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Connect the World
Benedict XVI's Last Day; Floating Restaurant Sinks In Baghdad Killing Five; Tape Emerges Of South African Police Dragging Man Behind Van
Aired February 28, 2013 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BECKY ANDERSON, HOST: A chapter has closed, a new one just beginning.
For the first time in 600 years a pope has resigned. Benedict XVI, now pontiff emeritus, has left the Vatican and is in Castel Gandolfo, that's just behind me here where we bring you a special, historic addition of Connect the World live from just outside of Rome.
The most remarkable day here at Castel Gandolfo, some 15 miles, 40 minutes out of Rome. For us, at least, a 15 minute helicopter ride for Benedict XVI, now known as his holiness as he takes himself into isolation and seclusion here in the building behind me.
I'm joined tonight by Barbie Nadaeu, who is the Rome bureau chief for Newsweek.
It's been a remarkable day, remarkable week. We're going to talk about that, the pope's legacy and what happens next a little bit later in this show.
First, though, from the spotlight to seclusion, Benedict XVI is no longer leader of the more than 1 billion Roman Catholics around the world. He has retreated to the building behind me. Let's take a look back at an historic day.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Benedict XVI entered the Sala Clementina in the Vatican for a last time as pope. And he shuffled hesitantly to his throne. He's slowing down and he knows it.
Again for a second day, he admitted that his papacy had had its difficulties.
POPE BENEDICT XVI: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He also made an implicit plea to his cardinals: stop infighting, get on better.
POPE BENEDICT XVI: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He ended his address by pledging his support to his successor.
POPE BENEDICT XVI: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In other words, rest assured, there won't be two popes in the Vatican.
One by one, the cardinals came up and briefly made personal tribute. The pope stood and mostly listened. His successor will certainly be younger and physically stronger. He might just possibly be African, Asian, or Latin American.
The Italians with a quarter of the voting cardinals will have the largest say. All modern popes have been European, in fact most of them Italian. Benedict, of course, is German.
The affection in Sala Clementina was sometimes palpable. You didn't have to hear what was being said. Cardinal after cardinal spoke from the heart. After standing for almost an hour, Pope Benedict shuffled out with a walking stick.
A few hours later he left the papal apartments for the last time. He will continue to wear white, but will have a new title, "pope emeritus." And we won't see him wearing his red papal shoes again, or the gold ring on his right hand, that'll be broken up with a special mallet as is the tradition.
One other moment of poignancy among the goodbyes, his chauffeur cracked, sobbing quietly by the car.
Of course there's never been a papal goodbye like this. No pope has resigned for almost six centuries. Vatican TV recorded as much of it as possible. The short helicopter flight over the eternal city in fading winter light. They were blessed, as they say, with good weather.
Benedict's final papal journey was to the pope's summer retreat Castel Gandolfo perched high above the lake. There's only a relatively small piazza outside the castle. And naturally, it was crowded to overflowing.
The Pope spoke briefly.
POPE BENEDICT XVI: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And then final papal blessing.
POPE BENEDICT XVI: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And with that, he was gone.
A few hours later, a last act of symbolism. This Swiss papal guard left their posts and the castle gates slammed shut. Until they elect another, the Catholic Church is without a pope.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Benedict XVI will be remembered differently by many people around the world, but for those who followed him on Twitter these were his parting words as pope. "Thank you for your love and support. May you always experience the joy that comes from putting Christ at the center of your lives."
His very final words to a public audience were here in this square. There were 10,000 people packed into this square. Almost all of the residents, one would suggest, of this small town perched at the top of a hill. His final words, "thank you and good night."
Barbie is with me here. He's -- well, you were here in 2000 -- not here, but here in Rome of course in 2005. You've been in Rome for 17 years. You followed the Vatican's sort of machinations minute by minute. Day by day. When you reflect on today, how do you feel?
BARBIE NADEAU, NEWSWEEK: Well, you know I think it is a fitting end to this papacy, really. The people of this small little village were able to give him a farewell that they felt he deserved. They've lived here in Castel Gandolfo with him in sort of parallel lives. They know he's there. He's an ever present part of this community. Now he's here, but he's going to be silent. It's going to be a new dynamic for them, really.
ANDERSON: You've been inside Castel Gandolfo. Just describe the interior.
NADEAU: You know, it's a perfect place to retire. It's just great. You know, tranquil sculpted gardens, fountains, beautiful orchards, vinyards. There's a working farm with (inaudible).
ANDERSON: But he's a very private man, so he may not use all of these facilities.
NADEAU: It's true, but you can almost sense that he could wander through these areas, these tranquil areas. He's going to continue his writing. He says he's going to meditate. He's going to pray for the future of the church. He's going to pray for himself, for the people who love him. And it's the perfect place to do it. You know, it's very tranquil. You see the Mediterranean Sea. You see, you know, the city, the beautiful lake below. He's got it all, really. He's got everything he'd want. It's really, you know, beautiful.
ANDERSON: And expected to be here about two months. They are mondernizing an apartment, or a former monastery at the Vatican. I've heard that they've been modernizing that since November. So who know what when about the pope's decision to resign is still in question, isn't it?
NADEAU: That's right. There was a group of cloistered nuns who lived in that monastery. And they were essentially evicted in October or November. And they started building a new chapel on the monastery. I'm sure that raised a few eyebrows. Who -- you know, who is the special guest that's going to need this monastery. But we didn't find out, of course, until February 11.
ANDERSON: Well, certainly a very honored guest for the residents here who have been associated with the papacy. For some 400 years, this has been the summer residence here for a succession of pope's trying to get away from the Roman heat of the summer months. So many of the residents here worked at the residents or their grandparents or parents that might have been associated as well. So important times for the residents here.
And as they prayed the rosary earlier on today, you could really feel the emotion. It was really rather remarkable, wasn't it?
NADEAU: Oh, it really was. There's so much love for every pope that's been here. You know, the popes have used this summer residence for 400 years. It's part of their community. It's their life. There's really, you know, nothing else they're known for.
ANDERSON: We're going to talk at length a little later on. We're going to talk about the legacy and what happens next after these short breaks.
We're going to do a little bit more at this point.
Around the world, people have been reacting to today's events. After the break, the faithful speak out. We go live to Nigeria and to Latin America.
Also tonight, shocking footage of a man who went on to die in police custody. We look at a police brutality case in South Africa.
And hear why Rafael Benitez is lashing out at Chelsea fans on his way out of the door. All that and much more on this special edition of Connect the World. Do stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I'd like the new pope to be younger, because it's not a good trend when the pope is in his 80s.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I don't look favorably on the church resignation. Whether due to old age or whatever, he should carry out his duties while he's able to.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We expect the new pope to bring -- to preach more about peace so that there will be unity, especially my country in Nigeria and the whole of the world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: All right. Welcome back. This is a special edition of Connect the World from just outside of Rome in Italy.
And extraordinary day for the more than 1 billion Roman Catholics around the world.
Look at the front pages of some of the newspapers globally for you. Just to get this sense of how this story really does connect the world, its resonance around the world. One of Brazil's major papers Odia simply headed Adeus, or goodbye.
Greek newspaper Katimarini (ph) shows this photo of Benedict XVI with outstretched arms on his final day.
From Austria, this front page reads "The Farewell."
This bold headline from Colombia, "I Won't Abandon The Cross."
Well, the resignation of Benedict XVI is resonating around the world. Vladimir Duthiers joining us now from Lagos in Nigeria. We're hoping to get you to Mexico as well.
But let's just start off with you, Vlad, where some of the Catholic faithful, and there is a huge cohort of Catholics in Nigeria, wondering what happens next and whether there is the possibility of an African pope as the leader of the church going forward?
VLADIMIR DUTHIERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Right, Becky. The church has grown tremendously in Africa. There were just some 2 million Catholics here in 1900 and a century later there are almost 185 million Catholics now in Africa.
And what a lot of people are speculating on, which is will there be a black pontiff, I have to tell you in the last couple of weeks that we've been reporting this since the pope's resignation there are a lot of people here, a lot of Catholics, a lot of clergy that us that it doesn't really matter if the pope is an African or from a western country, what matters is that it is the will of god, is what one priest told us, the will of god is what will matter in deciding on who the next pontiff is.
The other two things that I think are really, really interesting here is that if there were to be an African pontiff, that would certainly put a face on the diversity of the church, how diverse it is across Africa and across Latin America and even in Asia, but what it would also mean is that there would probably be a conservative streak to that, because many Africans are extremely conservative Catholics. And the two frontrunners, Cardinal Peter Turkson of Ghana and Cardinal Francis Arinze of Nigeria are known to be very conservative.
The final point I want to make is that in Africa, and in Nigeria specifically, one of the things that we heard over and over and over again from Catholics and from clergy is that they hope that the next pope will address the violence between Muslims and Christians, because as you know, there's been a lot of violence in Nigeria specifically between Muslims and Christians. Thousands have been killed. And some of the people that we spoke to had this to say about it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I pray that this pope, I wish him, it's my heart, that the Christians and Muslims can come together. Millions have been killed as a result of religion. It touched my mind. I pray for it. I pray the pope as head of the church should focus more, especially in Africa.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Way forward is dialogue and to have peace realizing that when you kill a brother, you're not killing the religion, but you're killing the human body.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DUTHIERS: The good news, Becky, is as I said, the two frontrunners, Cardinal Turkson and Cardinal Arinze, are known for having dialogue between Muslims and Christians. They are known for having worked to bring those two faiths closer together, Becky.
ANDERSON: Vladimir Duthiers in Lagos for you this evening. Vlad, thank you for that.
Well, in another part of the world, the pope's resignation is barely getting a glance, or indeed a whisper. David McKenzie in Beijing to look at reaction, or lack of it, across China.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The pope's resignation has sent shockwaves across the Catholic community, but you wouldn't think it here in China in the main, daily paper here in Beijing, it doesn't have a single mention of the pope leaving office, that speaks to the ambivalent attitudes between the Catholics and the Communist Party.
After the revolution, the Communist Party severed ties with the Holy See and set up a state sanctioned church which ordains bishops. Many millions of Catholics here worship in state churches like this, but there's also a large underground movement that worships in illegal churches defying the Communist Party.
Pope Benedict made it his mission to try and reconcile the state sanctioned church and the Holy See. He even controversially suggested that worshipers here could at times worship in state sanctioned churches.
We reached out to the state church for comment on his resignation. They had no comment.
And though Catholics here believe that there could be some hope with the new pope, that any reconciliation is a long way off.
David McKenzie, CNN, Beijing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Well, we have plenty more ahead from Italy for you this evening. But before we do that, let me just send yoiu back to London where Max has got the headlines on some of the other stories of the day -- Max.
MAX FOSTER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Becky, coming up after the break, six months after police fire on striking miners in South Africa, footage emerges of another case of police brutality that's shocking the country.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOSTER: Welcome back. I'm Max Foster.
At least five people are dead after a floating restaurant sank in the Tigris River in central Baghdad. Police believe that dozens of people were on board the boat which doubled as a Lebanese restaurant. CNN's Moni Basu joins us from Baghdad on the phone.
Moni, what else can you tell us?
MONI BASU, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I'm standing here in front of the Lebanese (inaudible), which is a series of swanky restaurants on the banks of the Tigris here in Baghdad. (inaudible) a member of the Baghdad provincial (inaudible) tells us that (inaudible)
FOSTER: OK, we're having problems with our connection with Baghdad. We'll try to get back with Moni for you a bit later in the program.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says the U.S. will give $60 million in non-lethal aid to opposition forces in Syria. It is the first time the U.S. has directly sent aid to Syrian rebels. Pledging his support he said no people should live in fear of their so-called leaders.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN KERRY, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: With our united voice today, we express our commitment to helping the Syrian people in order to achieve their goal to live in a free and a safe and a just society. Their goal is our goal.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Australian police have made their largest ever seizure of methamphetamines. The haul was found in Sydney after a tip-off. 585 kilos of the drug were found in a contained shipped from China. Three people have been arrested and police say more arrests may follow. The drugs have an estimated value of up to $450 million.
The European Union has voted to cap bankers' bonuses. Broadly, they will be limited to the equivalent to one year's salary, much less than many bankers currently receive. Advocates say the legislation will force banks to keep greater reserves so taxpayers won't get hit in the event of another collapse. But critics are warning the cap may move business out of the European Union.
It is just six months since the world was shocked as it watched South African police fire on striking miners in South Africa. Now the country is reeling again from footage of an incident of police brutality against a man who went on to die in custody.
Here's Nkepile Mabuse.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NKEPILE MABUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Brutal police tactics captured on camera. A tax driver, believed to be Mozambiquean is handcuffed to the back of a South African police van near Johannesburg. He was apparently illegally parked. Police say they tried to get him to remove his car, but he attacked them and took one of their guns.
The officers at the scene called for backup and then this. In broad daylight, dozens of witnesses watching on, including the person who recorded this, the man is dragged for several hundred meters. He's injured, but is not taken to hospital. A few hours later on Tuesday he dies in a police cell from suspected head wounds.
MOSES DLAMINI, POLICE INVESTIGATIVE DIRECTORATE: We are shocked by this incident.
MABUSE: The police investigative directorate is an independent government body that probes criminal offenses committed by the police.
DLAMINI: We deal with many other incidents which don't make it to the media, but the important thing, I think, is that they are investigated.
MABUSE: Dlamini says the directorate received more than 6,000 complaints accusing police officers of everything from murder to torture last year.
This dramatic shootout shocked the world when police killed 34 platinum miners on a strike in August. The president ordered a judicial investigation into the event.
The year before that, this man was shot at during a protest in full view of the media. He died at the scene.
Amnesty International says this incident is the latest in an increasingly disturbing pattern of brutal police conduct in South Africa.
What does this say about the South African police?
DLAMINI: Not (inaudible) as a whole, because we know, for instance, of many other officers who are dedicated, who do their job, who uphold the law and who catch criminals all the time.
MABUSE: The South African national police commissioner has strongly condemned the incident and has pledged to cooperate with the probe. The police refuse to be interviewed by CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Nkepile, we talk about an increasing pattern of this sort of abuse, but is that the case or is it just being exposed more -- has always been there, but the media is better at digging these stories out now?
MABUSE: You know, the laws have become tighter as well. Police are compelled by law to open a case whenever they're involved of an incident like this. And if they don't open a case, at least an inquest of somebody dies in police custody, they could be found guilty of committing a crime. And it's not just to do with murder and police custody, it is to do also with assaults and corruption, et cetera.
So the laws are tighter, yes the eye of the media is also on the police and their action, but let's fact it, you know, levels of violent crime in South Africa are extremely high. And you're seeing a police force that's under a lot of pressure responding to this violent crime in a violent manner, Max.
FOSTER: And that's the thing, isn't it? When you look at these imagines -- we've got them up on the screen at the moment -- the police are just getting on with this abuse in front of a large crowd. It almost looks like a normal situation for the untrained eye. I mean, it does seem like a cultural problem if it's so normal. It's not being hidden in any way?
MABUSE: You know, Max, that is the most disturbing thing. Police officers in full police uniform using a police car, so many onlookers, so many witnesses, and it does appear as when you look at this footage that they don't think that they're doing anything wrong.
And I've been speaking to analysts today who say, you know, there are some police officers in this country who feel that they're above the law, but we mustn't forget where we come from, Max. This is a country during apartheid that had a very bag human rights record where police could torture and kill with impunity. And I think it's going to take many, many years to totally eradicate that kind of culture, Max.
FOSTER: Nkepile, thank you very much indeed for joining us from Johannesburg.
And from there we're going to try, actually, to back to Baghdad and speak to Moni Basu where we've got this unfolding tragedy involving a restaurant boat, Moni.
BASU: Yes, that's right. You know, Baghdad is a city that's used to news about death and tragedy, but this is tragedy of a different kind. I'm being told by the local -- by Mohammed (inaudible), a member of the local provincial counsel here, about 150 people were on board this floating restaurant which is part of the Lebanese family club, swanky series of restaurants on the banks of the river Tigris. And really the restaurant capacity of 100 people. And the boat -- the floating restaurant sank and five people -- they recovered five bodies. Two are still missing. And the search is still going on for those two people.
FOSTER: And in terms of where we are in the process, I mean, are we pretty sure that it was just five dead, or does the search continue for unaccounted people?
BASU: Well, the details are very sketchy. And this is what the provincial council member told us.
Outside the restaurant, the scene was pretty chaotic. There were people finding out about their families, or loved ones who were missing or dead. There were people -- I saw a woman wailing openly out there. There were other men who were very angry, some blamed the local government for allowing such a horrible tragedy to happen.
But the details about exactly what happened aboard that floating restaurant are still quite sketchy, Max.
FOSTER: OK, Moni Basu in Baghdad, thank you very much indeed.
Plenty more still to come on Connect the World. Last night, the manager of Chelsea criticized the club and its fans and said he's quitting. Today, it's business as usual. What next for Rafael Benitez and Chelsea. I'll have more in sports coming up later in the show.
Plus, no campaigning allowed for these cardinals, but gamblers are already hedging their bets on the next pope. Becky finds out who has got the best odds. That's just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: A very warm welcome back. I'm Becky Anderson in Castel Gandolfo just outside of Rome. This is a special edition of CONNECT THE WORLD. These are the news headlines this evening.
Benedict XVI is no longer pope and has retreated from public life. He made one final speech as leader of the Catholic Church earlier today from the building just behind me. It's now up to the College of Cardinals to elect his successor.
At least five people are dead after a floating restaurant sank in the Tigris River in central Baghdad. Police believe that dozens of people were onboard the boat, which doubled as a Lebanese restaurant. It's not clear what caused the vessel to sink.
And the US is to give $60 million in non-lethal aid to rebels in Syria. It's the first time the US has given aid directly to the opposition fighters. Secretary of State John Kerry announced the package after meeting with representatives from the Friends of Syria group in Rome.
And mobile phone footage of a man being tied to a police van and dragged along the street has emerged in South Africa. A taxi drive believed to be from Mozambique went on to die in custody. South Africa's police watchdog is now investigating the incident.
So, as the former pope, Benedict XVI, His Holiness, as he is now known, takes up residence in the building behind me here for a couple of months. What's next? Well, it's the College of Cardinals who are tasked with electing a new pope.
And how that works and what we should expect, let's bring in John Allen, our senior Vatican analyst, who has been with me in Rome for most of the week. John, just talk us through the next couple of days.
JOHN ALLEN, CNN SENIOR VATICAN ANALYST: Sure, what's going to happen, Becky, we are now, of course, in the Sede Vacante, the Empty Seat, the interregnum between papacies.
Tomorrow, formal notification will go out from the Dean of the College of Cardinals, that's Italian Cardinal Angelo Sodano, that the Sede Vacante has begun, inviting the cardinals together in Rome. Now of course, this is a mere formality, because the vast majority of them are already here.
We know that over the weekend, cardinals will be gathering in formally in various private, behind-the-scenes venues in Rome to start talking through what's going -- what should come next.
Monday morning at 9:30 Rome time, they will begin the first of what are called their General Congregation meetings, where all the cardinals come together to talk through the issues facing the church, the qualities the next pope is going to need.
And in addition, Becky, of course, their first order of business is to set an actual date for the beginning of the conclave. We are expecting most of them are going to want to do that fairly soon, so the talk in Rome is that we can be looking at a conclave beginning around, perhaps, the 8th or 9th of March.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALLEN: The new pope is always chosen by the members of the College of Cardinals. They're the highest office in the church under the pope himself.
Normally, when a papacy ends, either through death or resignation, cardinals from around the world gather in Rome, they have daily meetings to talk about the issues facing the church and the qualities the new pope needs. We're talking about slightly over 100 cardinals who'll file into the Sistine Chapel, cast ballots, and pick a pope.
TEXT: Conclave
ALLEN: "Conclave" is a term that comes from two Latin words meaning "with a key." It refers to the fact that the cardinals are locked behind closed doors while they go through a highly ceremonial process of casting ballots, and then burning them.
Then it goes as long as it takes for someone to get two-thirds. The shortest conclave in history took a couple of hours, the longest one took three years.
TEXT: Smoke signals
ALLEN: In the old days, they would burn ballots largely because they wanted to maintain the secrecy of the conclave. That is, they didn't want the vote totals to get out.
What they realized is that when people saw the smoke from the chimney atop the Sistine Chapel, they knew a round of balloting had ended, and so they came up with this system where they would put chemicals into the mix to turn the smoke black if no pope had been elected and white if a pope had been elected.
TEXT: Who is eligible?
ALLEN: In theory, according to the law of the church, any person who is eligible for ordination to the priesthood, and therefore an unmarried male, could be elected as pope.
But in practice, a new pope will be elected from among the cardinals who are voting, that is the cardinals who are under the age of 80 who will take part in this election. Which means that the roughly 115 cardinals aren't merely voters, they are all also candidates.
TEXT: The announcement
ALLEN: When a candidate crosses that two-third threshold, another cardinal will approach him and say, "Do you accept your canonically valid election as supreme pontiff?" If he answers "yes," from that moment forward, he becomes the pope.
The next question is, "By what name will you be known?" And at that stage, the new pope tells his brother cardinals what he wants to be called, and then a few minutes later, when the announcement is made from a balcony outside St. Peter's Square, the whole world will know the name of the new pope.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ALLEN: So, there you have it.
ANDERSON: John, thank you very much, indeed. John Allen joining us there from Rome. He's the analyst and correspondent for CNN. Of course, full title, let's give that to him, it's the correspondent for the "National Catholic Reporter" as well. Thank you very much, indeed. It's been an absolutely pleasure working with you this week, John.
The wallets are out. Keen gamblers have got their eye, then on what happens next. The Irish bookie Paddy Power telling us it expects the papal race to be its biggest non-sporting event. They've already taken close to half a million dollars.
Let's have a look at the runners and riders, shall we? With odds just two to one, it's Cardinal Scola from Milan who is in the lead. That's an Italian. Close behind is the Cardinal Turkson of Ghana. Talking about him just earlier on in the show with Vladimir out of Lagos. He's a favorite of church insiders. His odds are five to two.
(COUGHS)
ANDERSON: Excuse me. Rounding out the top three --
(COUGHS)
ANDERSON: I tell you what, I'm going to take a very quick break. I'll be back after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Apologies. I'm back. I've been talking a lot this week, just losing my voice slightly. Anyway, the bookies are out there. There are some significant odds against a number of men, including a cardinal from Canada. Paula Newton reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): By any measure, it's an improbable path to papal greatness. The snowmobiles roar past the church in La Motte, Quebec, a town of four corners that rests on the shores of a bucolic lake, the remote rural setting in the Abitibi region of Quebec, Canada.
NEWTON (on camera): You know, just getting here really did feel like a pilgrimage almost. This tiny village is really typical of northern Quebec. They snowmobile, they ice fish, and yet, it could be the birthplace of a pope.
Now, it might be tiny, but at 430 people, the challenges here really do typify the challenges ahead for the Catholic Church. To find out why, I want you to follow me inside, here, to the Church of Saint Luke.
LOUIS OUELLET, BROTHER OF CARDINAL MARC OUELLET: This was built by my grandfather.
NEWTON (voice-over): Inside, we sit down with Louis Ouellet. The brother of Cardinal Marc Ouellet, already a senior Vatican official, and now a top papal contender. The onetime Archbishop of Quebec heads the group that picks all bishops and cardinals.
OUELLET: He was baptized here, of course, and he was named priest here.
NEWTON (on camera): So, he said his first mass here --
(CROSSTALK)
OUELLET: Yes, first mass. Here, yes. His first mass.
NEWTON: Do you think he was nervous that day?
OUELLET: He must have been very emotional. He must have been very emotional.
NEWTON (voice-over): The providence of L'Eglise Saint Luke is closely intertwined with that of Cardinal Ouellet, and yet now, with dwindling worshipers, mass is only observed here every other week. It's also a community center for rent, a theater, a necessary re-fit to save it from demolition.
OUELLET: This is the old house where we were born.
NEWTON: From his hometown to global scandals, the adversity facing his church has not been lost on Cardinal Ouellet.
NEWTON (on camera): He actually said that he thought the job of pope was a bit of a nightmare?
OUELLET: He knows exactly what the work is. Now, I'm not going to speculate on what's going to happen, but I know one thing. He's very well- formed, very well-educated. He has a strong background, and I know that he can do the job.
NEWTON (voice-over): It's with fierce pride that Louis Ouellet walks us through the family history.
OUELLET: This is the old house where we were born. We were all born in the house. Not in the hospital.
NEWTON: the close family of eight kids, a childhood steeped in singing, study, worship, and so much else.
OUELLET: He was a good hunter.
NEWTON (on camera): Yes.
OUELLET: Better fisherman, but a good hunter.
NEWTON: How would you describe him to the world.
OUELLET: What I know of him is my brother, so he has love, compassion, he is generous with us. We -- that's the side of Marc that we know most.
NEWTON (voice-over): If he is elected pope, Cardinal Ouellet need only look to the evolution of the village he still calls home and try and map a new future for his church.
Paula Newton, CNN, La Motte, Quebec.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: All right. Well, the next pope could also come from the United States. Christiane Amanpour has been speaking to the Archbishop of New York, Timothy Dolan. Have a look -- a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Are you going to be the next pope? You are on many people's lists of frontrunners.
TIMOTHY DOLAN, CARDINAL, ARCHBISHIP OF NEW YORK: Well, I've been on my mom's list for a while, though I don't know how many other lists that I've been on. But I don't think so. As you know, you're a pro, that's tough for us to talk about, and it's uncomfortable to talk about. I'm flattered that you would even think that, but I don't think that's a possibility.
AMANPOUR: You have used extremely colorful language --
(LAUGHTER)
AMANPOUR: -- in fact, to play that down. I think you said that "you might be smoking marijuana or something if you think I'm -- "
(LAUGHTER)
DOLAN: I said people who say that might be drinking too much grappa or smoking marijuana. They asked me today, they said, "You have a chance to follow Pope Benedict." I said, "I've got a better chance of following A-Rod at third base for the Yankees than following Benedict XVI as the Bishop of Rome."
(END VIDEO CILP)
ANDERSON: There's a man with a sense of humor. All right. You can see more of that interview with Cardinal Dolan on "Amanpour" which, of course, follows this show. So that is 11:00 PM Rome time, 10:00 London time, and at times I'm sure you can work it out in your region.
Let's get you some sports and business news before we wrap up this show from Italy. Let's get you back to Max in the studio for that. Max?
MAX FOSTER, HOST: Yes, Becky, we're going to take a look at the Dow because pretty exciting day, pretty exciting week. It's coming very, very close, indeed, to a record high, a record high of 14,164, set in 2007. Currently a little bit off that, 14,054.
And we're going to speak to equities traders Kenneth Polcari of O'Neil Securities in New York to talk us through it. Because there was expectation in the news community that we would hit this point, but did the likes of yourself really expect it to happen today?
KENNETH POLCARI, DIRECTOR OF FLOOR OPERATIONS, O'NEIL SECURITIES: No. At one point kind of in midday it felt like it got a little bit exciting. It felt like, in fact, they were going to push it. But yet, you could also feel the exhaustion. Over the last couple of days, we've had a major move in the market from after Monday's sell-off, due to the European and the Italian elections.
And then, we rallied back hard on Tuesday, Wednesday. And today, it felt a little bit tired, although they did give it a good shot, and we came within 20 points of actually piercing it and breaching it, only to sell of as the 3:00 hour came, and then we ended up where you see, we actually ended up down on the day, which is a little bit disappointing. But listen, we'll get there.
FOSTER: And we should probably point out the volumes were quite thin, meaning that there weren't that many trades today. But can you in any way explain where this mood of investors has come from, this more positive mood, and how far will it continue, do you think?
POLCARI: Well, listen, here's the deal. And this is true, I would imagine, around the global markets, not just here in the US. There's massive federal -- central bank and Federal Reserve accommodation policy, not only in this country, but you see it in the ECB and Europe, we see it out of the Bank of Japan and in other parts of the world.
And all this accommodation has really been the fuel behind the global rally as you look at markets around the world. Most markets are moving higher because it's a search for yield, right? Rates are being held low -- artificially low by central bankers, and so investors are searching for yield, and so it forces this risk trade, and really it forces a trade into equities.
And so, we see this move higher, and it's kind of anti-climactic, because here in the States, on the one hand, we're challenging all-time highs, but yet on the other hand, the economic mood in the country is still not so robust.
Still there are some people that are still kind of in despair of where the economy is, whether they're still out of a job, they've been struggling for a job, or they're in fear of their job.
So, it's kind of a yin and a yang, right? Because on the one hand, you've got the market challenging the highs, and on the other hand, you've still got an economy that feels less than robust.
FOSTER: This is what people people should remember, isn't it? Because there's some cash swirling around, people want to put it somewhere. They're putting it into the equity markets at the moment, but it doesn't necessarily mean that we're out of the worst in terms of the economy.
POLCARI: That's true, and we're seeing that over. And the other thing I think that is important to understand is you can also feel the nervousness in the market. Like for instance, Monday's a perfect example, right?
The markets were prepared for a certain outcome in Italy, and when it became clear that that outcome was not going to be the expected an outcome, you saw an immediate reaction in global markets.
You saw Europe sell off, you saw the United States sell off, and then the next day, Tuesday morning, you saw the Asian market sell off all on fear of this recurring crisis again in Europe, right? The financial crisis kind of brewing and rearing its ugly head into Italy and then Spain and then who else was it going to drag in?
And so, what that really tells you is that the investors are still nervous, right? They're not convinced yet that the worst of the -- although the worst is over, we're not convinced that we're not going to still hit some bumps in the road.
And the other thing is, last week when there was some speculation that the Fed in this country was going to start to withdraw or pull back, you also so the market start to roll over, because investors realize, the economy's not there yet. It can't stand on its own two feet, and it's depending, in fact, demanding, almost, that the Fed remain there and continue to feed it the candy.
FOSTER: Ken Polcari, thank you very much, indeed. We'll see what happens tomorrow.
Turning to sports and Chelsea's interim boss, Rafa Benitez has confirmed he will step aside at the end of the season, and it's the reason for his departure that has a lot of people talking. Don Riddell is at CNN Center. An extraordinary series of events, Don.
DON RIDDELL, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely right, Max. There really is never a dull moment at Chelsea, and the latest episode of that particular soap opera unfolded at the Riverside Stadium in Middlesbrough on Wednesday night.
Rafa Benitez has only been in the job five minutes as the Chelsea manager. He succeeded Roberto di Di Matteo, who was sacked only a few months after leading Chelsea to their first ever Champions League title.
The fans have never taken to him. They've been chanting for his dismissal almost since the very moment that he arrived, and basically last night, Max, he decided that he'd had just about enough. So he said, "I'm leaving at the end of the season."
He may well have been leaving at the end of the season anyway, but he's criticized, the fans, he said it's time they stopped wasting time making banners and chanting for his dismissal. He says it's time they got behind the team. He also criticized his own employers. He said they'd basically undermined his position by making him only the interim manager as opposed to the manager.
It's interesting, I've been speaking to some of the fans today, and some of them are saying look, I think this was a calculated move by Benitez. He thought he was going to come in, win a couple of trophies, it was going to be easy money for Benitez, and now that it's starting to go wrong, they feel as though he's blaming the fans because he knows that it's going wrong, and his own stock is going to suffer as a result.
FOSTER: And let's take it to Lazio as well. Obviously, they've been in the news over the last couple of days. They're now lashing out at UEFA, aren't they?
RIDDELL: Yes. Well, on Wednesday, UEFA hit them with a punishment whereby they'd have to play their next two European games behind closed doors, that as a result of racist fan behavior in their recent Europa League Game against Borussia Monchengladbach.
Lazio have hit back at UEFA today, Max, saying that they believe that punishment is excessive. They will be appealing it, and they say that they're really done everything they can to try and clamp down on the extreme behavior of their far-right supporters.
They believe that when UEFA look at the full facts of the case that they will agree with them and reduce that sentence, but we will see.
FOSTER: We will indeed. Don Riddell, thank you very much.
ANDERSON: You're watching a special edition of CONNECT THE WORLD from here at Castel Gandolfo just outside of Rome. Coming up after the break, we look at Benedict XVI's legacy and an historic past few days here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(CROWD CHEERING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: He led the world's more than billion Roman Catholics for eight years. Today, he is in the -- tonight in the building behind me, starting off what is the rest of his life. He is no longer pope. He is Benedict XVI, and he is now known as His Holiness.
So, what's his legacy? Barbie back with me here to discuss that. There'll be people with very differing views about the last eight years. This is a Roman Catholic Church which has been beleaguered by scandal, and this, a man who is very private and decided that it was time for him to go after 600 years, it's taken, for somebody to abdicate his position. Your thoughts on his legacy?
BARBIE NADEAU, JOURNALIST: Well, I think it's very clear his legacy has a dark cloud over it. He's -- we've had so many scandals, the Vati- leaks scandal, he was betrayed by his butler, the child sex abuse scandals. Everything that's come out has really reflected poorly on him in so many ways because of the perceived notion that he can't manage the church. These things will all reflect on his legacy.
His resignation will probably be what he's most remembered for. He'll be the pope that resigned after 600 years, and who knows? It may take another 600 before someone does it again. But it's going to be hard to erase all of the dark clouds over him, I think.
ANDERSON: All right, Barbie, thank you for that, and thank you for all your work with us over the past week and beyond. Let's take a look at what has been a remarkable week.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TEXT: February 24th
(POPE BENEDICT XVI SPEAKING IN ITALIAN)
TEXT: February 26th
ANDERSON: We've been on the ground here since Sunday. This was full of tens of thousands of people for what was the pope's final blessing on Sunday.
TEXT: February 27th
ANDERSON: Just making my way up to St. Peter's Square. I can already see, there's an enormous crowd up here, I would say at least 100,000, if not more.
This is the pope's last general audience, and just behind me here, they've got a road sort of cordoned off all the way around St. Peter's Square.
POPE BENEDICT XVI: I ask each of you to pray for me and for the new pope.
(APPLAUSE)
TEXT: February 28th
(POPE BENEDICT XVI SPEAKING ITALIAN)
(APPLAUSE)
(CHURCH BELLS RINGING)
ANDERSON: The window behind me is where we will see Benedict XVI make his final brief salute or hear his last words.
(POPE BENEDICT XVI SPEAKING ITALIAN)
ANDERSON: The assumption is, he will pretty much live his life for the rest of time in isolation.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: "Grazie e buona notte." His final words. The legacy of Benedict's papacy is yet to be determined, of course, but there is no doubt that the Roman Catholic Church is feeling bruised, struggling with a series of crises, financial, moral. Benedict's final words to the faithful, reassuring them that it will not sink amidst these choppy waters.
The successor to Pope Benedict XVI will be determined over the coming weeks, the faithful eagerly awaiting that next leaders. And on this occasion, more than maybe any other, the world watches with a similar closeness.
I'm Becky Anderson, that was a special edition of CONNECT THE WORLD from here at Castel Gandolfo. From all of us, the team here in Italy, it's a very good evening.
END
