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At Least 39 Killed in Genoa Bridge Collapse; Terror Suspect in London Identified as Salih Khater; Turkey Slabs Heavy New Tariffs on U.S. Goods; New U.S. Report Details Horrific Rapes and Cruelty in Pennsylvania Catholic Church; Russia Begins Patrols in Golan Heights; Diversity on Display in U.S. Primary Elections. Aired 11-12p ET

Aired August 15, 2018 - 11:00   ET

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

[11:00:00] BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST: Hello and welcome. You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD. It is 4:00 p.m. in London. I'm Becky Anderson for

you.

Shock and grief, giving way to anger in Italy as people are demanding answers of that devastating bridge collapse. But as long as there is a

chance that people may still be alive in the rubble, the search for survivors comes first. Right now, hundreds of rescuers in Genoa are using

sniffer dogs, heavy machinery and climbing gear frantically scouring massive chunks of broke concrete. You see that here. But they are not

hearing or seeing any signs of life, we are told. Authorities now say 39 people were killed when the bridge suddenly collapsed during a major storm

sending dozens of cars plunging to the ground. Ian Lee is live at the scene -- Ian.

IAN LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Becky, this is just a tragic that this community is trying to deal with especially the residents in this area. As

when we talk to them they tell us that they knew this was going to happen. They say for years they knew this bridge was unsafe. One family we spoke

with said that chunks of concrete would fall in their neighborhood and that in itself is dangerous and they said they would report that to the local

authorities and there would be some sort of band-aid measure to shore up the bridge. But they said it needed real structural repair. And so, when

that did happen, they said they heard the crash and they quickly gathered everything that they could because their house literally was underneath

that bridge they said. They then rushed their family away to a nearby center where people had been gathering.

But there is a lot of anger right now. I asked them if they would go back and they said, no, not really not without any assurances that their house

is safe, and they believe that could be for a while. You know, this is one of the main arteries, and that day yesterday when this happened, strong

winds, strong rain, and they believe that played part of the factor, really, in bringing this bridge down.

ANDERSON: Well, it does seem, then, that some people weren't surprised, Ian, that this happened. Here's what the mayor of Genoa told CNN. And I

quote, it's a very bad time with the collapsing of the bridge which was not absolutely unexpected.

Just how much concern was there, and it seems more questions than answers at this stage.

LEE: That's right. And you know, Becky, I put that directly to the chief of police. And he said right now this is a technical investigation. They

will advance with it as time goes by. Right now, they just want to figure out what brought that bridge down, what was the cause and then move forward

from there. But, yes, it does seem officials knew that this bridge was dangerous.

And kind of let me show you what they've been describing to us as well behind me. You can probably see there's just this huge mound of twisted

steel and concrete. Some of these slabs of concrete, Becky, are three, four stories high. This was a 4-lane road. There were 35 cars roughly on

it when it collapsed. And you can see on the other side there is a truck that had just meters away from going off the side. We're hearing that the

driver was able to slam the brakes but also at the same time was injured in that process but was able to get away.

But right now, there is that search and rescue operation. One thing we heard from the chief of the fire service said that they are still looking

for people, but they haven't pulled out anyone breathing since yesterday. And we see that in this growing death toll. But this, he said have like a

rescue operation with an earthquake. Had is more of what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EMANUELE GISSI, GENOA FIRE CHIEF: We are a country that is quiet used to such accidents. We are not quake prone country,[11:05:00] so this scale

is not unusual for Italy. Every accident is special in its characteristics.

We design and redesign our intervention picture each day with the changing conditions, but it's very hard to say how long this intervention will last

for the scenarios, complex and it's changing. Our work will end when the last victim has been pulled out of the rubbles.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEE: And, Becky, let me give you just two stories of survival and tragedy. The first one we're hearing that a firefighter was driving his car over the

bridge when it collapsed, and his car landed in one of the pylon supports. And so, it didn't completely hit the ground. He said that he was able to

get on his cell phone, call his colleagues and they were able to come rescue him. He attributes Saint Barbara for his survival, the patron saint

of firefighters, saying that it's a miracle he's alive.

But he was the lucky one because we spoke with one of the first responders who was one of the first people on scene and he said that he could just

hear the screaming and the crying for help underneath that rubble we just showed you. Also saying that there was one family he came across where the

mother and father in the front seats were crushed to death. They looked in the backseat, there was a child there. They said it looked like the child

could possibly be alive but when they pulled him out he was just limp -- Becky.

ANDERSON: Ian Lee on the scene for you. Ian, thank you.

One of the first rescuers to arrive yesterday told CNN he faced an absolutely devastating scene. The ground littered with smashed cars and

twisted debris. The air filled with the screams of trapped people desperate to be freed. My colleague Hala Gorani has more on how this

disaster unfolded.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR (voice-over): This is the moment the Morandi Bridge partially collapsed. The person recording the cell phone

footage screams my god. Horror and disbelief heard through his voice. Aerial footage shows a major section just gone and a violent storm lashing

down around the time of the collapse.

About 30 vehicles were on this section of bridge including several heavy- duty trucks. Some are believed to have ended up in the river. Rescuers rushed to the scene, a scene that looked like the aftermath of an

earthquake.

The fire service says some people were pulled alive out of vehicles, far too many though were not as lucky. One of our own reporters was only a few

minutes away from crossing the bridge himself when it came down. Afterward, he captured this video on his mobile phone. Thankfully the

bridge is still standing over what is a densely populated area avoiding railway tracks, shopping centers, and homes, a tragedy that could have been

even worse.

Still, authorities say the death toll is expected to climb as rescuers comb desperately through the rubble.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: That was Hala reporting there. We want to tell you a little bit more about this bridge now as engineers try to figure out what went wrong.

It's a major thoroughfare that links central Genoa with the city's airports and towns along the coast. The bridge is long, just over a kilometer and

tall, spanning 100 meters at its highest point. It's 50 years old designed by an Italian civil engineer and completed back in 1968. We're joined now

by Mark Hansford, editor of the "New Civil Engineer" magazine, whose got some thoughts on why the bridge may have collapsed. And how similar

catastrophes might be avoided in the future. Mark, walk me through these scenarios here. What happened and why?

MARK HANSFORD, EDITOR, NEW CIVIL ENGINEER: Clearly ongoing and detailed investigation, we've heard there's going to be a serious investigation as

clearly there should be. Anything we say at the moment is speculation, clearly. But there are two kind of fairly kind of obvious scenarios which

you would think they would be looking at straightaway.

The first is around the foundations and whether or not potentially the foundations have become undermined. We know there's a big storm happening

at the time. So, we can see in the pictures there that the pier has collapsed, it's right next to the river there. So, it could have been over

a period of years there could have been some undermining of the foundations going on there. We know it's been confirmed they were doing work at the

foundations at the time of the collapse or around the time of the collapse. So, you'd have to look at whether what was going on and would work of the

foundations coupled with the storm could that have been enough to destabilize the foundation enough to bring it down. So, that's option one.

The second option really would be is mostly with the super structure of the bridge itself. This is quite an unusual bridge. By standards it was, as

you say, it was designed in the late of 50s, built in the mid-60s and using at the time a very intuitive cable stay technology.

ANDERSON: Not used these days?

HANSFORD: Well, cable stay is the standard you would build a big bridge. So, it's where you have your main pylon and you have like a fan of cables

which support the deck. This bridge, as you can say, it's only got the one main cable which is encased in concrete. Which is supporting or was

supporting the deck.

[11:10:06] At the time, that was this particular designer. He was pushing the boundaries of what was possible and that's what he went with. Now, you

wouldn't design a bridge like that today. As I say, we now use sort of fan method, which is more efficient to build, it's easier to maintain, and also

offers redundancy. If one of those cables on a modern bridge snaps, then the whole bridge doesn't collapse.

ANDERSON: And this is fascinating because there will be other bridges, many, many other bridges across Europe and other parts of the world which

were designed 50 odd years ago that will probably need some sort of, you know, refurbishment at this point. We know that these things are sort of

ongoing all the time. How do we avoid another catastrophe like this?

HANSFORD: Well, clearly there are lots of bridges around the world of that age, they're not all like this bridge. There are others very similar to

this bridge designed by this same designer and they're still standing and operated today. But, yes, there are a lot of bridges of that age all to a

degree trying out this new kind of technology. And they all need constant sort of maintenance, constant supervision and a rigorous inspection regime.

Here in the U.K. interestingly, really, we have a couple bridges of a similar sort of length. We've got seven bridge and fourth road bridge.

They're different, but they are of that age. And they have had their own problems with what happens is water eventually gets into the cables, which

is supporting structure, and they start to corrode, and it can be hard to spot because they're often encased in concrete.

ANDERSON: How or could this have been avoided?

HANSFORD: Well, it's certainly not happened here. It has happened in other parts of the world. The U.S. has had bridges of this sort of age

collapse for similar kind of reasons. So, yes, it can be avoided. It's avoided with a really good maintenance regime and a good program of

structural maintenance.

ANDERSON: Which costs a lot of money and takes a lot of planning.

HANSFORD: Which costs a lot of money and takes a lot of planning. Now they tell us -- the officials have said from Italy that this bridge had had

a serious bit of work done two years ago. We don't know what that work was. And from your report just now, the locals seem to suggest, that what

was done was more superficial than it was structural.

ANDERSON: Even the mayor said this wasn't unexpected.

HANSFORD: No, exactly. So, it was clearly there were alarm bells around there, aren't there? So that will almost be a real kind of focus point of

the investigation. Exactly what kind of maintenance regime was in place. Was it enough? I mean, it would appear not.

ANDERSON: Thank you.

HANSFORD: You're welcome.

ANDERSON: Good having you in.

I want to update you now on another big story that was breaking right here in London. We know more about the man who police say deliberately drove

into people outside the Houses of Parliament on Tuesday. Reuters say his name is Salih Khater. Authorities say the 29-year-old is originally from

Sudan and is a British citizen. And we are also finding out more about what happened in the hours leading up to the incident. CNN's Erin

McLaughlin has been tracking the latest developments for us over this past 24 hours ago, it was 7:37 a.m. yesterday morning London time when this

happened. What do we know at this point now?

ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, authorities are still working to establish a motive, Becky, that's really at the heart of this

investigation. They're working to try and piece together some sort of timeline, the movements of that silver Ford Fiesta in the hours leading up

to the suspected terror attack.

We know that the Fiesta moved over from Birmingham to London, arriving at just past midnight on the Tuesday. And then was driven around Westminster

at around 6:00 a.m., a full hour and a half prior to the suspect plowing it into that security barrier injuring two individuals. Both of those

individuals have been discharged from hospital.

So, authorities still trying to piece together exactly why this took place. That motive, that's really at the heart of all of this. Why someone would

drive their car around Westminster in the heart of London at 6:00 a.m. and plow it into a barrier that seemingly would not be -- was built for that

kind of impact. That's all questions authorities are still working to answer at this point.

But we do now know, as you mentioned, according to Reuters citing a European security official that the suspect has been identified by

authorities here in the U.K. as 29-year-old Salih Khater, a British citizen originally from Sudan. We've taken a look at what we believe to be his

Facebook page. He was a student in Coventry University in the Midlands studying accounting between September 2017, and then he finished no longer

enrolled in that university May 2018. So those are all details we are now getting about the suspect in question. But, again, the key question in all

of this is why? Why did this happen?

ANDERSON: And just very briefly, is he or is he not cooperating at that point? Just to be clear.

MCLAUGHLIN: Well, at that point that is still unclear. We know immediately following this incident authorities said that he was not

cooperating. In fact, they were struggling to identify him saying only that they believe that he was not known to intelligence services here in

the U.K. It's unclear at this point if that has changed -- Becky.

ANDERSON: Erin McLaughlin on the story for you.

Well, still to come this hour, the feud between Turkey and the U.S. continues with Turkey slapping big tariffs on U.S. imports. But just who

will be paying the price.

Also, shocking allegations of sexual abuse over 70 years by Catholic priests in Pennsylvania. We're going to hear how the Vatican is

responding.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

IBRAHIM KALIN, TURKISH PRESIDENTIAL SPOKESMAN (through translator): Turkey is not in favor of an economic war, but we cannot remain complacent if

there's an attack on us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, you heard it, no economic war, but no signs of backing down either. Turkey slapping heavy new tariffs on American fruits, on

tobacco, and on cars. Turkey's economy hurting badly. But a bit of good news right now. The lira currently up against the dollar, that of course

after it hit record lows earlier this week.

CNN's John Defterios joining us now live from Istanbul. And for more than a week now Turkey and the U.S. going back and forth with sanctions, threats

of boycotts and now these tariffs, John. All this while Turkey economy is in pretty bad shape. Is Erdogan, President Erdogan playing a losing hand

here?

JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNNMONEY EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: Well, a combative game of poker, that is for sure, Becky.

[11:20:00] We have two strong personalities going to head to head in President Erdogan and President Trump here. But we have to size it up.

This is a David versus Goliath, $19 trillion economy in the United States, under $1 trillion here in Turkey. So, I don't see a win/win coming out of

it.

Ibrahim Kalin, the spokesman was suggesting though we don't want to be bullied, so they're trying to take every action at least in the short-term.

On that lira rise, by the way we went below six to the dollar. This is thrilling news for the Turks on the ground here. But this took bank board

intervention here by Turkey limiting the ability by investors to short the lira. And it's starting to work, but it's a stopgap measure, it's not a

long-term fix by any word here at all.

The second big move in the profile narrative in the country today is this tilt to the East, the latest guest to come in is the mere of Qatar. He

came with his finance minister. And Becky, in the last 15 minutes they announced a $15 million investment from Qatar coming in to Turkey. This is

when you need your partners. Yesterday it was Sergey Lavrov, the foreign minister of Russia, criticizing the position of Donald Trump.

And even this move back into Europe, President Erdogan held a call with Angela Merkel today and they announced the fact he'll go to Berlin at the

end of September. And he'll have a phone call with Emmanuel Macron, the President of France, tomorrow. So, you can see what he's trying to do at

least internally. Let's try to prop up the lira, we'll intervene if we have to, we find our partners, we make announcements and we have to get

Europe back on board here. About half the exports go to Europe and they have to engage in the fight against the United States.

ANDERSON: Yes, absolutely. Let's look at some of the products that have been hit, John. A whole grocery list here. Things that people eat, people

drink, smoke, drive. What kind of impact will all of this have on your average life in Turkey? People's lives?

DEFTERIOS: Well, it's over half a billion dollars in tariffs. You know who pays the price is the average Turkish citizen. This is the reality

here. And this is a double whammy. This is tariffs on products coming into the country, even simple cosmetics, for example, from the United

States. And secondarily is they've seen the currency get undermined on recovery today, still down. So, there's an obsession, a literal obsession

on the street about the dollar/lira rate even though the government says we don't need the dollar in the future. That's because we hit 7.2150 on

Monday. Now we're hovering just below 6. So, we took a poll of Turks, some that live abroad, some that are importers to get the feel of how

they're responding to the challenge. Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Upon our President's call, everybody flocked to currency exchange offices. People are converting

their currencies. Nationalists protect their currency, we need to protect our currency. And people are doing that. People don't know what to do to

protect their currency.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Of course, this affects our business. Prices go up, we cannot sell our goods. We're an impocket

company after all. We don't know what to impocket and how much it will cost. One dollar is 7 lira one moment, 6.30 lira a minute later. We're

now waiting to see what will happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEFTERIOS: See what will happen, these this is a common phrase. They're just waiting to see what's around the corner. None of these measures right

now, Becky, will solve the current account deficit, spiraling high inflation or the challenges they're having here with corporate debt

(INAUDIBLE) currency (INAUDIBLE) countries, it's incredible, right?

ANDERSON: Yes. John, we are struggling technically somewhat but I'm going to stick with you for a moment and hope we don't lose you again. But I

want to bring up the Dow. We've just been showing the Dow down in the corner of the screen. And pretty heavy selloff down from 300 odd points at

one point today. Just off that, about 250 and change at the moment. You talked about Qatar and Qatar's help. The optics there certainly of Qatar

riding to the rescue, as it were, and showing support for the Turks and Turkish economy will help calm the nerves of investors. But this market

today a really good example of how that threat of contagion always a worry for global investors.

DEFTERIOS: Yes, it's a fact, Becky, Donald Trump can play the bully but there's a risk factor here. If you hit hard against China, Russia, Turkey,

Qatar, Iran, Europe, Canada, Mexico, there is a boomerang effect and there is some lingering doubts here. I was always saying that this emerging

market crisis hit during the very quiet August trading.

[11:25:03] We could wake up out of this and say, wow, this is way too much for the global economy. Also, we're seeing earnings on the technology

front here, 10 cents out of China coming in lower than expected. This is hitting the tech stocks as well. But there's always a tradeoff when

President Trump plays the tough guy here. And this could lead to a global recession and that's the biggest fear if this continues with the butting of

the heads from country to country.

ANDERSON: John Defterios out of Istanbul in Turkey for you on the story of the day there. Thank you, John.

Just ahead, viewers, decades of rape and abuse by American Catholic priests with potentially thousands of victims and a concerted cover-up by the

church. We will explain the very latest up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: Well, it's billed as the biggest ever investigation into the rape and abuse of children by Catholic clergy in the United States. A new

grand jury report focuses on just one state, Pennsylvania, and just six dioceses there. The scale of what the document details is absolutely

staggering. More than 300 priests have now been credibly accused of sexually abusing more than 1,000 child victims. But it's thought that the

actual number of victims is much higher. Into thousands stretching back more than seven decades.

[11:30:07] A litany rape, abuse, and cruelty is a really distressing read. Here are just some of the survivors' stories.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was groomed starting young.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The day I met him I was around 18 months old.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They targeted me because I was fatherless.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was in my diaper and I ran out and ran right to him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were taught, I mean, the priests and the nuns are God.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just think like the word God makes me think of him and I just --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, Jean Casarez is covering this story from New York for us and Barbie Nadeau is in Rome. Extremely important that we hear the

testimony there of those who have been through so much. Jean, a grand jury found that in almost every case in this report the abuse happened too long

ago to be prosecuted. Any hope for justice and any cause for a change in the statute of limit takes at this point?

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Possibly. You know, it's so ironic, justice, because of the cover-up. And this was documented in the report,

they didn't know about it. And the priests and the bishops, they covered it all up, they shuffled the priests to other locations within the

commonwealth, so nothing would ever come.

We also heard about secret archives where the documented abuse was in direct form. Who would the victim was, who the perpetrator was. But only

the bishop of the diocese had the key, so it never came to light. And because of that cover-up, out of 301 priests that there is credible

evidence of sexual assault, only two can be prosecuted that are within the statute of limitations. I want you to listen to the Attorney General Josh

Shapiro of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Obviously immensely distressed because of the cover-up and how not many cases can go forward.

Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSH SHAPIRO, PENNSYLVANIA ATTORNEY GENERAL: These petitioners and for a time some of the dioceses sought to prevent the entire report from ever

seeing the light of day. In effect, they wanted to cover up the cover-up. They sought to do the same thing that senior church leaders in the dioceses

we investigated have done for decades, bury the sexual abuse by priests upon children and cover it up forever.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: And the grand jurors have recommended that the law should be changed in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania so that child sexual abuse has

no statute of limitations a limitations at all. But that would be going forward, it would not be retroactive to all of these victims.

ANDERSON: Barbie, this is part of the Pope's apology to abuse victims earlier this year. It was on a trip to Chile where his own response to

abuse allegations was criticized. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

POPE FRANCIS (through translator): Here I feel bound to express my pain and shame. Shame at the irrelevant represent personal damage caused to

children by some ministers of a church.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Bobby, what has been the Vatican's response to this latest report?

BARBIE NADEAU, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we had a very stern and no comment from the Vatican when we tried to reach them this morning. But I've

noticed on the Vatican's news website they've put up a statement by the United States congregation of bishops and that would be the authority that

would make such a statement. On it they say they express their shame. They say they're sorry for the sins and omissions of the clergy and they

offer their prayers, of course, to the victims.

But what they don't talk about and they don't acknowledge is culpability for criminal action, for any crimes and misdemeanors that this grand jury

report clearly, clearly states and points out. And what we see time and time again is the Vatican remaining silent on this issue until it's pushed

far enough where they are presented with victims they have to meet with. This pope has been criticized for having a blind spot on this issue. And

the fact that we haven't had a direct comment from the Vatican now, 24 hours after this report came out is just business as usual here at the Holy

Sea -- Becky.

ANDERSON: Barbie, Jean, thank you. As we just heard, Pope Francis has spoken out on this issue before and many abuse victims are hoping that he

will do so again. When he visits Ireland in ten days' time, a country that is endured its own massive scandal of pedophile priests and institutional

abuse. With investigators finding that for decades senior church figures covered up the rape and assault of kids, children, and moved offenders

rather than report them to the authorities.

[11:35:00] My next guest is an Irish survivor of sexual abuse. Marie Collins was personally chosen by Pope Francis to sit on the Vatican's

council for the protection of minors. She resigned last year over what she sees as the church's resistance to change. Briefly, if you will, remind us

what you went through and what your response to this latest despicable behavior, this report is.

MARIE COLLINS, FORMER MEMBER, VATICAN CHILD PROTECTION COMMISSION (via Skype): Well, as a survivor of abuse, I met the same sort of thing in my

dioceses when I tried to report my abuser, the dioceses protects him. They wouldn't cooperate with police, et cetera, and that caused me to go public.

And more recently, of course, I was on the commission to advise the Pope on the changes necessary in the church with other experts around the world.

And we advised him about holding bishops accountable and about putting in strong safeguarding policies in every dioceses in the world. Now he

approved these. He approved our proposals but when they went to the curia, his civil service, they refused to implement them.

And I worked on the commission for three years, but it became very obvious to me that there were people in the Vatican at the head of the church, the

top end of the church who had no will to change, to do anything which would prevent these appalling, appalling things happening. And to hold the men

who allow them to happen, who cover-up, who protect these criminals to even look at it. They had no will at all. And that is the problem. What we've

seen in Pennsylvania is no different than what we saw here in Ireland, in Australia, in all the countries where there have been reports and

investigations. There's no difference whatsoever. And the church is still silent.

ANDERSON: That is extremely disappointing. Marie, CNN spoke to an American abuse survivor who said the church, as far as he is concerned, is

more concerned with protecting its bottom line and its billions in assets than the people it has harmed. Have a listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHAUN DOUGHERTY, ABUSE SURVIVOR: When you've embezzled from the church as a priest, you go to jail. When you rape a child as a priest, you get

transferred to a whole new flock of kids. So, it's a business. So maybe that will do it. Money has been there presser their whole time, in my

opinion. So, this right now is a public relations problem for his business. And he is the CEO of that business.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: That's Shaun Dougherty speaking about Pope Francis there telling us what effectively he would say to him. Having seen the workings of that

council that you sat on up close, is this a categorization that you agree with?

COLLINS: I'm not sure if it t is just about money. It is the attitude, the total attitude to child abuse. You see the American bishops have just

come out and apologized for the sins and omissions. Abuse of a child is not a sin, it's a crime. And until they will accept that and treat it as a

crime, we will get nowhere. Certainly, the head of the Legion of Christ, Marcial Maciel, who was a horrific child abuser, he brought millions into

the church. And John Paul II did nothing about it. And I'm quite surety money he was bringing in was part of that.

But I think the problem, the main problem is that every single report that has been done in every country there has been an investigation, the

conclusion has been that the church was more interested in protecting its own reputation than protecting children. And that is not changing. We're

30 years on now in this crisis being made public and the church is still sitting there, and I believe just hoping it will go away. It won't go

away, it's going to come in country after country after country and we're going to have report after report after report. And really the only thing

that can happen now is we can no longer allow the church to police itself. And the countries have to, the society and civil authorities have to

investigate and bring criminal cases against these men.

ANDERSON: Marie, I want to show our viewers just some of the places where the church is currently dealing with abuse scandals. Those scandals that

are out, as it were.

[11:40:00] Besides Pennsylvania and the United States, a senior Australian figure has been sentenced for concealing child abuse. Chile has seen a

church authority raided as part of a probe. And an investigation in the U.K. found it appalling abuse at two Catholic schools. Pope Francis will

be in Ireland in ten days' time. It is unclear what, if anything, he will say in response to this latest report and, indeed, to the allegations of

sex abuse of children in Ireland from the late 1980s. Your thoughts on Pope Francis's handling of all of this.

COLLINS: He has said better things and he has condemned abusers and he has apologized to survivors. And he has shown the right attitude. But actions

haven't followed as in the case of the recommendations his commission gave and weren't put in place. When he comes to Ireland, the most he has done

is to accept the resignations of some bishops. Accepting resignations is - - means nothing. It means these men who have been guilty of appalling behavior are allowed to just walk away. It's not the same as being

removed, being tried, having what they have done on their behavior made clear. And he probable disciplined, something that would deter others from

behaving in the same way.

So, what I would like to see is when the Pope comes to Ireland, to come out, not make these sort of we're sorry, it's all happened type of

statements, but to tell us what is he going to do and do it. And it must be something concrete. I mean, we've seen it in Pennsylvania the numbers.

In Australia, the Royal commission who investigated the Catholic Church and the numbers, they found in 30 years, less than Pennsylvania, since 1980 --

between 1980 and 2015, they found nearly 2,000 perpetrators. 2,000. And can you imagine how many victims that means?

This is going on in Chile, France, Ireland, Australia, Belgium, America, country after country after country. Just letting these men who are

turning a blind eye or protecting abusers walk away without a stain on their character, just allowed to resign and go into the sunset is perfectly

wrong and he has to do something concrete about it now. Because it's not only destroying lives, it's destroying his church.

ANDERSON: Marie, briefly, we started this part of the show by introducing you as someone who's personally chosen by Pope Francis himself to sit on

that Vatican Council for the protection of minors. You say that you resigned last year because of what you saw then as the church's resistance

to change. Was there anything that you took away from that council that you felt optimistic about?

COLLINS: Sadly, to say no. I went into it hopeful because I thought the Pope setting it up was hopeful. The fact that he wanted independent

people, he wanted lay people, he wanted experts in this issue brought in to advise him. And -- but unfortunately, what the experts recommended didn't

happen and three, four years on now since I left, that term of those members has ended, and new members have been brought on and they tend to --

they have tended to be far more people from within the church. So that commission, I feel, has basically been subsumed into the Vatican. It's

under control now of the curia so it's even less likely to bring any results.

The problem is clericalism. The church just won't listen to lay people, won't listen to what they see as outsiders and none of that changes and

where we are. We have to do something ourselves. Society has to do something. Civil authorities have to do something. The church, unless the

Pope announces something dramatic, the church can't be allowed to police itself any longer. It really can't.

ANDERSON: Well, we will see. I mean, it's one of those cliche terms, isn't it? Let's wait and see what happens next. But I mean, we'll stay on

this story because you make some very, very good points. Marie, thank you for joining us. Marie Collins for you on CNN.

Before we move on, I want you to have a listen to one of the shows earlier on, CNN talk, which took on the topic of sex abuse within the Catholic

Church. Part of their exchange here about whether the church should be an institution that evolves or remain the same overtime. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[11:45:00] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's a danger here of Western liberals wanting the Catholic Church to essentially reform itself until it's not the

Catholic Church. I mean, demanding that it bring into line it's policies and its doctrine into line with civil society.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Avoiding pedophilia and rooting out pedophilia which almost every person in the world would want isn't the same as demanding

abortion rights. Even if people around this table and I'm sure all of us do agree that abortion rights should be granted. About half the population

don't think that way.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, but the point is the Catholic Church is just like some giant charity, like it's just doing good. It's not. It's imposing --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We agree.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- laws on how people -- you know, kind of religious and cultural laws on how people live their lives.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Part of the sit in "TALK" show earlier on today. And if you would like more details about what those grand jurors in Pennsylvania

called the church's playbook for concealing the truth and where we go from here, do use CNN.com. That's CNN.com.

Horrific stories, but one that's so important to shed light on, they should never happen again. Let's take a quick break, we'll be back after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: That was fighting in the Syrian city of Daraa early on in the Syrian civil war. Here on CNN on this show we have been covering the

Syrian war over the past seven years. The war does now seem to be winding down with the Syrian regime reclaiming much of what it had lost. The game

changer, well that appears to have been Russia. And now Russian forces are taking on another role in a new area, patrolling the buffer zone between

Israel and Syria in the Golan Heights. CNN's Frederick Pleitgen has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This valley could be vital in the next phase of the Syrian conflict.

Quneitra at the foot of the Golan Height, the buffer zone between Israel and Syria. On a Russian organized visit, the Colonel Viktor Zaytsev shows

me the area the Syrian military with Russian help recently retook.

COLONEL VIKTOR ZAYTSEV, RUSSIAN MILITARY (through translator): On the right you can see the demilitarized zone and further down in the Israeli

border. Behind us is the bravo line. Further along there is the post of the Russian military police which serves as the guarantor of peace in in

the province of Quneitra.

PLEITGEN: The U.N. observer mission abandoned it post here when rebels took over the area in 2014. Now Russia says it wants to bring the

observers back, also to mitigate Israel's anxiety over Iran's possible presence.

(on camera): Ousting rebels from this area was a huge achievement for the forces of Bashar al-Assad and the Russian backers. But it's also led to

huge concerns among the Israelis. They fear Iran could gain a foothold here.

[11:50:00] (voice-over): Israel has expanded its cross-border airstrikes on Iranian positions in Syria. And says it wants Russia to keep Iran away

from its borders. Russia an ally of Iran in the Syria war says it's conducting joint patrols with the Syrian police in the demilitarized zone.

LT. GENERAL SERGEY KURALENKO, RUSSIAN MILITARY (through translator): Currently our plan is -- and are already implementing it -- is to set up

check points of the Russian military police along the bravo line. And I stress that in the demilitarized zone itself there are no Russian check

points. But in total we have four check points operating.

PLEITGEN: The Syrian army with Russian support swept through most of southern Syria about a month ago. Now that the anti-Assad rebels have been

ousted, the danger of a larger Israeli/Iranian confrontation here looms. Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Quneitra, Syria.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: We're in London for you. This is CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Becky Anderson. Coming up, diversity, the winning word as U.S. candidates break

barriers in their bids for office.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: This is the moment that history was made, with the first openly transgender person nominated by a major party to run for governor.

Christine Hallquist now face Vermont's current Republican governor in November. Well a rare high in a political climate where we are so often

speaking about lows like this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SARAH SANDERS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: This has absolutely nothing to do with race, the President's an equal opportunity person that calls things

like he sees it. He always fights fire with fire.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, as the White House struggles with issue of diversity, we saw it was celebrated across the U.S. last night in a series of election

wins. Minnesota could end up with sending the first Somali American to Congress, Ilhan Omar won the Democratic primary for the seat being vacated

by Congressman Keith Ellison. If they are reelected, Omar and Michigan's Rashida Tlaib will be the first Muslim women in Congress. And in Vermont,

Democrat and former energy company executive Hallquist is celebrating her win telling CNN that her nomination is a direct response to Donald Trump's

election and people's rejection of, quote, fear and division.

Meanwhile, it was unusual candidate showcasing how vibrant American politics can be. He's too young to drive, drink a beer, or even vote for

himself, but he ran for governor of Vermont. 14-year-old Ethan Sonneborn came in fourth in the race for the Democratic Party nomination before

Tuesday's vote. He talked about his message. Have a listen.

[11:55:00] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ETHAN SONNEBORN, DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE FOR VERMONT GOVERNOR: My age hasn't played as large role in my campaign as one might think. Everywhere I go my

message transcends age.

TEXT: This 14-year-old wants to be the next governor of Vermont. Vermont and Kansas are the only states that don't have age restrictions on

gubernatorial candidates.

SONNEBORN: I decided to run for governor after I saw the failure by so many in politics to work for their constituents instead of working for

lobbyists and corporations. I felt like there was a new generation of leadership that can be doing a better job in our state.

TEXT: Sonneborn's campaign revolves around gun-control, healthcare reform, economic development and education.

SONNEBORN: The way we win this election I think the way we govern effectively is by making sure that people know that government is looking

out for them.

TEXT: Sonneborn will face-off against four other Democrats in the August 14 primary.

SONNEBORN: I can sum up my campaign in a simple phrase. It's the job of government to make people's lives easier.

TEXT: Sonneborn isn't the only team to run for office in 2018. 16 is reining Kansas' gubernatorial primary.

SONNEBORN: 2018 is a year where people from all over the socioeconomic spectrum, people from backgrounds that aren't like that of the typical

politician, they're running for office and I'm a part of that, I think.

TEXT: If elected, Sonneborn would leave high school. And if he doesn't win, he says it won't be the end of his political career.

SONNEBORN: I do intend to stay involved in public life after this campaign.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Watch this space. I'm Becky Anderson. That was CONNECT THE WORLD. Thank you for watching. We are going to leave you this hour where

we started with this new video from the bridge collapse in Italy. Good evening.

END