for the Nazi regime, a regime that required young men, including them, to join the Hitler youth, a stain on Benedict's legacy in the eyes of some critics.
ALEXANDER GOLACH, THE EUROPEAN MAGAZINE: He said we were all in my youth were forced to go there. And he didn't enjoy that. And if you come back to his general kind of personality where he needs his private sphere where he is a very shy guy, of course this kind of very strict and ordered and very, very mass movement of course it is nothing which is made for him.
PLEITGEN: After the war, Joseph Ratzinger quickly rose through the ranks of the Catholic church in Germany, becoming the archbishop of Munich and Freising in 1977.
A clerical, although he was later accused of mishandling the case of a pastor accused of molesting children while in charge there. And, experts say, throughout his career he never really warmed up to his role as a public figure.
GOLACH: Well, he was always very aware of that he is not the guy -- a very outgoing. So he asked himself when he said to himself I want to become a priest, am I able to talk to the kids, am I able to go to the elderly and to the sick. And for himself he said, yeah, I decided I could do that. But he always described this as a kind of a burden for himself.
PLEITGEN: A burden that became even more pronounced when Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger became Pope Benedict XVI. And the masses in Germany greeted him the first Germany pope in 500 years.
Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Berlin.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SWEENEY: Wow. Before he became Pope Benedict XVI, Joseph Ratzinger was born in 1927 in Germany, becoming a cardinal in 1977. He was chief theological adviser to Pope John Paul II. And following the death of John Paul, he was, as we know, elected pope in 2005. 78 years old at the time, Benedict was the oldest person to become pope in almost 300 years. And while little has been said publicly about his health, the pontiff, now 85, says his strength has deteriorated recently.
So let's take a look now at how the next pope will be chosen. 118 electors will get to vote, all active members of the College of Cardinals with a maximum age of 20. They meet in a gathering known as a conclave to take place at last 15 days, but no more than 20 days after the pope's resignation. The conclave itself takes place behind closed doors in the Sistine Chapel. Cardinals take an oath of secrecy when they enter the conclave. And if they break that oath, the penalty is automatic excommunication. The vote is done by secret ballot. Cardinals are not allowed to vote for themselves. And the new pope has to be elected with a two-third majority.
If there is no winner, another vote is taken up for four ballots each day until there is a winner.
Ballots are banned after each vote. And if there is no winner, they are banned with a chemical that gives off black smoke. Black smoke emerging from the roof of the Vatican tells the crowds in St. Peter's square and the world that a pope has not yet been selected. When there is a winner, the ballots are burned alone and white smoke indicates there is a new pope.
Well, the Vatican emphasizes that the pope isn't stepping down because of any specific illness. Our senior international correspondent Jim Bittermann is following the very latest developments and he joins us now from Rome.
First of all, Jim, does the pope leave a church in your view strengthened and more unified than when he first took on the role?
JIM BITTERMANN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fionnuala, that's what he wanted to do. He basically said when he took office that he didn't care if he offending liberal cafeteria Catholics as they were sometimes called by people around the Vatican, the people who wanted to pick and choose what they really believed in.
What he said he wanted to do was to purify the church, to come down with a lot of true believers, and if it meant that there would be less Catholics, then that -- so be it.
But in any case, what he has done, I think has in many ways proved himself to be a fairly controversial figure. There are a number of Roman Catholics in the world, I think, who will be very happy to see that the pope will be leaving and there will be a new pope and hoping that he'll be somewhat different than Benedict XVI.
SWEENEY: And let me ask you, if I may Jim, was he more conservative - - I mean, he still is the pontiff -- than his predecessor John Paul II?
BITTERMANN: Well, I'm not sure you could put labels on it. He certainly was a strict constructionist in terms of the church doctrine. And as a consequence, he appeared in many instances to be a much stricter Catholic than John Paul II and much less tolerant of some of the things that John Paul II tolerated.
So in fact, yes, I think you could say he was more conservative. And I think that what will be interesting to see is how this comes down. You were talking about the voting process, one of the things is that Benedict XVI has named 67 of the 118 cardinals who will vote for the next pope. And as a consequence, they attend to be of like mind with the pope. They're with Benedict XVI. So in fact we may see someone who emerges eventually that will be somewhat in the image of Benedict XVI.
SWEENEY: And finally a quick question, Jim, what is the mood on the streets there at the Vatican City?
BITTERMANN: Well, I think everybody was surprised by this. I mean, even church officials within the Vatican who had been here during the day. There was a consistory -- an ordinary consistory of cardinals going on here earlier in the day, and it was at that that the pope read his brief statement. And I think there was shock throughout the Vatican. So I think this is a big surprise.
And also there's a little bit of confusion here, because no one really knows how this process is going to unfold. It's not like the pope has died. There's going to be a lot of different questions that have to be asked about what the pope's role will be going forward and also how this is all going to unfold.
Normally speaking when you have a pope that's dead, you have a period of reflection when the cardinals can gather and talk among themselves. And you're not going to have this this time -- Fionnuala.
SWEENEY: All right. Jim Bittermann, thank you very much for that live update from the streets of the Vatican City.
And also in the vicinity in Rome is Max Foster who is joining us now live. Max, obviously you are there in the thick of it now. And we'll obviously want to know more about the resignation of the pope, his health, why this was such a shock decision.
MAX FOSTER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. And it's incredible to see so many people converging, really, on Rome tonight. This is a huge story with international ramifications. People from all over the world, so many different voices here today just at the airport, an extraordinary moment.
CNN senior Vatican analyst John Allen is here with me.
It's an incredible moment in Catholic history.
JOHN ALLEN, NATIONAL CATHOLIC CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, that's right. I mean, this is a situation that in anyone's living memory we have never seen before. We have, of course, experienced a papal transition before in 2005 with John Paul II, but the idea not only of a transition but of having in a sense two popes at once on the other end of this is what makes this absolutely remarkable.
FOSTER: And in terms of what happens now, what are your sources telling you, because this is pretty much unprecedented. You may say it's happened, you know, in the past, but it was a very, very long time ago. Does the Vatican know what to do?
ALLEN: Yeah, I think any time you have to go back to 1294 for a precedent, there's going to be a degree of flying by the seat of your pants connected to all of this.
In same ways, the scenario is familiar once you get over the initial shock. We know that some time in early March, the day has not yet been formally established, but presumably the first week of March those 117 cardinals who under the age of 80 and therefore eligible to vote will be here in Rome and they will begin what's called general congregation meetings, a meeting every day, to go over the process of the conclave and also to talk about the issues facing the church.
We know at some point after that, they will begin that heavily choreographed, ritually ceremonial moment of filing into the Sistine Chapel below Michelangelo's famous painting of the Last Judgment and begin this very solemn process, and monumentally important process, of course, of leading -- of choosing the next leader of the Catholic church.
FOSTER: John, we're going to stay with you over the next hour, but for now at this moment -- this is a special edition of Connect the World as the pope resigns. And coming up, pilgrims descending on St. Peter's Square in the Vatican. Speculation growing over who exactly will take over the Catholic church after Benedict XVI steps down. We'll be talking to John about that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOSEF KAISER, GERMAN PRIEST (through translator): The resignation has come as a surprise for everyone, I think. He had never given any signs or signals, so it is a surprise of course. But one has to have great respect for him taking this step. It really is very exceptional.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Absolutely shocking, and they're all sad, they're all sad.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was surprise. And there was a little bit of pain, because he is such a good leader.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He did so much that we can't explain -- helped us, helped the people, helped the poor.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: And who will be the next pope, is the question everyone is asking tonight as that shock, really of the resignation sets in. Well, there are a long list of contenders already and some public campaign, I'm sure, going on in some corners of the world.
Let's take a look at the new faces that could be in the running. A new, sort of wider world, perhaps.
First up, Cardinal Marc Ouellet who is from Canada. He's Pope Benedict actually chose him to head the Vatican's office for bishops, a major role within the church.
One top contender is also the Nigerian cardinal Francis Arinze. The 80 year old was a favorite for the role back in 2005 and is seen as a conservative on issues like birth control. Another front runner Cardinal Peter Turkson of Ghana. The 64 year old currently heads the pope's council for justice and peace and has experienced working with young people of different faiths.
Our senior Vatican analyst John Allen is of course with us. And there's much excitement already about the very idea of a black pope. And do you think that's likely?
ALLEN: Well, you know, there's an old saying in Rome, Max, that he who enters the conclave a pope, comes out a cardinal. Meaning that if there's too much buzz around a guy's name that that often is a death sentence.
But, look, I think in the abstract there are many cardinals who are excited about the idea of picking a pope from the developing world, from the southern hemisphere. It's where two-thirds of the 1.2 billion Catholics in the world today live. That share will be three-quarters by mid-century. I think they'd like to put a face and a voice on that burgeoning Catholic contingent.
The difficulty is when they go into the Sistine Chapel, they're not voting for a passport, they're voting for a man. They've got to look around and decide who in this very small, select group has the spiritual, intellectual, moral and personal qualities -- who has the right stuff to lead? I think that tends to be the towering question, not so much where a guy comes from.
FOSTER: But the very idea that the big growth areas -- Africa and Asia, parts of Asia -- a lot of people will be saying let's be appropriate. Having a European right now doesn't make sense.
ALLEN: Well, that's true. I mean, the church has had a fairly long run of electing Europeans. And I think there is a kind of hunger to recognize, and symbolize if you like, the growth of the Catholic church in other parts of the world.
But again I come back to this, I will tell you for sure that Benedict XVI was not elected in 2005 because he was German. If anything, he was elected in spite of being a German. It was simply that the cardinals at that moment decided he was the best card in the deck. And if that process of reasoning this time leads them to another European I don't think they would shrink from it.
I do think being an African or an Asian or a Latin American would be an additional argument in a particular candidate's favor.
FOSTER: OK, John, we'll be back with you against a bit later in the program. A special edition of Connect the World.
But we're getting a sense, really, of the reaction around the world as well. And coming up, we're going to give you a sense of what people are saying about the next potential pope.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm absolutely shocked. I couldn't believe it. I'm wondering what on earth has provoked it. Is it some special issue? I don't really know. Or is he just exhausted?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's probably a good thing, maybe. I mean, he's quite old. So it would be nice to get, I guess, someone a bit younger.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's very sad, because I think he'd been a very good pope. And I think he'll be a great loss to this church.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CARDINAL DONALD WUERL, ARCHBISHOP OF WASHINGTON: The pope made no indication at all, not that he would have, this intention.
CARDINAL TIMOTHY DOLAN, ARCHBISHOP OF NEW YORK: I'm not kidding, I was very startled. I don't know what to say. I myself am waiting for information, for instruction.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Welcome back to this special edition of Connect the World. Live from Rome, I'm Max Foster.
We're going to take you to a pretty interesting map now. It gives you a sense of the Catholic population around the world. And it's pretty remarkable when you consider the numbers here.
Consider this map where each continent size reflects its Catholic population. This is how the world looked back in 1950 with nearly half of all Catholics living in Europe. Latin America counted for a third of the total. Africa and Asia not even 10 percent between them.
But look at the difference in 2000. Europe's share has almost been cut in half. Latin America is now home to the lion's share. Africa has seen its proportion grow four fold. And Asia, well it's well up as a whole.
We were talking to John a bit about that earlier. It's fascinating to see how the population has changed around the world. And some people will want that reflected actually in the decision on the next pope.
The next pope will be spiritual leader to all of those more than a billion Catholics around the world.
CNN's Atika Shubert gets a sense of things for us next in Dublin, checking the Irish reaction, a huge story for the Catholic church, of course, recently. But first we're going to Brazil where Shasta Darlington has been gauging things in Rio.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Shasta Darlington in Rio de Janeiro in the world's largest Catholic country.
Now it's taken awhile for the news to get out in part because we're middle of a five day national holiday. This is Carnival. But we did talk to a number of people who said they'd heard the news and that they largely supported the pope's decision. They said that he's the person who knows best when he can no longer carry out his functions.
They also said that it could be a good opportunity for the church to try and rejuvenate its base, perhaps pick, elect a younger, more charismatic pope.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I think a time that he doesn't feel he's prepared or healthy enough to meet his commitments. In the end, the pope has to be able to travel the whole world.
UNIDENTIIFED FEMALE (through translator): He just didn't have that charisma, especially with young people. God forgive me, I'm Catholic, but he just didn't have charisma.
DARLINGTON: Now this is especially important for Brazil, because Rio will be hosting World Youth Day in July. And it will be an important opportunity to create enthusiasm among the faithful.
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Ireland is a deeply Catholic country. In fact, St. Patrick's Cathedral is right behind me. Christchurch Cathedral is just a short walk away. More than 80 percent of Irish consider themselves Catholic, that's according to the last census. But here's what's interesting, in the most recent poll in August of last year, only 47 percent said they were religious. And that's a steep drop from seven years ago when 67 percent said they were religious. So it seems like a profound loss of faith, particularly of Catholicism here in Ireland.
Why? Well, partly because of the abuse scandals that have rocked the Catholic church not just across the world, but particularly here in Ireland. We saw the archbishop a few years ago apologizing for that abuse, but it hasn't been enough for many people.
And when I spoke to people on the streets of Dublin today, they said that while they were surprised by the resignation of the pope, they felt that perhaps the pope was too old for the job and they wanted to see a pope that was younger, more in touch with what modern Catholic daily life was like, somebody they said could tackle the abuses of the past head on and really reform the Catholic church.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Well, as Atika was talking about there, the sex abuse scandal really gripping the church in Ireland. But it's not just affecting Ireland. Here's Jonathan Mann.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JONATHAN MANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Even before he was elected and became Pope Benedict XVI, Joseph Ratzinger faced a scandal unlike any the Roman Catholic Church had ever endured, reaching around the world and into the heart of the church itself. Sex crimes against Catholic children, committed by the church's own ordained priests, overlooked or even enabled by figures in the church hierarchy.
It was John Paul II who brought Ratzinger to Rome to serve as his prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and handle the unfolding scandal. John Paul has been widely criticized for moving slowly to acknowledge just how common the crimes had been and how many of them had been hidden.
FATHER THOMAS REESE, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: Pope Benedict inherited a terrible mess under -- from John Paul II. John Paul II was slow in understanding and accepting the reality of the sex abuse crisis. He just didn't -- he couldn't comprehend it.
MANN: As pope, Benedict met with victims and apologized for the crimes committed against him. But the anger only grew.
THOMAS DOYLE, INACTIVE CATHOLIC PRIEST: He said and did many of the right things, but they had very, very little effect on the issue in general. It's the victims who are out there still are unhealed.
MANN: Victims brought criminal charges against priests, and they brought a complaint for crimes against humanity in the International Criminal Court against Pope Benedict himself. And allegations kept emerging, at least one raising questions about the pope's own judgment in a case close to home.
One accusation is that while serving as the Archbishop of Munich, he allowed a priest with a history of abuse to be reassigned to a parish where he went on to harm more children. The Archdiocese of Munich had initially placed full responsibility on Ratzinger's deputy.
In 2011, Amnesty International added the Holy Sea to its rogues list of rights abusers for the first time, criticizing for widespread evidence of sexual abuse and what it called an enduring failure to address it.
And even the government of Ireland, a nation culturally rooted in Catholicism, condemned the church for what it called a coverup.
Benedict led the church with a clear vision and a strong hand, but he didn't end the abuse scandal. It survives as a stain on the Catholic church and a legacy to his eventual successor.
Jonathan Mann, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: We're going to talk more about this with John Allen, because if another organization had a huge problem, a huge scandal like the sex abuse scandal, what they've probably do is get rid of the chief executive. That's potentially what's going to happen here -- well it is what's happening here. So is this a change for the Vatican, for the Catholic church to make a fresh start and put all those scandals behind them?
ALLEN: Well, I think that probably will be part of the hope here. Now, whether that's actually how it plays out, I suppose will depend on what the new pope does.
I mean, I think it would be a mistaken analysis to think that Benedict is resigning because of the sex abuse crisis. I think he's made it clear it's because he believes his energies are beginning to flag, and so on.
You know, and his defenders will tell you that Benedict was on the side of the angels on this issue. The first pope to meet the sex abuse victims, which he did in the States in 2008 and did six times during the course of his papacy. First pope to apologize in his own name for the crisis. The first pope to make zero tolerance more or less the official policy of the Vatican.
Critics will say all of that was too little, too late. And there's a great deal of work that remains to be done. But fairly or unfairly, I think the truth is that both John Paul II and Benedict XVI are very personally identified with the sex abuse scandals. And so assuming they elect a pope who doesn't carry that same baggage himself, and that remains to be seen, because many of the members of the College of Cardinals had themselves faced accusations of not doing enough, but assuming they elect a pope who doesn't have that same profile, it is to some extent an opportunity for a fresh start.
FOSTER: And in terms of the other big issues facing the church, the internal issues that we don't talk about all the time, what would you say is the big challenge for the next pope?
ALLEN: Well, to such a great extent, the Catholic Church is a global institution, and so this depends on where you live. I mean, if you're a Catholic leader in Nigeria today, what you're most worried about is the rise of Boko Haram. If you're in India, it's the rise of Hindu radicalism. If you're in Latin America, it's the explosion of the evangelical and Pentecostal movements, which have eaten into traditional Catholic strongholds. So trying to identify what the challenge is depends on which piece of real estate you occupy.
But I think what most of the cardinals would say two things in particular. One, the Catholic Church has committed itself to what it calls the new evangelization, which means trying to relight the missionary fires of the church. They're looking for a missionary in chief, a salesman, someone who can provide not the intellectual backdrop as Benedict XVI did, but who can take that message to the street.
Secondly, I think there would be a wide consensus among many cardinals that there needs to be some reforms here in the Vatican, particularly in the business management front, financial transparency and accountability, decision making, personnel appointment, so they're looking for someone who can take the reins of power a little bit more firmly into his own hands.
FOSTER: John, well this is a special edition of Connect the World from Rome. John and I will be back later in the show to try to sort of sum up an extraordinary day of events here. But for now it's back to Fionnuala at CNN Center.
SWEENEY: Thank you, Max. And coming up, a roundup of all the other headlines this hour, plus who is responsible for the horsemeat scandal that's spreading across Europe? Still no answers, but plenty of blame.
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SWEENEY: From CNN Center, you are watching CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Fionnuala Sweeney, and these are the latest world headlines live from CNN Center.
The world was taken by surprise when Pope Benedict XVI announced he was stepping down. The pontiff says he's resigning on February 28th as spiritual leader of the world's more than 1 billion Catholics. The 85- year-old pope says he no longer has the strength for such a demanding position.
At least 36 people have died following a stampede at a train station in Northern India. It happened during a Hindu festival that attracted millions of pilgrims to the city of Allahabad, where officials say people broke through temporary barriers and crowded onto a train platform.
Turkish officials are investigating one of the deadliest blasts to hit their country in years. The government says at least 13 people were killed when a minivan traveling from Syria to Turkey exploded at a customs gate. Officials say they're looking into all possibilities, including a terror attack.
A food scandal that has surfaced in Britain continues to spread across Europe. The European Union will meet this week to discuss how horsemeat ended up in products disguised as beef. Britain, France, and Sweden have been pulling millions of mislabeled packages off store shelves.
The European Commission says the horsemeat scandal isn't a question of food safety, as no one has become ill. But that is of little consolation to may consumers who are now demanding answers. Jim Boulden reports on the hunt to find those responsible.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIM BOULDEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Whether it's the mislabeling of packaging or fraud or a genuine health scare, horsemeat is finding its way into frozen food. Frozen food labeled as beef. This time, through he Swedish firm Findus. There are now urgent investigations launched around Europe.
OWEN PATERSON, BRITISH ENVIRONMENT SECRETARY: There appears to have been criminal activity in an attempt to defraud the consumer. The prime responsibility for dealing with this lies with retailers and food producers who need to demonstrated that they've taken all necessary actions to ensure the integrity of the food chain.
BOULDEN: In Paris, the government called in leaders of the country's food industry for a serious chat. The frozen lasagne in question was prepared by French food company Comigel. Comigel, in turn, blames an abattoir in Romania. The Romanian government says "don't blame us." It's getting complicated.
STEPHANE LE FOLL, FRENCH AGRICULTURE MINISTER (through translator): In this procurement system, there are very complicated commercial circuits, which bring traders into play. I've even got the impression that a Cypriot trader subcontracted to a Dutch trader, who then himself subcontracted. And now, we'll get to Romania and Poland. So there, too, is work to be done to get out of this fog.
BOUDLEN: Last week, Britain's Food Standards Agency said Europe's central criminal investigator, Europol, was aware of Britain's investigations, as businesses examine their own supply chains.
DEBORAH HALLETT, @90 DEGREES: An awful lot of the last 20 years, their story to us, the consumer, has been that their excellence in supply chain management is why it is that they can deliver to us the variety, the prices, the consumer availability as and where we want it 24/7. So, to now expect us to believe that they don't have that same level of control in this particular issue is disingenuous.
BOULDEN: The recession has pressured many firms and even many consumers to find cheaper alternatives. Governments are now ordering tests on more frozen beef to see if it is, indeed, beef or cheaper horsemeat from Eastern Europe.
In the UK, food suppliers have a Friday deadline to report if more horsemeat has been discovered destined for, say, hospitals, prisons, and schools.
Jim Boulden, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SWEENEY: The US manhunt for a renegade ex-cop accused of killing three people in a revenge plot targeting the LA Police Department is now in its second week. Now, the big question facing authorities, where is Christopher Dorner?
CNN's Miguel Marquez is at LAPD headquarters. He joins me now, live. A $1 million reward offered by the authorities yesterday. Has that led them in any closer direction to Christopher Dorner?
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, they certainly have a lot of calls coming in, Fionnuala, but it hasn't produced any hard leads at the moment. Police here are saying that they're tracking down some 600 clues that they have on the whereabouts of Mr. Dorner.
They have more than 100 investigators working on this case. They're also keeping up the security for more than 50 families of LAPD officers who were mentioned in that manifesto of Mr. Dorner. All a very expensive proposition.
All of this while the Southland here in Southern California, even in Arizona, very, very nervous times. At a Lowe's Home Store this weekend, there was a 911 call that went out. They believe that they saw Mr. Dorner in that store.
Police showed up in force, everybody came out of the store, forced out of the store with their shopping carts, single-file. The store was cleared, it was a false alarm. There are false alarm after false alarm across a big, broad swathe of America right now, and there were just a lot of nerves out here in the southwest -- and across Southern California.
Bit question of where exactly Mr. Dorner is is still out there. The San Bernardino Police say that the trail there seems to have gone cold. They've searched some 600 cabins in that area. They found no trace of him. It is snowing very, very heavily in that area.
As you know, he ditched his truck there last Thursday and then torched it, along with some guns and camping equipment inside. It is not clear whether or not he stayed in the area or fled that mountain. Fionnuala?
SWEENEY: It is quite the manhunt. The plot thickens. Miguel Marquez, thanks very much for joining us from LA.
Now, you're watching CONNECT THE WORLD, live on CNN. Still to come, shocked into action. South Africans say enough is enough. We'll have the details coming up.
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There is no use in giving birth to a baby boy if men treated women lower than animals.
(WOMEN CHANTING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SWEENEY: Anger and grief in South Africa. On Friday, we brought you the shocking story of a brutal gang rape. A 17-year-old girl was raped, mutilated, and left to die.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALES: No more violence! No more violence! No more violence!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SWEENEY: The act was so horrific and sparked outrage in a country that has grown immune to rampant sex crimes. The provisional minister for social development told us a new way of thinking is needed to combat the systemic violence and growing gang culture taking hold across the nation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALBERT FRITZ, LOCAL MINISTER FOR SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT: Gender violence is systemic in our society, and a lot of it has to do, in many instances, with absent fathers, which are nowhere to be found, and no role models as men to their sons and to their daughters. And that's, I think, one of the most frightening kinds of phenomenons in South Africa.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SWEENEY: Hundreds of people turned out for the victim's funeral on Saturday as the nation united to say enough is enough. And as Robyn Curnow reports, even convicted criminals have now joined the chorus of disgust over this heinous act.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARK CARSTENS, GANG MEMBER: And then something like this to somebody else!
ROBYN CURNOW, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With dried blood on his head from a fall in the local bar, this man, a convicted criminal, says he too has raped and served time in prison. But he says the killing here of 17-year-old Anene Booyson, was so brutal that even he is haunted.
He tells me, "When I close my eyes at night, I think how her inner voice cried out for help. But we the community didn't hear. I feel very bad, because I knew her well.
CURNOW (on camera): Hello.
CURNOW (voice-over): He came over to us to insist that his gang, a violent criminal network, called the 28s, that are feared in communities like this had nothing to do with the attack.
He said, "For everyone that's a 28, we were not part of this. Only that individual is to blame."
At her funeral, mourners told us that Anene's ex-boyfriend was responsible. He and two others have been arrested, say police.
It was at this construction site that Anene was raped, mutilated, and disemboweled. She survived the attack, but died later in hospital, her injuries so horrific that the doctors and nurses who treated her were traumatized.
FRITZ: It can't be a straight murder. Now one will do such an horrendous deed on anyone else. I am convinced there's some gang -- some prison gang initiation that is leading to this particular murder and rape.
CURNOW (on camera): So, this is like a rank, here.
WILFRED JANTJIES, FORMER GANGSTER: Yes, yes.
CURNOW: Within the gang that you were in.
JANTJIES: Yes.
CURNOW: And you were in the -- ?
JANTJIES: The 26.
CURNOW: The 26es.
CURNOW (voice-over): Wilfred Jantjies says he was tattooed in prison, badges on his skin that defined his gang, the 26es. They say they've been rehabilitated, but still understand the rituals of gang life.
(LEEROY KARESLE, FORMER GANG MEMBER, SPEAKING AFRICAN LANGUAGE)
He tells me, "When someone wants to join a gang, the gang leaders say, 'Here's a knife, go stab or shoot someone,' and they do it as a test."
But Anene's death was not part of that right of passage, says Jantjies. Jantjies says, "I don't understand why they did it. She maybe said, 'I don't want you anymore,' then the actions started there. But I can't say. But it is drugs, wine." Drugs may help to explain what happened, but not why Anene was butchered.
CURNOW (on camera): So, it seems that even the most hardened criminals are searching for answers.
CURNOW (voice-over): Beyond the poverty, government seems unable to deal with the growing sense of hopelessness in places like this. As a gangster grips my hand, seemingly reluctant to let go, still upset, his solution is to call for more violence.
CARSTENS: One person must be executed and must be laid to death!
CURNOW: Robyn Curnow, CNN, Bredasdorp, South Africa.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SWEENEY: And CONNECT THE WORLD continues after this break.
(SILENCE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SWEENEY: And welcome back. I'm Fionnuala Sweeney. You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD live on CNN.
It was a star-studded night in London on Sunday as the movie industry's finest gathered for the annual British Academy Awards. The awards are seen as a preview for Hollywood's golden night, the Oscars, in just two weeks' time. Becky Anderson has the details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(APPLAUSE)
IAN MCKELLAN, ACTOR: And the BAFTA for Best Director goes for his film, "Argo," Ben Affleck!
(CROWD CHEERS)
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was just the start for the actor-turned-director.
BEN AFFLECK, DIRECTOR, "ARGO": I want to say that this is a second act for me.
ANDERSON: Just minutes later, "Argo" won the BAFTA for Best Film.
SAMUEL L. JACKSON, ACTOR: "Argo!"
(CROWD CHEERS)
ANDERSON: It was a surprise win over favorite "Lincoln," which went into the London ceremony with ten nominations.
GEORGE CLOONEY, PRODUCER, "ARGO": Ben, if this is your second act, I don't know what the hell you're going to do for a third act, because --
(LAUGHTER)
CLOONEY: -- you are just -- you are remarkable at what you do.
ANDERSON: George Clooney was co-producer on "Argo," which was based on a real-life Iranian hostage drama.
CLOONEY: It's great, isn't it? He's a really talented director. I'm really happy for him.
ANDERSON (on camera): And leading actor.
CLOONEY: Yes, and the leading actor, yes.
ANDERSON: And everything else.
(LAUGHTER)
CLOONEY: Yes, he's a multi-hyphen. I hate him, as a matter of fact.
(LAUGHTER)
ANDERSON: I was going to say, you can't like him very much.
CLOONEY: Yes. No, you're right. I don't like him.
(LAUGHTER)
ANDERSON (voice-over): Although Affleck was nominated for Best Actor, that prize was won by the bookies' favorite, Daniel Day-Lewis for his portrayal of Abraham Lincoln.
DANIEL DAY-LEWIS, BEST ACTOR, "LINCOLN": Just on the chance that I might one day have to speak on an evening such as this, I -- I've actually stayed in character as myself for the last 55 years.
(LAUGHTER)
ANDERSON: With his fourth BAFTAs, it bodes well for Day-Lewis to make history at the Academy Awards, where Hollywood observers expect him to become the first person ever to win a third Best Actor Oscar, an accolade his peers say would be well-deserved.
HUGH JACKMAN, ACTOR, "LES MISERABLES": For me, like Brando did in the 50s, then Dinero, he -- not only is he the best actor, he changed film acting.
ANDERSON (on camera): Daniel Day-Lewis, in a word?
SALLY FIELD, ACTOR, "LINCOLN": Just -- towering -- towering, uncompromising, excellence.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Daniel Day-Lewis?
ANDERSON: Daniel Day-Lewis.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's the pinnacle. He's the best.
ANDERSON (voice-over): Eighty-five-year-old Emmanuelle Riva also making history as the oldest performer ever nominated for an acting Oscar. She won the BAFTA for Best Actress for her role in the French movie, "Amour," and showed her wisdom by staying away from the sleet and snow- drenched London red carpet.
ANDERSON (on camera): Whoa!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's snowing!
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is it snowing?
ANDERSON: It's snowing!
(LAUGHTER)
ANDERSON (voice-over): It was another quirky BAFTA night. The first gong making history for the 50-year-old Bond franchise for "Skyfall" winning the Outstanding British Film award.
(CROWD CHEERS)
ANDERSON (on camera): It's the British film industry's big night out. The BAFTAs are second only to the Oscars in terms of prestige, so what happens here at the Royal Opera House Sunday night will set the stage for the Academy Awards in two weeks' time.
Does it ever get boring?
HELEN MIRREN, ACTRESS: No! Look at this! It's so exciting! It's so wonderful!
ANDERSON (voice-over): Becky Anderson, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SWEENEY: Scenes of joy in Nigeria. Football fans erupted in celebration after their national team won the Africa Cup of Nations for the first time since 1994. Vladimir Duthiers captures fan reaction the moment the Super Eagles soared to a one-nil victory over Burkina Faso.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(CROWD CHEERING)
VLADIMIR DUTHIERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Nigeria have done it! They have just won the Africa Cup of Nations, the first time since 1994. They made it here in 2000, but they didn't win. This is their first win in -- look at the crowd behind me. They are fired up, they are pumped up, they are so happy!
Nigeria (inaudible). They never stopped believing in their Eagles, they never stopped believing in their team, and for tonight, this group is going to be partying, this country's going to be partying. Tonight, Nigeria is on the world stage. They've got winners.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, yes, we are happy for Niger today. We are the giants of Africa.
DUTHIERS: Vladimir Duthiers, CNN, Lagos.
(CROWD CHEERING)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SWEENEY: And for more on what took place there yesterday, let's join Don Riddell, now, for that and more of sports. I mean, is this the start of bigger things for Nigeria?
DON RIDDELL, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Well, they would certainly hope so. It's been a long time since they were that successful. They haven't won the continental title since the mid-90s.
And they deserved to win the tournament. I think they beat the Ivory Coast, they beat Mali, who ended up finishing third. They won this game with a very well-taken goal from Sunday Mba.
And of course, they're now looking forward to global success. They're going to be playing in the Confederations Cup in Brazil this year. And then, of course, it's the World Cup next year. African teams historically haven't done well at the World Cup, but Nigeria will be hoping they can take this success and run forward with it. They've certainly got a good young team.
SWEENEY: And CNN has also been given access to one of the best footballers in Africa. What did we learn?
RIDDELL: Well, we've been speaking to the most powerful man in African football, Issa Hayatou, who's the president of CAF, the Confederations -- African Federation. And of course, a lot of interesting points and a lot of big topics that we wanted to discuss with him.
And one of the real -- key points in football at the moment is racism in football, of course, not a topic we want to be discussing. But a lot of debate about what players should do if and when they're racially abused, and I thought it was important that we put this question to the president to get his take. This is what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ISSA HAYATOU, PRESIDENT, CONFEDERATION OF AFRICAN FOOTBALL (through translator): It might not be a solution to leave the field. It's a gut reaction, really. It's very bad for a player. Can you imagine a stadium with 40,000 or 50,000 people shouting behind you, "Ugly Negro! Ugly Negro!"
It's normal they left and the team followed. His players and his team followed him. They did it on the spur of the moment. But I think this won't solve the problem, as well.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RIDDELL: Of course, the debate continues as to what will solve the problem. A lot of people feel that walking off the pitch is actually the only thing to do in terms of making a statement to draw attention to the fact that it's happening.
SWEENEY: And let's move quickly to tennis. Rafael Nadal was making this big comeback after injury, and yet it ended in defeat at the weekend. So, what does it mean for the -- he is the former world number one, now.
RIDDELL: That's right. Many people would still regard him as the best player on clay when he's fit. Very unfortunately for him, he made it all the way to the final in Chile, but he actually lost the final to someone that a lot of people will have never have heard of, Horacio Zeballos, the world number 73 going into this tournament, a player that had never won a tournament in his 10 years on the ATP tour, and here he goes and beats Rafa Nadal.
I don't think Nadal is going to be too concerned. This was his first tournament back since last Wimbledon. He's been struggling with that knee injury all that time.
So, even though he, of course, would have liked, I think, to have won the tournament on his comeback, this was only his first tournament back. He's trying to regain his fitness and get himself ready for the French Open. So, although he lost the final, not a disaster.
SWEENEY: He's got a couple of months.
RIDDELL: Yes.
SWEENEY: Thanks very much, Don Riddell.
And returning to our top story, the pope's shock resignation and where the Catholic Church goes from here. We're heading back to Rome and handing it over to CNN's Max Foster. Max?
FOSTER: Fionnuala, an extraordinary day. There are Catholics, of course, living in every corner of the planet, and today, they had a big surprise. They were told that their spiritual leader was resigning. The very idea of him resigning hadn't occurred to them, and the fact he was resigning today was a big surprise.
But what's really interesting is that it was even a shock here in Rome. John Allen is our Vatican analyst. So, the best-kept secret in modern religion?
ALLEN: Listen, Max. I'll tell you how shocking this was even to insiders. I was scheduled to have lunch today with a senior Vatican official, a guy who works about 100 yards down the hall from the papal apartment, and as of early this morning, he himself had no idea this was coming.
So, it was truly a stunner. In an institution that has a mixed track record, by the way, in terms of its ability to keep secrets, this was one that was certainly played very close to the vest.
FOSTER: And nothing to do with the child abuse scandal? This was about health. He's just not ready to carry on.
ALLEN: Yes. What Benedict has said is that he felt that -- he's going to be 86 in April, of course -- that he simply doesn't feel that he has the force to continue to meet the challenges facing the church.
Now, of course, indirectly, things like the sex abuse crisis and the Vatican's financial woes and the Vatican leaks mess are in the background, because those are all very serious raging fires, so to speak, in the life of the church.
I think Benedict's calculus was that it's going to require somebody with a little bit more -- umph in the system to really bring to bear the force of the office on meeting those problems.
FOSTER: So the person who steps into his shoes, an extraordinary challenging job, are you able yet to put together your frontrunners?
ALLEN: Well, I think if you did a survey of dinner tables in this town, which is where the talk about the papal sweepstakes is always the most intense, probably names that would pop up, you would hear Cardinal Angelo Scola of Milan, a kind of intellectual protege of Benedict, but with a somewhat stronger popular touch.
Cardinal Marc Ouellet, you mentioned at the top of our conversation, the Canadian who leads in the Vatican's all-important Congregation for Bishops. Maybe Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, he's an Argentinian who has been in Italy all of his life and a very effective manager, a guy who really knows how to make the trains run on time.
But again, I repeat, Max, the trash heaps of history are littered with the carcasses of so-called experts who have tried to predict the next pope.
(LAUGHTER)
FOSTER: And you're not going down that route.
(CROSSTALK)
ALLEN: I'm not going down that path.
FOSTER: You're not giving just one. But what can you tell us about the next few days and weeks, the process from here?
ALLEN: What we know, of course, is that Benedict's resignation doesn't become official until February 28th, and so technically, I think the cardinals will all be very discreet about appearing to talk openly about the succession while we still have a pope on the job.
Informally, of course, they will be burning up the phone lines, and those who are more technologically savvy, the e-mail and so forth, trying to get a sense of where they all are.
Shortly after that magic hour in the evening of February 28th, of course, those 117 cardinals who have the right to vote will converge on Rome. They will begin meeting on a daily basis to hash things out, and the idea would be to have some kind of game plan before the conclave opens in early March.
FOSTER: OK, well, John, you're going to have a very busy two weeks, so get the sleep in now whilst you can. Thank you very much, indeed, for joining us. An extraordinary day here in Rome and, indeed, for the world.
That was a special edition of CONNECT THE WORLD from Rome. Much more tomorrow as this news, this shock news settles in. Thank you for watching.
END
