>> i think pope benedict expressed it very well. he said that christianity should not be presented as a series of noes but as a yes, a yes to love, a yes to life, a yes to justice and peace. you know, the principal job of the pope and of the whole church is to figure out how to preach the gospel in a way that is understandable and attractive to people in the 21st century, especially to young people who are just turned off by religion. >> does that imply a kind of, what we think of as evangelical protestantism, very vigorous, loud music, plenty of excitement? can we look for that in south america, at least, from the church? >> we're seeing it in south america. we're seeing it in africa with music and dance. we have to adapt christianity. well, better put, we have to express christianity in different cultures in different ways. remember st. augustine and st. thomas aquinas. what they did in their time was take the best intellectual thought. for augustine, it was neoplatonism. for aquinas, it was aristotle. and press christianity to th

like pope benedict from germany.o we're expecting more -- i can't tell if the pope is still out in the popemobile, but nobody is leaving. everybody is looking at those big screens over st. peter's square. >> well, ben, i have an advantage, i can see the bird's eye view of st. peter's square. so he most definitely is still there. the popemobile still continues to do the tour and indeed we've seen people lifting children, lifting babies up for the pope to kiss. we'll be right back. up next, more from the crowd and as you said they are part of something historic. and let's not forget that pope benedi benedict, a german, pope john paul from poland, the first nonitalian popes in about 500 years. >>> welcome back to our special coverage of the pope's second as to last day. he's in his popemobile touring the st. peter's square. and he's saying farewell to the faithful who have come to see his last general audience. shortly he'll begin speaking and we'll bring you his address. first, though, we're going to new york for some

you listened to what pope benedict xvi just said. can you in our speak decipher for us what the message was he was trying to leave us with? >> really he was offering a reflection, very briefly, on his experience yesterday of, i think, feeling the unity of the church. he actually quoted one of his favorite theologians, guardini who he knew during the second vatican council. he kept speaking of the church as a living being, the church is alive in the souls of the people who believe. i think he was really speaking from the heart about his own experience leading the church in that regard and the final moment, the last thing he said, what struck me, is to hear him speak about the next pope, the future pope. he said in particular he will continue to serve you, meaning his brother cardinals, in prayer, that as he moves into this ministry of prayer he recognizes that he's continuing to serve the church. >> he said he hopes the holy spirit guides them in the election of the new pope, hopes the lord will show you, the cardinals, the right way.

benedict will speak off the cuff. his final farewell to this group that's meant so much to him over the years. then we'll see each cardinal processing up and having a moment of face time with the holy father. the drama is not going to be so much in what is said but instead, these normally aloof, reserved is princes of the church, i would imagine most of them will be feeling pretty raw emotions. you'll be seeing hearts on the sleeve in a way you rarely do from this group. >> john and zoraida, we're going to be talking later, interviewing cardinal timothy dolan of new york. there are several american cardinals here who will be voting. i spoke to cardinal makerik of washington, he's the retired archbishop of the d.c. diocese. he doesn't feel it's time yet for an american pope, nonetheless, the american cardinals are important. while all these challenges are out there for the roman catholic church, by a wide margin, american catholics approve of pope benedict xvi and what he's been doing as pope. they have various issues

that is where local media say pope benedict xvi has announced he will resign. we are hearing he will step down on the 28th of february. he was elected pope as the age of 78. we will be getting more information on this breaking news story in just a couple of minutes right here on al jazeera. stay tuned. it just a reminder, we are hearing from the vatican that pope benedict xvi has resigned. let's find out more and bring in sabine joining us on the telephone from italy. what more could you tell us on this announcement the pope will be resigning february 28? >> it appears the pope made the announcement himself but the information is very, very sketchy. of course, this is really big news. having a poker resign is something we have not seen for hundreds and hundreds of years. it appears the pope gave the announcement in latin. that is all we have a moment. we are obviously going to be following this story very closely indeed to see how things develop. >> i understand information just coming in, and very scarce at the moment. but any idea as to why he is going to res

pulp benedict xvi will resign at the end of february -- pope benedict will resign. this makes him the first pontiff in 600 years to step down. it is meant to be a job for life, but pope benedict xvi says he is stepping down at the end of the month. a huge shock for the catholic church and its 1 billion followers. >> the 85-year-old german is resigning because of a progressive decline in land his health and not because of an illness. the new pope will have to be elected. the vatican says that will happen before the end of march. >> it was the moment that will go down in history, a moment even his closest aides were not prepared for. benedict was presiding over a meeting ever cardinals called to discuss business, instead he announced he will become the first pope in six centuries to resign. >> in order to steer the ship of st. peter and proclaim the gospel, both strength of body and mind are necessary. that strength has deteriorated in meat so that i have noticed the adequacy of my inability to fill that entrusted to me. >> the head of the college of cardinals said hi

we just watched pope benedict leave the vatican. there they are moving along. >> straight to the helicopter is where they're headed. let's go to christiane amanpour and father irwin who are in rome right now sort of in the middle of all of that clapping and celebrating we just saw, christiane. >> reporter: indeed. and off he goes in that car, as you said, at a pretty brisk clip. he's going to the helipad which i'm told is at the vatican train station, if you can believe it and you know better than i that there is a vatican train station. he'll get on the helicopter and go. i just came from the north american college where i interviewed cardinal dolan about half an hour ago and he said, cardinal dolan, that him and many of the other cardinals, the american elected cardinals who are going to be staying there are going to go up to the roof to see if they can see the helicopter taking off. we've already seen cardinal turkson of ghana has joined the twitter revolution and he himself from the top of st. peter's behind me has tweeted a pic

eastern time pope benedict xvi will officially step down. he shocked the world with the announcement earlier this month. the first pope in fact in 600 years to resign. he no longer has the mental or physical strength to leave the catholic church. his final blessing sunday he reacured faithful followers he is not abandoning the church and he will spend his final years in prayer. for more coverage of the pope's final public pier rance we go life to rome where amy kellogg is standing by in saint peters square. she joini us on the phone. >> i am where you are watching the pictures, we are waiting for the pope to begin the address which may be about to happen. it is incredibly moving. you have to wonder what is on his mind right now as he makes the final public appearance in the have aed can. we have a copy of the speech he will be making. it will be his final public appearance and thanks to all of those who have been with him through out the years here. people have passed through the square. there are a few pockets it is a full crowd. there are

it says thank you benedict, we are all with you.upport of this town that has strong tice with the vatican and especially with popes for the last 500 years. the pope have chosen castel gandolfo and the summer residence behind me as the summer residence of choice to find solace during roman summers. when they come here, they're away from crying eyes of the vatican and this is where they can really relax. there's a huge botanical garden he here. beautiful vistas over a lake, down below, down the slopes. pope benedict xvi will start from here his disappearance from public eye, if you may put it in h those words. this is where we'll start getting away from public eye and just putting the attention back to the vatican, to the new pope, when he will be elected. back to you, mara. >> claudio, thank you so much for that. >>> we're going to bring anne thompson back for final thoughts. do you have any final thoughts as we observe this historic moment for the church? >> mara, you know, i have covered the death of a pope, i have covered popes as

benedict has disappointed many who hoped for more. eight years of pope benedict xvi had not united the divided face. >> joining us now in studio is the editor-in-chief of the catholic news agency in germany. how do you think history will look back at benedict's time as pope? >> i do not think of that this will be seen as one of the strong points in his papacy. i think he had a much stronger points, like the discussion with atheists, with philosophers. he himself is more a philosopher and theologian than a politician. church politics was not his strong point. >> there's been a lot of speculation that the resignation had more to do with these scandals that have rocked the church. what is your take on that? >> i think it is absolutely absurd. could he was head of the department with the congregation of face, and during 25 years, he had everything on his desk that was about scandals in the vatican, so he knew about it for at least the last 30 years. if he would have had to resign, he would have done that much earlier than now. >> a to was

benedict. that means he's going to have some influence on the choice, even though he pledged to stay out of it. >> and he pledges to pray for them and hopes that the holy spirit leads them in the right direction. which is interesting, george. in the past, he said the holy spirit didn't have much to do with the conclaves. he didn't want to blame the holy spirit for a bad pope. it is a time when people really don't know what's going to happen. and that makes it exciting but also a little bit scary. the secretary of state -- former secretary of state, who greeted the pope this morning, the dean, said it was with some trepidation that the cardinals met. and i think he means that. i think they really don't know what's going to happen. >> he's never been through anything like this before, either. you saw cardinal dolan laugh off as the idea that he will be chosen pope. most watchers don't believe it's going to be an american. but what about the idea it could be a pope from africa or latin america? >>

pope benedict xvi saying he is stepping down. a move that took even his closest advisers by surprise and sets the stage for a new era in the catholic church and its bun billion catholics around the world. the 85-year-old pontiff says he doesn't have the strength to continue his duties in the church and will step down at the opened the month. his -- some cardinals not understanding what he said. we're seeing the same reaction from catholics all over the world, including here in the united states, the new york archbishop said he was startled. >> every catholic feels close to the pope. we call him our holy father. it's like watching your own dad get old and admit he is not up to all the duties of being the head of a family. >> the vatican stressing there's no specific medical condition that led to the resignation but the pope's advancing age. he has cut up to on his travel and moves down the aisle on a moving platform, sometimes using a cane. when he was elected nearly eight years after, benedict became the oldest pope chosen in 300

pope benedict is resigning in just a few hours. he's stepping down with promises to obey his successor. >> the pope met once last time with the college of cardinals one of those men will be the next leader of 1.2 billion roman catholics. allen pizzey is in vatican city to begin our coverage of the pope benedict's farewell. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. by the time evening begins to fall over rome benedict will be looking down at the vatican from a helicopter. three hours later he will no longer be pope and the politicking to find the new one can begin in earnest. in one of his final acts inside the vatican, pope benedict said good-bye to the cardinals. 67 of whole he had elevated to their position as the prince of the church. addressing what he called the future pope among you, benedict programs ed promised his unconditional reverence and obedience, among those making the list although a long shot is u.s. cardinal timothy dolan. in an interview cardinal dolan reflected on what kind of man will emerge as pope. >> all the

and pope benedict -- he said i want you here. then he figured i can go back and i can work on my theology and then he's elected pope. >> and that's amazing because he was -- he was -- he could be elected pope at any age, but he was boating age then. he was part of that conclave. he came up a winner. >> he did. >> what is he showing by this resignation? it's a remarkable thing. you talkedabout it earlier too. in the press he was presented as stern and angry. but yet he was light. he was very appealing to all constituencies. the scholar, the everyday catholic, the man, the woman. >> i've never seen him angry. he speaks in a way that is easy to grasp for everybody. he used to say after he was elected pope, the crowds would come to st. peter's square to listen to pope benedict xvi. but benedict is much more accessible to normal people. >> he writes so wonderfully. he is the definitive scholar. if you wanted to find out how to do it, you would watch him. >> absolutely. people ask what is his legacy. >> what is it. >> of course it's go

but this will be the first couple of months of pope benedict's requirement. it is actually a space that is larger than vatican city itself. when you're on the ground, you see a facade and it doesn't look enormous. but it is a place that he has found particularly comforting in the summer. in fact there is a plaque in the town square and it quotes him from 2011 when he said here i found everything, mountains, a lake and i can even see the sea and good people. and ann, we are expecting some 8,000 people to be waiting for him at castle gandolpho? >> yes, he will be there, and he will make what we are told unscripted remarks and those will be the last remarks of his public life. i think that's one thing that benedict tried to make clear today is that this is the end of his public life. he is going to lead a different kind of life in a different kind of service to god. and he spoke yesterday when he gave his final public speech, or what we thought was his final public speech. he talked got how the pope haas no privacy. i really thought that that was fascinating, th

pope benedict is saying i don't have it anymore.ave the strength anymore to bear the -- my mission to carry on the catholic church. >> claudio, is there concern or some speculation that there might be more to the story than that? is there some concern that in fact, there is some health situation that we are not aware of? >> there is a concern. pope benedict xvi has been weak. we never really got his health situation from the vatican. the vatican has always been very secretive about the health of any pope really. we don't really know the extent of the health problems that pope benedict xvi might be suffering right now. but certainly or hopefully we will get to know much more during the next hours. >> talk to me about how the process unfolds. i any a lot of us are familiar with what happens in the tragic event or unfortunate event that a pope passes away. but what would the process be like now if he has now told the world that he is resigning effective february 28th of this year, how does the process and what is the timing of the pr

pope benedict is a very humble man and realistic man. the job requires energies of mind and body that he no longer has. he has felt free to step down. it is the end of an era, it is the beginning of another. it is the end of the popes that are very closely involved with the vatican council. he opens the way for future popes to retire the way he has done. >> he described himself as a transitional figure, a caretaker for the catholic church. >> i think that pope benedict have the very difficult task of moving the church for word from the enormously impressive pontificate of pope john paul. it was very difficult to imagine another pope after pope john paul. they needed somebody to be different. i think he have the strength and the character to do that. >> he certainly have the intellect. the catholic church is declining in numbers in europe and america. it is growing in africa and latin america. is it time for a pontiff from outside europe? >> it is certainly possible. just before being elected pope, he thought that the time might be drawin

of silent prayer for pope benedict. from the philippines to nigeria and mexico, news of the pontiff's's resignation spread around the world. though the news caught the faithful by surprise, many catholics expressed sympathy for benedict's condition. >> he needs a rest. he has done a lot. it is a sign of humility on his part to pass on the responsibility of leading all the world's catholics. >> benedict said he no longer had the strength to carry out his ministry. those were historic words. he is the first pope to abdicate in almost six centuries. this german cardinal believes the move could signal a new era for how future popes will deal with the responsibility of the office. >> in contrast to others in the church and in society, benedict is not clinging to power. rather, he understands that it is an authority that was conferred upon him that he must exercise for the greater good of the entire church. that is already considerable speculation about who will succeed the pope. one candidate is the current cardinal secretar

pope benedict officially steps down february 28. then the college of cardinals will meet in a papal conclave held in the sistine chap to elect a new pope. by vatican law, all cardinals under 80 at the time of voting are allowed to cast a ballot. 118 now meet that standard. >> without doubt, this is an historic moment. right now 1.2 billion catholics the world over are holding their breath. >> suarez: benedict himself will have no official role in choosing his own successor, but 67, more than half the voting-he will vibl cardinals, were appointed by him including the archbishop of washington cardinal donald whirl. >> we will be looking for someone who is a very articulate voice in that continuity. but i think we also will be looking for someone who will carry on the spiritual traditions that pope benedict has so focused on. >> suarez: more than half the current cardinals come from europe but more than half the world's catholics now live in africa and latin america. already there's speculation the next pontiff may be the first non-eur

pope benedict will not take part in the conclave. usually a conclave happens after a pope dies. 1415 was the last time a pope quit in office. who is the next pope? he could come from developing areas of the world. it guarantees a lot of drama and a lot of black or white smoke coming from the roof is sistine chapel. march report concerns about the pope's health surfaced this past christmas eve. have it can watchers say he looked frail as he delivered the midnight mass. here he is riding in a motorized cart. the mass is moved up two hours to give the pope time to rest for the christmas day speech. he took the opportunity to urge peace in the middle east during the holidays and was looking rather frail at christmas before this big decision. dill * it was remarkable to watch him at the midnight mass the amount of help he needed to move anywhere inside of st. peter's. cart mall timothy dolan, the archbishop of new york made this statement. >> i was very startled and i don't know what to say. i'm waiting for information, for instructions a

he is 85 years old now, pope benedict. he says in his own statement that for some months he's been looking at his own health. it's unavoidable for him. it is a very taxing job. as we remember, as we get more insight from our vatican correspondent and analyst, this is a pope, who as cardinal, as john ratzinger, was very keenly aware of what happened to pope john paul ii. he talked to people about how his demise seemed somewhat of a dishonorable end to his papacy. he had in his mind already what type of glorious exit, to use the phrase, he may want in store for him. let's get some perspective as to what is coming out of the vatican as to why this is happening, what it means. john allen, our senior vatican analyst, joins us now. what do we know, john? >> reporter: what we know is that we are living through a day of enormous shock here in rome. not so much the pope benedict xvi chose to resign. he signaled two years ago that he would be open to doing that, but the fact that we had absolutely no indication this was coming today

pope benedict xvi is resigning.leased a statement indicating age and fatigue as some of the reasons behind his resignation. "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." cardinal timothy dolan reacted to the news on the tooch"today" just moments ago. >> you can report that i was startled. i'm as startled as the rest of you, and i'm as anxious to find out exactly what's going on. apparently, it is confirmed. when you called first, matt, you and i both chuckled and thought this might be another rumor. it's sure enough confirmed. i find myself eager for some news. i find myself itching to read the statement in latin. i hope you can translate it. >> interesting. of course, exactly what's going on is that the resignation will take place on february 28th, which means in 17 days. they will be in the position of picking a new pope. last time a pope resign

pope benedict filled people's hearts. he was a theologian.o now, what i think we need is somehow who allows people to take what they have received and now use it in their lives for the good of others. >> monsignor, thank you for coming over. liz lev, thank you, they will be staying with us and we'll be talking to them later on in this program. >>> the other big story, back in the states, tonight's state of the union address. where the president is expected to focus on the economy. and here's what senior adviser valerie jarrett said this morning. >> he will demonstrate concretely how we have to of invest in manufacturing, making the united states a magnet for job growth, preparing our workforce, and making sure that if you work hard, you can earn a good living. and he will lay out very specifically how we want to accomplish that. >> i want to bring in congressman tom cole, a republican from oklahoma, and also a member of the house appropriations committee. congressman, good morning. we don't have the details yet, of course, but when you hear t

pope benedict xvi will resign if the end of the month. the process of electing the next pope starts on march 1. the vatican will go through a conclave in the sistine chapel until two-thirds of the cardinals agree on a successor. it is expected the new pope will be in place by easter. ,et's talk more about this joined by came -- joined from cambridge by professor duffy. first of all, is ethnicity going to be a factor, do you think? >> it is anybody's guess. the church is growing fast in africa and china and parts of latin america. it would be natural to look there for a new pope. the fact that we have had a polish pope and that a german pope clears the way for someone of any nationality. so, it is anyone's guess. myself, i would be very surprised indeed if it was an italian or western european pope, but no one knows. >> going back to history and into the history books, professor, there have been non- european popes in the past, admittedly many centuries ago. >> sure, african pope, pope from asia minor, part of europe. certainly the focus i

pope benedict will be 86 in april. live press conference from the vatican, in which we didn't get more answers about exactly why. what is this ill health that the pope has. we're trying to get more details on that. 48 minutes past the hour. homes and buildings simply shredded. families and businesses in southern mississippi are assessing the damage this morning after a powerful tornado ripped through the town of hattiesburg. a storm chaser shot this. take a look at this. really dramatic video of the giant funnel cloud that was crossing the highway right there. it damaged parts of southern mississippi. >>> waiting for a tow. bad news for passengers aboard carnival cruiseship's "triumph." it is waiting for another ship to tow it to a mexican port. a fire broke out in the engine room sunday morning, leaving it dead in the water. 4,200 passengers and crew on board. thankfully, no injuries on board. >>> poke and fun, but not as much flesh at the 55th annual grammy awards. mumford & sons took home the big prize. song of the

rome time, benedict xvi will no longer be the pope.all eyes on the next pope and the procedure to elect him. give us a sense of how it's going to -- how it will be from 8:01 tomorrow? >> we asked the vatican spokesperson if benedict had any plans after 8:00, his charming response, i suppose he will have dinner. >> reporter: so opaque. >> reporter: precisely. >> reporter: at the top of the next morning, the dean of the college of cardinals will formally notify all the cardinals of the world the seat is vacant. this is a mere formality. the cardinals are here. >> reporter: they get a fax at home? >> reporter: they will be sent a letter home for their ar kifs, but they will also get a fax or e-mail here. and the cardinals will meet for the first time in a general congregation meeting where the first order of business is to set a date for the conclave. right now, the precedent is to do it reasonably early. perhaps the 7th of march. >> reporter: definitely before holy week begins? >> reporter: they want this whole thing wrapped up before ho

pope benedict gave an emotional farewell to 150,000 people in st. peter's square yesterday. >> it did mean a lot and to see the affectiontion of the people, the appreciation of the crowd and it was --it was touching. >> reporter: later today the pope will take a 10-minute helicopter ride to his summer retreat on the outskirts of rome. >> he will spend about a couple of months there until there's a new pope of course and until things are ready here. then when he comes back here, he will basically be spending it in a life of prior in a convent on the vatican grounds. >> reporter: most of the 115 cardinals who will elect pope benedict's successor are already here in rome and speculation is spreading fast about who will replace him. >> i think it's going to be from africa or latin america. >> what matters most is it is somebody who can guide the church into the future. >> reporter: pope benedict, who was elected in 2005 after the death of pope john paul ii, said he is leaving because he is growing too old and frail. cardinals hope to elect a pope in tim

that's pope benedict xvi gone. that was the shocking part. that he didn't make a big deal out of it. >> as we understand it, he is iffing to vacate the office. he will abdicate at the end of the month, which is february 28, of course, and then the college of cardinals will convene. claudio, he has apointed a mof cardinals, so it is a full group of cardinals that will be making this critical decision. >> indeed. in a way if you look back at what happened in the last year or two years of his pontificate, he seemed like he had this at the back of his mind for a while now because he has come out with a number of surprised -- it's when you create new cardinals to hype up and increase the number of cardinals that will go to the sistine chapel to elect a new pope. you think was he already thinking about abdicating back then? there are cardinals that will be eligible to elect a new pope at the end of february. well, who comes next? we don't know. >> and one person who knows the inside story is greg burke. i think we have you on the lean now. the vati

pope benedict xvi becomes the first pope in six centuries to resign. allen pizzey in vatican city with what happens now. mark phillips on who might be next. tensions are high after reported sightings of the most wanted man in california. bill whitaker reports on the dragnet. we now know what a massive tornado left behind in mississippi -- >> that is big! >> pelley: while in new england they're counting the losses from the record blizzard. and cliff romesha receives the medal of honor. he tells david martin how he earned the highest award for valor. >> reporter: the citation says there were 400 enemy soldiers. >> and we had 52 great americans. didn't seem fair to them. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: good evening. when the news got out today, catholics all over the world were asking whether they had heard correctly. something that just doesn't happen just did: a pope resigned. pope benedict xvi, 85 years old and frail, told a meeting of cardinals today he no longer has the physical and mental stre

twenty question the sudden resignation of pope benedict the sixteenth shock waves reverberate throughout the catholic world. french and mali and forces reclaim the city of we bring you a firsthand account from the city after a surprise attack by militants on the spoils french claims of a victorious campaign. and eighteen coal miners died in an underground me thane blast in russia's conny republic the rescue is still looking for one possible survivor. world news as it happens twenty four hours a day you're watching r.t. on character. the vatican has announced that pope benedict the sixteenth will step down on february twenty eighth citing his old age the eighty five year old will become the first head of the catholic church to resign from the post in nearly six centuries but let's get more on this now from artist tom barton who joins us live now in the studio taunted us more about this extraordinary unexpected announcement it really is extraordinary kerry it's come as a real shock to all of the journalists and people who regularly watch the activities of the pope in rome they none of thos

pope benedict xvi says he is stepping down at the end of the month. catholics around the world are wondering who will replace him. we now get the latest information from anna at the vatican. >> reporter: pope benedict xvi delivered the surprising message in a speech to cardinals at the vatican this morning. the 85-year-old pontiff said he will step down february 28th, because he is simply too old to carry on. the leered of more than a billion roman catholics said carrying out his duties requires quote both strength of mind and body. the news stunned the church leaders around the world. >> i have to be honest, i'm as shocked and startled as all of you. >> reporter: it is the first time a pope has resigned in nearly 600 years. on the streets of europe, some people refused to believe it. he says it can't be true, it would be too huge for the church for something like this to happen. a vatican spokesman said the pope deserves respect for making such a personal and courageous decision to quit. the pope's resignation sets the stage for a new papal election.

benedict was wonderful at initiating reforms. over the last ten years we have seen a great many advances, especially in the church in the united states, but certainly reforms need to continue. the real story is the excitement you see month young people for the church. at the end of the day it's about goodness and truth and beauty, and the church has 0 the courage to stand for those things in the face of an often isolating and confusing world. >> shepard: can the church in rome handle a black orlet continue pope? >> absolutely. thick we're definitely ready for it. it's almost jarring to hear put in those terms because the church is growing by leaps and bounds in the global south. we're calling not somebody from a particular place or race. we're talling for someone who is an apostle for jesus christ, who lives our faith. that's what people are looking for,. >> shepard: great see you. the guy in charge of safety at bp says the systems that allowed an explosion that killed 121 -- 11 people were not an absolute failure. so how did the